- Rebekah Byler was six months pregnant when she was shot and killed in her Crawford County home, where her two children were found unharmed.
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A pregnant Amish woman murdered in her rural Pennsylvania home appeared to have suffered slash wounds to her neck and head, police revealed.
Two search warrants were issued at the request of state police in connection with the Monday murder of Rebekah Byler, 23, whose body was found in the living room of her home a few miles from Spartansburg.
Byler was six months pregnant when she was murdered. Warrant requests relating to her home and outbuildings said her husband, Andy Byler, found her body a short distance inside the home shortly after noon.
Police Officer Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press on Thursday that the investigation and autopsy have given police an idea of what the murder weapon may have been, but they do not have it in their possession. The warrants sought knives, blades, cutting instruments and other items.
Police have not said how she was killed. They also said they have not found any suspects and want the public to contact them with any leads.
Rebekah Byler, a 23-year-old mother of two, was found dead inside a home on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Pennsylvania.
Authorities have said they still have no suspects in the murder of a 23-year-old pregnant Amish woman found dead in her Pennsylvania home on Monday.
The Amish woman’s body was found with gunshot wounds. Her two young children were home at the time of her death.
Schick did not offer additional details other than that Byler was a homicide victim, after locals reported seeing a red Jeep on the property around the time of the murder.
‘Continue to be alert. This is a criminal homicide investigation. Practice safe procedures, keep doors closed, report any suspicious behavior by people or vehicles, whether past or current,” Schick said.
Police are asking the public for help identifying a suspect and offering a $2,000 reward for information.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Corry Barracks at 814-663-2043.
Residents and family members said they remember seeing a red Jeep outside the home at 10 a.m. where Byler lived with her husband Andy, who was not home when she was killed.
The killing shocked the rural northwestern Pennsylvania community, where people say the Amish, who restrict the use of technology and are known for their traditional clothing, get along well with non-Amish people in the area.
Locals in the community have come together to raise money for Byler’s family.
“I am absolutely heartbroken about what has happened,” Charleen Hajec, owner of Spartansburg Pharmacy, told ABC 6. “I am very concerned for the Amish community and concerned for them.”
A homicide investigation is extremely rare in the rural area, which is 40 miles from the city of Erie.
State police are “aggressively investigating all available leads.”
Kelsey Bova, owner of Bova’s Hardware and administrator of a local Spartansburg Facebook group, created a GoFundMe for donations.
“We would like to show our support for the entire Amish community and help raise funds so Andy and his children can find a safe new home,” he wrote.
Bova announced that it was organizing a drive for food, toys, cleaning supplies and gift cards, inviting locals to drop off donations at the hardware store or a local pub.
Byler’s cousin, Rosanna, posted on Facebook asking her friends to pray for her.
‘I am in shock! I can not believe it! Where they live in Pennsylvania is rural!’ wrote the woman from Rogers, Ohio. “I grew up about 20 miles from there and went down to that area all the time.”