Authorities mum on autopsy details in probe of killing of Amish woman in Crawford County
SPARTANSBURG — Two days after a family member and friend found Rebekah A. Byler dead in her rural Crawford County home, the circumstances surrounding the Amish woman's killing remained a mystery Wednesday.
An autopsy was performed in Erie County Tuesday afternoon on the 23-year-old woman, whose death the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating as a homicide. But details on her death, including the cause and manner, are not being released by the Crawford County Coroner's Office.
"Details of the autopsy will not be released at this time in order to maintain the integrity of the active investigation," Coroner Eric Coston wrote in a news release issued early Wednesday afternoon.
State police have also not commented on how Byler was killed, and they had no suspects in the crime as of Wednesday afternoon.
State police and Coston also would not comment Wednesday on reports that Byler was possibly pregnant.
More: State police investigating death of Amish woman in Sparta Township home as a homicide
Byler was found dead in her home on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, south of Spartansburg, early Monday afternoon. Investigators said a relative and a friend of the family returned home to the residence to find Byler dead in a living room area of the small home.
Two young children, toddlers, were also home at the time but were not injured, according to state police.
State police were called to the Fish Flats road residence, which sits about a mile from Route 86 near Sportsman Road, shortly before 12:30 p.m. Monday. Coston said he pronounced Byler dead at the scene at 1:45 p.m. Monday.
There was no evidence that anything was taken from the house, Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township, said Wednesday.
Investigators released the house on Tuesday night after searching it for evidence over two days. With the processing of the house complete, state police are now awaiting the results of testing on forensic evidence collected, Weindorf said.
Troopers are also still pursuing possible leads in Byler's death while continuing to seek information from the public that might aid in the investigation, Weindorf said. They are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who might have seen anything suspicious in the area of Byler's home on Monday between the early morning and the time her body was discovered, he said.
"Even suspicious activity in or around the area that day or prior to, even a week prior," Weindorf said.
State police are urging anyone with information to contact the Corry station at 814-663-2043.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Authorities mum on autopsy details in Amish woman's killing
