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Shawn Cranston Charged In Rebekah Byler Murder

Shawn Cranston has been charged with the murder of Amish woman Rebekah Byler

According to police reports Rebekah Byler was shot and killed at her home in Sparta Township Pennsylvania earlier this week. Byler was six months pregnant at the time of her death

Police in Pennsylvania announced today that they have arrested and charged Shawn Cranston with criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass.

Rebekah Byler body was discovered by her husband and her two young children were inside of the home when she was killed. Along with a gunshot Byler also had trauma to her neck and head

This story is still breaking so information is limited

Shawn Cranston News

Police have announced an arrest in connection to the death of 23-year-old pregnant Rebekah Byler that has shaken an Amish community in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State Police announced early Saturday morning that Shawn Cranston — a 52-year-old man from Corry, Pennsylvania — has been arrested in connection with the murder of the Amish woman and is now facing multiple charges, including criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass.

Cranston was arraigned Saturday morning and is currently being held without bond at the Crawford County Jail.

On Feb. 26, police responded to a home in Sparta Township, where they found Byler dead, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Byler’s cause of death has not been released.

Sparta Township is a small township in Crawford County, just outside of the borough of Spartansburg and about 35 miles southeast of Erie, Pennsylvania.

“Everyone is stunned — this doesn’t happen here,” Charleen Hajec, a pharmacist who was born and raised in Spartansburg, told ABC News. “Everyone is talking. It’s scary and frustrating.”

Hajec said she couldn’t believe a murder would happen in Sparta Township, which she called a “tight-knit community.”

“The outside world doesn’t get in,” Hajec said. “To have something this tragic … it doesn’t happen here.”

https://abcnews.go.com/US/arrest-made-murder-pregnant-amish-woman-found-dead/story?id=107740010

Shawn Cranston More News

The five-day investigation into the death of a pregnant Amish woman in Crawford County has ended with the arrest of a Corry man on charges that he killed her and her unborn child after breaking into her home Monday.

The suspect, Shawn C. Cranston, 52, was charged Saturday in the death of 23-year-old Rebekah A. Byler, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release. He is charged with homicide, homicide of an unborn child, burglary and criminal trespass.

Titusville District Judge Amy Nicols arraigned Cranston at 4:24 a.m. Saturday and ordered him held without bond at the Crawford County Correctional Facility because he is charged with homicide, according to court records.

Nichols scheduled Cranston’s preliminary hearing for March 15.

Byler was found dead Monday afternoon at her residence in the 21800 block of Fish Flats Road, west of Route 89, in Sparta Township, Crawford County. Her husband and a friend returned to the residence and found Byler lying on her back in the living room and called 911, according to case documents.

Byler had wounds to her neck and head, according to investigators. Two toddler-age children were also inside the home were not injured, state police said.

Details on what led police to identify Cranston as a suspect in Byler’s death, and information on a possible motive in the killing, were not immediately available Saturday.

https://www.goerie.com/story/news/crime/2024/03/02/pregnant-amish-woman-killing-arrest-rebekah-a-byler-spartansburg-pa/72818049007/

Judge Sonya McKnight Charged With Attempted Murder

Sonya McKnight was a Judge in Harrisburg Pennsylvania until she would shoot the victim in the head while the man slept

According to police reports Sonya McKnight would shoot the victim in the right side of the head, while he slept, and the bullet would travel through his skull and end up behind his eyes. The victim somehow survived the shooting however is now blind in one eye

Sonya McKnight was suspended when criminal charges were pending. Now the Judge is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault. McKnight was unable to post her bond so is still in custody

Sonya McKnight News

Suspended Harrisburg district judge Sonya McKnight has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, according to newly filed court documents.

The charges stem from an incident in the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 10 at the victim’s home on Saddle Ridge Drive in Harrisburg, according to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.

McKnight allegedly shot the victim in the head while he was asleep in bed. The bullet entered the right side of his head, traveled through in a straight line behind and slightly below his eyes and exited the left side of his face.

The victim survived the gunshot wound but is blind in one eye as a result.

The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office assumed jurisdiction of the investigation at the request of Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo, because McKnight worked as a Magisterial District Judge in Dauphin County.

McKnight was arrested on Feb. 15 and has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault, according to court documents. She was reportedly unable to post her $300,000 bail and was processed at the Dauphin County Central Booking Center.

A preliminary hearing is set before President Judge Evans on Feb. 26.

https://www.fox43.com/article/news/crime/suspended-harrisburg-judge-arrested-attempted-first-degree-murder/521-fc6289c0-fa50-4792-957c-aa4fe8cc9e80

Sonya McKnight More News

Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight has been arrested on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges.

McKnight is accused of shooting a man in the head while he was sleeping in his Susquehanna Township home on Saturday.

The victim survived but is blind in one eye.

Because McKnight serves as a judge in Dauphin County, the district attorney there turned over jurisdiction of the case to the Cumberland County district attorney.

A preliminary hearing for McKnight is scheduled for Feb. 26.

https://www.wgal.com/article/dauphin-county-district-judge-sonya-mcknight-charged-with-attempted-murder-after-shooting/46807294

Jennifer Bowser Murders 5 Year Old Son

Jennifer Bowser is an alleged killer from Pennsylvania who has been charged with the murder of her five year old son

According to police reports officers were called to a residence with the report of an unconscious child. When the officers arrived they would find the body of a five year old who looked like he had been dead for hours

Jennifer Bowser would tell officers that the voices told her she had to kill her son or else he would go to hell so she smothered the child, Samson Bowser, causing his death

Jennifer Bowser was arrested and has been charged with one count each of general criminal homicide, aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury to a victim under age 13

Jennifer Bowser News

Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees has released the official cause of death for 5-year-old Samson Bowser, who authorities say was allegedly killed by his mother, Jennifer Bowser, on Monday afternoon.

Lees has ruled Bowser’s death as asphyxia due to “compression of the chest and obstruction of the airway.’

The coroner’s office has also formally ruled his death as a homicide.

Police say 41-year-old Jennifer Bowser was arraigned Monday night after her son was found unresponsive at Martha’s Manor, in Cresson Township, where she and her child were reportedly living.

Authorities say Bowser is accused of killing her son because “voices” told her to do so.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Cambria County coroner Jeff Lees identified the 5-year-old boy who was reportedly killed by his mother, 41-year-old Jennifer Bowser.

Lees said that when authorities arrived at Martha’s Manor, in Lilly, Monday afternoon, Samson Bowser had reportedly been dead for hours already.

Officials say an autopsy of the boy is scheduled for late Tuesday.

Authorities noted that Jennifer Bowser and her son had reportedly been living at the facility, for approximately one year, since the facility was owned by the child’s grandmother (Jennifer Bowser’s mother).

According to the criminal affidavit, police say Bowser had allegedly killed her son because “voices” told her to do so.

Authorities also noted that, according to her family, she had recently sought treatment at a mental health facility due to the so-called “voices.”

https://wjactv.com/news/local/lilly-woman-charged-with-homicide-claims-voices-led-her-to-strangle-her-5-year-old-son

Jennifer Bowser Other News

A Lilly woman is in jail after police said she claimed to have heard voices telling her to kill her 5-year-old son, Samson Bowser.

Jennifer Bowser, 41, is facing a criminal homicide charge after police and EMS were dispatched for a cardiac arrest of a five-year-old on the 100 block of Cosey Lane on Monday, Feb. 5.

Authorities arrived at Martha’s Manor where they found a woman giving CPR to the child. According to court documents, it was determined that the child was unable to be revived.

Police talked to Bowser’s sister, who said that Bowser and the child had been living at the residence for “awhile” with Bowser’s mother and that the last time she saw the victim alive was on Sunday, Feb. 4, according to the criminal complaint. She claimed that she went to check on the child on Feb. 5 and found him laying on the floor. She then moved him to a different room and began to perform CPR.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 6, it was noted that there was no history of calls to the manor in relation to Bowser or her child. District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said that while the two lived at the manor, they lived in a separate area away from the other residence.

Bowser’s mother told police that Bowser had been to the doctor on Jan. 30 because she had been “hearing voices,” according to the complaint. Her mother also told police that at the time, they did not have an official diagnosis for Bowser.

When questioned by police, Bowser claimed that she was hearing a voice from “a machine box or mic box” and that the voices allegedly told her to smother the child so that he didn’t go to “H E double hockey sticks.”

Bowser was then taken to the police station to talk more with the officers. During this conversation, she allegedly told police that on Sunday, Feb. 4 she went outside twice during the day to check the furnace and then would barricade herself back into her room with her child, according to the criminal complaint.

Bowser claimed that she barricaded herself with the 5-year-old because a female voice “Kayla” told her the child was hers, not Bowser’s, and was attempting to take the child from her. Later in the evening, Bowser allegedly heard the voices again, with them saying that “the cops were coming and were going to shoot through the wall and kill” the child if she didn’t smother him, the complaint reads.

Bowser claimed that the voices continued to get “meaner and meaner” and told her that there were “guys with guns looking in the windows and were going to shoot through the wall.” Bowser also allegedly told police that the voices said that it would be better to smother the five-year-old than to have him be shot, according to the complaint.

Bowser told police that she allegedly smothered the child by using her hands and a blanket. As she used the blanket to cover his face, she said the child was strong and kept hitting and biting her. According to the complaint, Bowser also attempted to break the child’s neck to kill him faster.

Neugebauer also said that while mental health is going to be a large part of the case, there are also a lot of privacy concerns when it comes to disclosing information.

“To say that this is a difficult case for law enforcement is an understatement. Many of us are parents and I think we all hugged our kids a little harder last night,” Neugebauer said.

Bowser is now facing a criminal homicide charge, a felony charge of aggravated assault of a victim less than 13 and a felony charge of strangulation.

She is in the Cambria County Prison after being denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.

Tuesday evening Cambria Coroner Jeff Lees concluded via autopsy that Samson’s death was ruled as a homicide as a result asphyxia due to compression of the chest and airway.

Cresson Township police department, Cresson Borough police department, Cambria County detective borough, Cambria Lions EMS, Keystone Alliance fire company and the DA’s office were on scene. Detective John Kutchman and Chief Mike Nycum assisted in the investigation.

https://www.wtaj.com/crime/police-woman-charged-with-sons-death-claims-voices-told-her-to-strangle-him/

Justin Mohn Murders Father In PA

Justin Mohn has been arrested in Pennsylvania and has been charged in the brutal murder of his father Michael F. Mohn

According to police reports the wife of Michael F. Mohn would call police to tell them that she had found her husband deceased. When police arrived they would discover a horror scene. Michael Mohn had been decapitated and his head was found in a plastic bag near the bathroom. Officers would find an assortment of evidence to the horrific murder

Justin Mohn became an immediate suspect and would be located two hours later and placed under arrest

Apparently before he fled the murder scene Justin Mohn would post a video on YouTube where he basically showed off his fathers head

Justin Mohn would be charged with murder and abuse of a corpse

Justin Mohn News

A Pennsylvania man has been charged after his father was found beheaded inside their family home Tuesday night in Middletown Township, Bucks County.

The victim’s son, identified as 32-year-old Justin Mohn, has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, among other charges, according to police

Mohn is accused of not only beheading his father, identified as Michael F. Mohn, but also posting the video of him committing the act to YouTube.

Officers responded to the 100 block of Upper Orchard Drive around 7 p.m. after reports of a decapitated body after the victim’s wife came home to discover him beheaded and covered in blood.

When officers arrived, they found the victim’s body in the first-floor bathroom and his head inside a plastic bag in a kitchen pot placed in a first-floor bedroom, according to a police affidavit.

Officers said they also found bloody rubber gloves in a bedroom on the second floor, as well as a machete and a large kitchen knife in the bathtub.

“As far as the crime itself, it’s not something we typically see here,” said Middletown Township Police Captain Pete Feeney.

The wife then told police her husband’s white Toyota Corolla and her son were both missing.

Police said the more than 14-minute long YouTube video, titled “Mohn’s Militia – Call to Arms for American Patriots,” showed Justin Mohn picking up his father’s decapitated head and identifying him by name. Police said it appeared Mohn was reading from a script as he railed about the government.

Mohn referred to himself as a militia leader and called his father a traitor to the country for being a federal employee for 20 years.

He also spoke about President Joe Biden and threatened multiple federal agencies in the gruesome YouTube video while reading from a script.

“There’s plenty of evidence to process, I’m sure they’ll be reviewing that video,” Feeney said.

The video was viewed at least 5,000 times before being taken down.

Police said they were able to track Mohn by pinging his cell phone and he was taken into custody in Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, about 100 miles from the crime scene.

It is unclear why he was in that area.

There is a National Guard training base there and on its website, it is referred to as “America’s busiest National Guard Training Center.”

“I think the neighborhood can rest easy because I think they were a little uneasy for a while before they knew where the person of interest was,” Middletown Township Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla said.

Bartorilla said the son lived inside the home on Upper Orchard Drive in Levittown.

“That was upsetting, so very very upsetting in our neighborhood. In any neighborhood,” said Ellen Stupak, from Middletown Township.

Mohn, who also was arrested on a weapons possession charge, was arraigned early Wednesday and held without bail. He is scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 8. A spokesperson for the Bucks County district attorney’s office said they did not expect to comment publicly about the case Wednesday.

An attorney for Mohn wasn’t listed in court records Wednesday morning and a message seeking comment on his behalf was left at a phone listing for him. The court clerk’s office said it had no record of a lawyer representing him.

A motive for the killing is still under investigation.

https://6abc.com/justin-mohn-levitttown-middletown-township-pa-father-killed/14373700/

Justin Mohn Video

Quanesha Lindsey Murders 2 Children

Quanesha Lindsey is an alleged killer from Pennsylvania who has been charged in the murders of her two children

According to police reports emergency personnel were called to a home due to a report of an infant not breathing. Unfortunately they were not able to save the four month old boy. After a brief investigation police would arrest Quanesha Lindsey who admitted to strangled her 4-month-old son and suffocated her 2-year-old son

Quanesha Lindsey would be charged with two counts of murder

Quanesha Lindsey News

A mother in Beaver County is facing homicide charges after she allegedly strangled her 4-month-old son and suffocated her 2-year-old son to death, the district attorney says.

Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier says Quanesha Lindsey, 27, admitted to the murders.

Police went to the 1120 block of 8th Street Extension in Harmony Township on Saturday after receiving a call about an infant not breathing.

According to court documents, officers from the Ambridge Police Department went into the basement of a house where they found a man performing CPR on the baby. Officers took over the process but were unable to resuscitate the child.

When police questioned Lindsey, the child’s mother, she told them she knew the baby was last alive at 2 a.m. that morning when she put him down for bed. She said he began crying at 5:00 a.m. and had not moved or made noise since.

Police took her to the Beaver Valley Regional Police Department headquarters to begin an interview. They say during the interview Lindsey admitted to strangling the baby.

Court documents say Lindsey also told police she killed her 2-year-old son 6 weeks ago by suffocating him. She used a mannequin to show officers how she held the head of the child into a bed.

She told police she put the toddler down for a nap at 5 p.m. on Oct. 20. While searching her phone, police confirmed that she acknowledged his death several times over text during the night and early day of Oct. 21 but police were not dispatched until 5:45 p.m. that day after a family member called them.

The names of the children have not been released at this time.

Lindsey is being held in the Beaver County Jail without bond.

https://news.yahoo.com/beaver-county-mother-accused-suffocating-012553731.html

Quanesha Lindsey More News

A woman in Beaver County was charged Sunday with killing her two children.

According to Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV, Quanesha Lindsey is charged in the strangulation death of her 4-month-old son on Oct. 21 and the suffocation death of her 2-year-old son on Saturday.

Ms. Lindsey was questioned by police after the death of her 2-year-old son and admitted to causing both deaths, according KDKA.

She is being held in the Beaver County Jail without bond.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/12/03/woman-charged-killing-two-children-beaver-county/stories/202312030145