Pregnant Amish woman killed in Pennsylvania home had cuts to head, neck: report

A pregnant Amish woman found dead in her living room on Monday had lacerations to her head and neck, according to search warrant filings issued for her Pennsylvania home, The Associated Press reported.

Rebekah A. Byler, 23, was about six months pregnant when she was killed. 

A woman, previously described by police as a family friend, called 911 to report the discovery of Byler’s body “a short distance inside” the house on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Crawford County, around 12:36 p.m., according to a warrant application reviewed by The Associated Press. 

Trooper Adam Black wrote in the application that Andy Byler, the slain woman’s husband, found his wife unresponsive on her back around noon. He was reportedly not home at the time of the murder, according to ABC 13. 

Byler’s two children in the home were unharmed, Pennsylvania State Trooper Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press. 

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Byler’s death has been ruled a homicide, but state police have not yet named any suspects.

The woman’s autopsy and a state police investigation have given investigators an idea of what the murder weapon may have been, but they do not have it in their possession, Schick said.  

The warrant application sought knives, blades, cutting instruments and other items.

On Thursday afternoon, there were no signs of activity outside Byler’s home, which is located along a dirt road in a very remote farming community. A buggy, a bike and a truck were parked outside, The Associated Press reported. 

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The slaying shocked the rural northwestern Pennsylvania community. Residents say the Amish, known for their plain dress and restricted use of technology, get along well with their non-Amish neighbors, The Associated Press reported.

“It’s not something that happens around here,” Lindsey Smith, president of the women’s auxiliary of the nearby Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department, said.

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“We’re worried about our Amish,” Smith said. “They are a big part of our community. They support us a lot.”

Katie Rhodes, a waitress at the Dutch Treat Restaurant in Spartanburg, said the community is still shocked.

“My heart breaks for the family, for the little kids,” she said.

There are about 400,000 Amish living across settlements in 32 states, Canada and Bolivia – Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of the Mennonite sect, according to the news agency.