Cranston, the Corry resident charged in the killing of year-old Rebekah A. Byler, who was Amish, and her unborn child in Sparta Township in February. Crawford County District Attorney Paula DiGiacomo said she requested that the Attorney General's Office take over the case in the fall, after the size of her staff dropped from four prosecutors to two, including herself.
Two prosecutors with the Attorney General's Office filed their formal appearances in the case on Jan. DiGiacomo said the departure of two prosecutors in her office over the summer dropped the number of prosecutors to two.
DiGiacomo said she needs all the staff, including herself, to cover cases in three courtrooms at the Crawford County Judicial Center in Meadville, as well cases in juvenile court and at four district justice offices in the county. She said having the Attorney General's Office on the Cranston case allows her staff to dedicate its time to the other cases.
Until the staffing level in her office was reduced to two prosecutors, DiGiacomo said, her office handled all the matters in the Cranston case. They included his five-hour preliminary hearing on March 15 and matters concerning the disclosure of evidence to the defense in the discovery process. The Attorney General's Office is now handling the entire case, including the trial.
The office confirmed to the Erie Times-News in an email that it received the referral from the Crawford County District Attorney's Office in October, and that the case is pending for trial.
