A Crawford County man, Shawn Cranston, 53, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole — plus an additional life sentence — for the brutal 2024 murder of pregnant Amish woman Rebekah Byler in her Sparta Township home. Cranston was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder of an unborn child, and related charges after prosecutors revealed he had targeted Byler’s home for burglary and then fatally stabbed and shot her. Evidence tying Cranston to the crime included his DNA on a glove, matching shoe and tire prints, and GPS data placing him at the scene. Attorney General Dave Sunday praised the investigators, jury, and the victim’s family for their strength, saying Cranston “will spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
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