A Pennsylvania judge has sentenced a man convicted of the savage murder of a young mother and her unborn child to two life sentences with no possibility of parole.
Shawn Cranston was convicted in June of first-degree murder for killing 23-year-old Rebekah Byler and second degree murder for killing her unborn child. Byler was six months pregnant at the time.
Notably, while Cranston was convicted of murder for killing Byler’s unborn baby, Pennsylvania allows abortion up to 24 weeks for any reason and up to birth for “medical” exceptions.
During the trial, a prison inmate who testified said that Cranston admitted to killing the young Amish mother during a burglary attempt.
The inmate told the jury that when Byler encountered Cranston in her living room, she started screaming. Cranston reportedly recounted to him that he, “Spun her around and started choking her. She didn’t pass out, so he slit her throat. He said she didn’t die quick enough, so he shot her.”
“It is hard to fathom conduct more heinous than brutally killing a young expectant mother and her unborn child in her home,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday at the time of Cranston’s conviction in June. “Our homes are supposed to be our safe haven — this defendant violated the sanctity of home to commit these truly evil acts.”