On the morning of June 2, 2009, a neighbor discovered Barbara Weaver lying on her bed with a gunshot wound to her chest. The neighbor went to check on Weaver after one of Weaver’s young children came to her and told her that he had found his mother dead in her bed. Medical assistance arrived shortly thereafter, and the Wayne County coroner pronounced Weaver deceased later that morning. The coroner estimated that Weaver died sometime between midnight and six o’clock in the morning on June 2, 2009. It was later determined that Weaver died from a single gunshot wound fired at close range from a .410-gauge shotgun.
{¶ 3} Eli Weaver, Barbara Weaver’s husband and the father of their five children, received a phone call about his wife while on a fishing trip to Lake Erie. Eli had left the Weaver home at approximately 3:00 a.m. that morning. Eli spoke with police when he returned home and initially denied any involvement in his wife’s death. He later admitted, however, that he and his girlfriend, Raber,
[189 Ohio App.3d 401] had planned Barbara Weaver’s murder and Raber committed the murder with his assistance.
{¶ 4} Eli and Raber began a personal relationship several years earlier, after the two met through Raber’s husband. Eli and his family were members of the Amish community when he and Raber began their relationship, but Eli twice left the community after being shunned for his behavior. Eli had several affairs and met women online through the use of a cellular phone that he received from Raber. When the two began discussing the murder of Barbara Weaver, they sent numerous text messages to each other setting out their plan. Police obtained the text messages during their investigation.
{¶ 5} On June 10, 2009, officers from the Wayne County sheriff’s office came to Raber’s home to arrest her for Weaver’s murder. After officers arrested Raber, they drove her to the sheriff’s office and interrogated her. Raber confessed to Weaver’s murder during the interrogation but refused to complete a written statement. Raber spent the night in jail, and officers questioned her again the next day about several details of her confession. Raber eventually asserted her right to counsel and ended the interrogation.
The Eli Weaver/Barbara Raber Murder Case: A Shunned Amish Man and his English Trigger Woman
Man, woman charged in Amish murder case
Millersburg woman accused of killing Barbara Weaver
Amish Man Sentenced to 15-Years to Life In Prison For Wife’s Murder
Weaver sentenced in wife’s death
Millersburg woman heads to prison for killing lover’s wife
Raber sentenced
State of Ohio v Barbara Raber 2010
Movies/Documentaries
Deadly Devotion: Fatal Amish Attraction
Defendants
Eli Weaver – convicted, sentenced to 15 years to life in prison
Barbara Raber – convicted, sentenced to 23 years to life in prison
INMATE INFORMATION
ELI D WEAVER
Number: A573154
DOB: 09/02/1979
Gender: Male
Race: White
Admission Date: 09/24/2009
Institution: Marion Correctional Institution
Status: INCARCERATED
Offense Information
COMPLICITY MURDER
Counts: 1
ORC: 2903.02 4
Committing County: Wayne
Admission Date: 09/24/2009
Degree of Felony: AM
Sentence Information
Mandatory Sentence: 15 years
Indefinite Sentence Min: Life Sentence
Indefinite Sentence Max: Life Sentence
Expiration of Max Sentence: Life Sentence
Parole Hearing Information
Next Parole Board Hearing/Review Month: April, 2024
Latest Parole Board Hearing/Review Type & Results: FIRST HEARING
INMATE INFORMATION
BARBARA A RABER
Number: W076483
DOB: 05/20/1970
Gender: Female
Race: White
Admission Date: 10/01/2009
Institution: Ohio Reformatory for Women
Status: INCARCERATED
Offense Information
AGG MURDER
Counts: 1
ORC: 2903.01 4
Committing County: Wayne
Admission Date: 10/01/2009
Degree of Felony: AM
Sentence Information
Mandatory Sentence: 20 years
Gun Specification: 3 years
Indefinite Sentence Min: 20 years
Indefinite Sentence Max: Life Sentence
Expiration of Max Sentence: Life Sentence
Parole Hearing Information
Next Parole Board Hearing/Review Month: April, 2032
Latest Parole Board Hearing/Review Type & Results: FIRST HEARING
