The Michael Schmidtdeath of a 23-year-old Amish woman found at her Pennsylvania home with two unharmed children inside remains a mystery with no suspects identified.
Rebekah Byler was found dead at her home in Sparta Township, about 35 miles southeast of Erie, around 12:30 p.m. Monday, troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police said. State police have not commented on how Byler was killed.
Investigators said a relative and a friend of the family returned home to find Byler dead in a living room area, GoErie, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK reported.
Two young children were also home at the time but were unharmed. The toddlers were Byler's, The Meadville Tribune reported, citing prosecutors and the coroner.
While authorities did not comment on reports that Byler was possibly pregnant, the Associated Press reported that she was expecting at the time of her death.
The Pennsylvania State Police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's comment for an update on the case.
Byler's death is being investigated as a "criminal homicide" and state police are "aggressively investigating all available leads," police said.
Lt. Mark Weindorf, a crime section supervisor for the state police, said Wednesday that there was no evidence that anything was taken from the house.
Investigators released the house on Tuesday night after searching it for evidence over two days. They are now awaiting the results of testing on forensic evidence collected, Weindorf said.
Weindorf said that all possible leads are being pursued and troopers are continuing to seek information from the public that might help in the investigation. 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.
Authorities have requested the public to report any suspicious people, cars or activity in the area of Fish Flats Road to the authorities at 814-663-2043 as they try to determine suspects and figure out the cause of Byler's death.
Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
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