Barbara Weaver: The Amish Stud // 625

Summary

Going West: True Crime — Episode 625 (“Barbara Weaver: The Amish Stud”) Release Date: July 14, 2026
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman

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Episode Overview

In this deeply compelling episode, Daphne and Heath explore the shocking murder of Barbara Weaver, a devoutly religious Amish woman from rural Ohio, whose life was cut short in June of 2009. This case brings listeners inside one of America’s most conservative and insular Amish communities, exposing not just a brutal murder, but a clandestine web of affairs, technological contraband, exploitation, and betrayal. The hosts guide listeners through the labyrinthine investigation and trial, showcasing how the unique norms and practices of Amish life shaped both the crime and its aftermath.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Amish Community Context

• [01:51-05:52]
  • This is Going West’s first episode exploring a crime within the Amish community.
  • The hosts express their fascination and surprise at Amish and Mennonite culture and traditions, noting their own limited exposure and the cultural differences.
  • The Andy Weaver Amish, Barbara's community, is described as highly conservative—even compared to other Amish groups.
    • Strict rules: no personal phones, no photos (explaining why there are no pictures of the victim), only riding—not owning—cars, and generally stringent gender roles.
  • Daphne: “This is what we're talking about today. I didn't know what this meant. ...The Amish are divided into different church affiliations. They're not just like one big group who follow the same rules.” (04:01)

2. Barbara Weaver: A Life of Devotion and Restraint

• [06:25-09:44]
  • Barbara described as soft-spoken, kind, devout, and fond of reading and writing.
  • Her “Rumspringa” years were notably innocent—spent on sleepovers and reading “The Babysitters Club,” not partying or rebelling.
  • Marriage and family were her ideals; she was committed to her faith.
  • Her husband Eli, in contrast, was described as charismatic but a “troublemaker”—an Amish “bad boy” who stood out and who self-dubbed himself “The Amish Stud.”
    • Heath: “He called himself the Amish Stud. Yeah. Nobody gave him that.” (09:53)

3. Eli Weaver: Double Life & Secrets

• [09:44-16:31]
  • Running a store that served both Amish and outsiders (“the English”) gave Eli access to the outside world, which fascinated him.
  • Behind closed doors, Eli was sexually demanding, physically abusive, and emotionally distant.
  • Despite marriage counseling—sanctioned by the church, a rarity for the Amish—Eli refused to engage, leaving Barbara clinging to hope for their family.
  • Barbara’s Silent Suffering: She documented his infidelity, tempers, and disappearances in her journal, but kept the abuse secret from outsiders, striving to uphold traditional values and shun divorce.
  • Journal entry (13:22): “Where did my friend, love, and trustworthy husband go to? He hates me to the core.” —Barbara Weaver

4. Eli’s Affairs, Neglect, and Escapism

• [16:31-21:00]
  • Eli routinely disappeared for long periods, even living openly with an “English” woman for six months.
  • He withheld finances—leaving his family without enough for food or essentials, giving Barbara only $300/month for seven people.
  • Received continual “forgiveness” from the Amish church hierarchy, returning each time after public repentance.
    • Daphne: “He did really shitty things and then ... runs to the church and says ... I did a bad thing. And they're like, okay, you're in.” (18:27)
  • Community tolerance and Barbara’s resilience highlighted the pressures put on Amish women to maintain traditional households at any cost.

5. The Murder

• [23:23-25:37]
  • On June 2, 2009, after a family birthday party, Barbara was discovered dead in her bed by her young son and niece—a scene both traumatic and chilling.
  • She had been shot with a .410 caliber shotgun pressed to her chest; her eldest son initially mistook the gunshot for a “thunderclap” during a storm.
  • Eli’s absence on a fishing trip (with “English” friends) during the murder, his strange preoccupation with his contraband cell phone, and the suspicious circumstances made him an immediate suspect.
    • Wayne (9), Barbara’s son, to neighbors: “If this was my dad, he's had it.” (23:52)
  • Community in shock: only the second murder in the area in 250 years.

6. The “Amish Stud,” Affairs, and Plotting

• [25:53-35:34]
  • Eli admitted to two affairs, but evidence revealed at least ten, both with local women (including drivers like Barb Raber—a former Amish woman who had become Mennonite) and through online dating.
  • Eli’s secret (“Amish Stud”) profile on MocoSpace, a social networking site, included a shirtless photo and boasts—garnering over 140 matches.
    • Heath: “Who wants to do an Amish guy? ...He had over 140 matches...including...‘Sexy goddess and naughty little sex slave’.” (31:53)
  • Multiple women (including Dandy Ray Heasley and Barb Raber) admitted to relationships with Eli, several stating he tried to recruit them to help kill Barbara.
    • Daphne: “He had asked a friend of his to help kill his wife ... [when] the friend seemed shocked ... Eli's like, oh, wait, I was just kidding.” (34:26)
  • With Barb Raber’s involvement, possible methods for murder were chillingly discussed: poison, vehicular homicide, even blowing up the house with the children as “collateral damage.”
    • Text, Eli to Barb: “Just blow up the house or something!” (36:35)
    • Eli (to Barb on killing his kids): “They would go straight to heaven if it would happen that way.” (37:14)

7. The Investigation: Digital Evidence & Community Walls

• [38:33-42:19]
  • Key evidence came from recovered texts between Eli and Barb, explicitly coordinating Barbara’s murder.
    • Eli to Barb (day of murder): “The bottom door is open.” (40:10)
  • Barb ultimately executed the plan, breaking into the Weaver house just before dawn while Eli was away.
  • The tight-lipped Amish community (with no phones and strong suspicion towards police) posed unique investigative challenges.

8. Barb’s Confessions, Changing Stories, & the Trial

• [43:55-52:48]
  • Barb’s stories fluctuated—first calling the murder an accident, then saying it was all Eli’s idea, then that Eli himself pulled the trigger.
  • Heath: “At first it's, you know, it was an accident. Then it's like Eli did it. She doesn't know what to say here.” (45:39)
  • Investigators found Barb’s year-long internet searches on poisoning and murder methods relentlessly incriminating.
    • Court reading of search history: “Where can I get strychnine poison? ...fastest way to kill someone.” (50:16)
  • Eli, in court, denied loving Barb and painted her as obsessed and manipulative; Barb claimed the shooting was accidental.
  • No murder weapon was ever found. The prosecution’s case rested on digital correspondence, witness testimony, and Barb’s own confessions.

9. Verdict, Sentences & Amish Aftermath

• [52:48-57:06]
  • Barb Raber was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to 23 years to life. Eli pleaded to conspiracy to commit murder (as part of a deal to testify against Barb) and was sentenced to 15 years to life.
    • Barb at verdict: “I didn't do it. I didn't do it.” (53:13)
  • Amish community shunned Eli, turning their backs in the courtroom.
  • Despite the overwhelming forgiveness traditionally granted within the Amish, Eli’s crimes were considered unforgivable.
    • Daphne: “You just think that anything you do is going to be okay and you're going to be forgiven.” (54:31)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Heath (on Eli’s digital life): “Eli posted a shirtless photo of himself on this site, giving himself the handle Amish stud. ...and the caption read, ‘Who wants to do an Amish guy?’” (31:53)
• Daphne (on Barbara’s resilience): “She's going behind her husband's back to try to save their marriage, you know, like.” (13:22)
• Heath (on the crime’s impact): “Shockwaves rippled through the community. I mean this was only their second murder in about 250 years.” (24:17)
• Barbara's journal: “Where did my friend, love, and trustworthy husband go to? He hates me to the core.” (13:22)
• Eli (on family annihilation): “We know they would go straight to heaven if it would happen that way.” (36:56)
• Barb (at sentencing): “I didn't do it. I didn't do it.” (53:13)
• Daphne (wrapping up): “As crazy and comical as some of it is, just the stupidity of it all, like, Barbara did not deserve to be married to somebody like Eli. ...he is just an evil piece of shit.” (61:14)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:42] — The case introduction & Barbara’s background
• [09:44] — Eli’s background, marriage, and his ‘Amish Stud’ persona
• [16:31] — Family dynamics, Eli’s neglect
• [23:23] — Discovery of Barbara’s body
• [31:53] — Details about Eli’s secret online activity
• [34:26] — Eli soliciting friends and affairs for murder plots
• [36:35] — “Just blow up the house or something!” (Eli’s text)
• [40:01] — Text exchanges during the murder
• [45:39] — Barb’s contradictory statements to investigators
• [50:16] — Court reveals Barb's incriminating search history
• [52:48] — Sentences, reactions, and Amish community shunning Eli

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Long-Term Impact

• Barbara’s murder had lasting effects within her community:
  • Loosening strict resistance to counseling and therapy, at least somewhat.
  • Reinforced problematic traditions of “handling issues in-house,” particularly relating to abuse and violence.
  • The story received national media attention, spawning a Lifetime movie (“The Amish Stud”) and a book (“A Killing in Amish Country”).
  • Barb became the focus of sympathy and support in the Mennonite community, while Eli was permanently shunned by the Amish.
  • Both Eli and Barb will next be eligible for parole in the early 2030s.

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Conclusion

This episode offers piercing insights into the dark side of a closed and conservative community, the perils of unchecked misogyny and “in-house” justice, and the tragic fallout for the innocent. It is a stark reminder that vulnerability and evil can coexist even in the most seemingly peaceful societies. Deftly blending seriousness with signature irreverent banter, Daphne and Heath illuminate Barbara Weaver’s story with empathy, clarity, and a dash of black humor.

Final message from the hosts: Don’t be a stranger—keep the conversation alive, and remember the real victims behind the headlines.

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For further photos and discussion, see Going West’s Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook: @goingwestpodcast

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host, Heath.

[A]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[B]

And you're listening to Going West.

[A]

Hello, everybody. Today, making a little bit of Going west history. I think for the first time ever, we're covering an Amish case.

[B]

Yeah, we're talking about the Amish. I don't think we've ever done that before.

[A]

I gotta say, I am so fascinated by the Amish community. I like. So when. When Heath and I lived in Oregon together for a few years, like, I saw. This is gonna sound so weird, but I'm from Los Angeles. I saw my first Mennonite, like, outside of your hometown. And. And it was like a moment of, oh, my God, they're real. You know, like, seriously, I've never been exposed to that. So I'm so fascinated by the culture. I don't know if it's. This is so different. I don't know if it's because the Village is my favorite movie.

[B]

Well, I used to see, you know, Mennonites a lot where I grew up because, you know, I came from a farming town. So there was. That was kind of ingrained in the culture there. Truly.

[A]

That's why what I'm saying, like when, when we went to your hometown for the first time and I saw some Mennonites, I was shocked. It was like a cultural shock to me. So this in this case is really crazy. I think the community itself has a lot to do with why this happened. Not saying that it's the Amish's fault, but the person that we're going to be talking about today, like the person that they are, it is honestly really just

[B]

strange. That's all I can really say. There's not a ton I can say. We just gotta dive into the story.

[A]

We gotta dive in. We can't spoil.

[B]

Well, without further ado, this is episode 625 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[A]

In June of 2009, a 30 year old Amish woman was found dead in her bed inside a quiet Ohio farming community. At first glance, the crime seemed unthinkable in her tight knit world, known for their simplicity, faith and tradition. But as investigators dug deeper, they uncovered contraband cell phones, salacious online relationships, and a life in hiding that no one saw coming. This is the murder of Barbara Weaver and the story of someone whose Internet Persona was the Amish stud. Barbara Miller was born on February 2, 1979 in the small city of Orrville, Ohio in and she was raised in the Andy Weaver Amish community. This is what we're talking about today. I didn't know what this meant. I didn't know there were like different Amish community. So for anybody else who doesn't know, basically the Amish are divided into different church affiliations. They're not just like one big group who follow the same rules.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And the Andy Weaver community in particular is one of the more conservative groups. And they're known for having especially strict standards. Like for example, members typically travel by horse and buggy, they wear plain clothing and they follow church rules that shape nearly every aspect of daily life. Marriage of course, is considered a lifelong commitment and divorce is generally not permitted.

[B]

Yeah, they. They don't like that.

[A]

Yeah, they really do not. Which also plays into what we're going to be talking about today. Now, the Andy Weaver community speak a dialect of German called Pennsylvania Dutch, though the children are taught English growing up, so they do know English as well. And most in the community are also fluent in English, so they speak both languages. Members are permitted to ride in a car, but they're forbidden from driving or owning one. And they can use a telephone but are not allowed to have one of their own. And remember this for later, but also because of their strict rules against phones, there are no pictures of Barbara Weaver, which is crazy.

[B]

That's another first, I think on Going west we don't have a single picture of the victim in today's story.

[A]

I think it is a first. Maybe there was one other time, but it was because it was such an old case.

[B]

But yeah, it was like a case from like the 1800s or something. Right.

[A]

But this one took place, this one takes place in 2009. So the fact that it's 2009 and she's a 30 year old woman and we don't have a picture of her, this is very, very rare. So the religion's practice of humility forbids pictures because pictures are seen as vain and even self serving.

[B]

Yeah, God, so selfish. Taking a photo of yourself. Come on, you're not hot.

[A]

Barbara was known for being soft spoken, kind and devoutly religious. She loved to write and to read and she had so many close friends. Now, many of you probably know what roomspringa is, but for those who don't, it begins at the age of 16 and it's a time for Amish young adults to kind of enjoy a more lax approach to the rules of their faith and experiment with the outside world. And many choose to try alcohol or like mingle with people from the English world, which is what they call outsiders of the church. We're going to say English people a lot today. We're not talking about, you know, we're

[B]

just talking about, you know, people that are not within the Amish community. So the outside world, anybody living in

[A]

America that is not Amish, yes, those are English people. So after having this exposure from room Springa, 10 to 15% of the Amish population actually leave the community. So you know, it makes, they got

[B]

a little taste of that alcohol.

[A]

You know, it makes sense.

[B]

You know, it's like you get, you get a little bit of freedom here.

[A]

You know, this reminds me of that show Breaking Amish Don't Come for Me. It was a good show.

[B]

I actually never seen it, but I know a lot of people really like that show.

[A]

I mean it was fun. It was like, I think it aired a few years after this case takes place. But it's like it's young people who, some of them didn't, you know, was very much the reality TV lens of some of them had already left the community and they were on the show. But yeah, it's like Amish people leaving their community and meeting people and going to like, modern bars, of course, and going out and drinking and dating.

[B]

Can you imagine not having that for like most of your life? And then all of a sudden you thrust into society and you're able to go to like, movies and concerts and events?

[A]

It's. It's the ultimate culture shock.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So of course, because of, I'm just going to say, restrictions of their religion, a lot of youths will kind of get a taste of the outside world and they'll be like, I like this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

According to Barbara's family, though, Barbara was so devout that she spent her roomspringa having sleepovers with her friends and reading books like Sweet Valley High and the Babysitters club, which she would typically not be allowed to consume, which just like breaks my little heart.

[B]

The babysitter's club. I mean, that's, that's a throwback.

[A]

Like, she wasn't going wild and going to the bar. She just wanted to read and hang out with her friends.

[B]

Well, Barbara and her future husband, Eli Weaver, this is who we're going to be talking a lot about today. Had known each other since they were children. He was known for being charismatic, charming, and magnetic, which honestly kind of allowed him to get away with things that his peers may not have been able to. Eli was a troublemaker from a young age, and many in the community felt that his parents kind of like enabled or covered for his bad behavior. So although he may not have been the most responsible or faithful member of the community, he was an eligible and hard working bachelor.

[A]

He's like the Amish bad boy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is, which is really funny because in.

[B]

Get that guy a leather jacket.

[A]

In this community where so many people are very traditional with their values and the things they do and the things they say, he was kind of like the guy that stood out a little bit, which I'm sure really fascinated a lot of the women and men.

[B]

I guess that's why it's a little different. So they call him the Amish Stud, which, by the way, when you see a picture of this guy, there is. I don't know how he got the name Stud.

[A]

He called himself the Amish Stud. Yeah. Nobody gave him that.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, he also ran a successful business, which was a hardware, fishing and hunting store that catered to both the Amish community as well as the. The English, the, the outsiders. So Barbara and Eli were married on May 27, 1999. After courting for a year or dating for a year. They settled in Apple Creek, Ohio, just 15 to 20 minutes drive from where they had been living and moved into a property on his family's farm. So they were very much still in, you know, this Andy Weaver community and not far from their family.

[A]

I wonder how far it was on horse and buggy, though. Yeah, yeah, I think it was like 15 miles. Ish.

[B]

Yeah. They couldn't, because again, they couldn't own a car. Well, Barbara gave birth to five children in seven years, bringing them Wayne, Alan, Emma, Marvin and Marie. So in 2009, when today's story takes place, 30 year old Barbara was in charge of caring for the five children under the age of nine. Nine, as well as maintaining the family home, while Eli, of course, made the money to keep them afloat. And although this seemed like her dream life, she was secretly worried that Eli was not the man that she thought he was. Early on, she noted Eli's obsession with sex and found that he could be rough and demanding in the bedroom. She wrote in her journal that he refused to kiss her while they were being intimate and that he was insatiable and also wanted her to perform oral sex on him, which is an act that she found obscene and grotesque and something that is not, you know, a common practice in the sex lives of the Amish. Eli also had a temper and he shoved and hit her on multiple occasions. However, to anybody that asked, Barbara maintained that she wasn't afraid of him and that she didn't think that he would ever intentionally harm her. Which girl? I mean, he did physically harm you, you know. So while Barbara was trying to uphold some semblance of the simple, godly traditional life that she loved, there was little that she could do about her husband's wandering eye and his fascination with the outside world. Because Eli was enamored with the lives of the English and in particular the women outside of the Amish faith.

[A]

Though the Amish generally frowned upon counseling and therapy because it's believed to be indulgent and immod, which we're going to talk about actually how that shifted a lot in this particular community. But at that time it was kind of frowned upon, which is really disappointing. But still, Barbara and Eli started seeing a counselor together, one that was sanctioned and approved through the church.

[B]

Yeah, because everything has to go through the church first.

[A]

Yeah. This was specifically for the Amish and Mennonite communities. But Eli soon demanded that they stop attending these sessions. Like, it's very clear that she wants to do everything to make her husband happy. She wants to be a good wife. She wants to be a good mother. She wants to keep a good home and keep things strong between them. And he's like, doesn't give a shit. So just wanting to do whatever she could to avoid a very frowned upon divorce, Barbara continued to write to her counselor behind her husband's back, having her sister Fanny field the letters, which is so sad. She's, like, going behind her husband's back to try to save their marriage, you know, like.

[B]

Exactly. She can't. She can't go directly to Eli because he doesn't care. He doesn't want anything to do with these therapy sessions.

[A]

Well, in one letter, Barbara wrote candidly, quote, where did my friend, love, and trustworthy husband go to? He hates me to the core. Which is also really sad because Barbara's not doing anything wrong. He shouldn't hate her. And he hates that she is following these more traditional values that he once valued himself, and now he has this taste of the English world. He wants to kind of dip his toes in something a little more exotic.

[B]

He wants to. Essentially wants to break Amish, Right?

[A]

He does, but he's blaming Barbara for not being that person. Even though this is the amazing woman that he married and he's the one who's wandering, but he's blaming her for it.

[B]

Well, the more we talk about Eli, the more you guys will realize that he is simply just a monster.

[A]

Well, pretty soon, Eli began existing in both the Amish and the English worlds. And remember, you know, he said that he owned a store. Well, his store offered him a very convenient opportunity to jump between the worlds a little bit, since he served the English, too. So he was always exposed to them. In her many journal passages, Barbara began keeping track of his whereabouts and even maintaining a timeline of when he was and was not home. Because she's noticing that he's straying and she's, you know, like you said, she claimed that she wasn't afraid of him, but she clearly knows that something is going on and she's trying to keep herself safe and figure out what he's doing. Yeah.

[B]

And it's not just like, hey, I'm keeping track of, like, you know, the few hours that you were gone. As you're going to point out, you know, Eli was gone for a lot longer than just a few hours, too.

[A]

Yes. And he did this for years. For years he would have his little escapes and his bouts of exit. So in one entry in her journal, Barbara wrote with frustration, quote, I asked him why he feels so little toward me to Which Eli responded, I don't know. So she started to feel that the devil had hold on her husband. Eli, of course, just didn't seem to care to spend any time with his children. Then he absolutely had to and didn't allow them to come with him to his store. That was his private space. He frequently missed family gatherings, outings, and meals, missing more than he attended, honestly, despite these gatherings being a key piece of bonding time for Amish families, more than once, this is what Heath was just talking about. Eli had taken off for weeks and even months at a time, leaving Barbara to keep their home life together and maintain the household duties and care for the children all on her own, without access to his finances. And get this, in 2006, he moved out of the family home for six whole months, moving in with an English woman, and only went back to Barbara and their children when things kind of soured with his new living girlfriend. Like, he had the gall.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To leave his family for another woman. He's like, just come back.

[B]

Yeah. He's like, it's not working out, so I guess I'll go back to my fucking family.

[A]

Well, eventually, Barbara moved herself and her children off of Eli's family property and closer to her sister, because, you know, Eli had just taken off, and Barbara needed the support. She's like, I'm all by myself over here on your family's property. I want to go back home. Her mother also, by the way, was in ailing health, and she was being cared for by her sister Fanny, at the time. So Barbara just really wanted to be close to them. Barbara's friends and family even crowdfunded $6,000 to help her get on her feet and settle and move. But when Eli decided that he wanted to come back, he stole the rest of her money from her checkbook.

[B]

And that's this. That's probably, like, the least shitty thing that he does in this episode. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, there's so much more than that, because actually, this piece of shit was known for withholding money, even even though Barbara was home with their children and had no access to her own funds. He once even refused to give her the money to bake a few pies for a church gathering that she had, you know, committed to. And Barbara was mortified that she couldn't fulfill her promise.

[A]

That's so sad. She just wants to make pies for the church. Can't even do that.

[B]

Well, though his store did well, and he made enough money to care for his family. They were often without food and basic necessities just because of Eli's selfishness. Like Eli actually offered them only $300 a month for groceries and household goods for the family of six, seven. $300 for an entire month for a family of seven.

[A]

Insane. He's such an.

[B]

After his six month stint away, Eli returned to the community, repented with the bishop and was accepted back into the faith. Since the Amish are known for forgiveness,

[A]

this is going to be such a trend as well. He like does really shitty things and then he's like, he runs to the church and says me?

[B]

Yeah, I did a bad thing. And they're like, okay, you're in.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

On the night of Monday, June 1, 2009, a storm ripped through Ohio's quiet Amish country. The night before brought a ninth birthday party for her oldest son Wayne, which was held at the home of the Troyers. Now this was where Barbara's sister Fanny actually lived with her husband and her four children for the next two nights. Barbara's seven year old son Allen slept over at Fanny's house after the party as his cousin was also 7 and one of Fanny's daughters was sleeping over at the Weavers as well. That Monday night, Eli arrived home late, hoping to catch just a few short hours of sleep before he needed to get up for a fishing trip to Lake Erie with a few English friends of his. Now most of the children had fallen asleep in the living room, so he carried them upstairs, leaving only his niece and oldest son Wayne asleep downstairs. But after hearing Marie crying, his niece went upstairs as well. Wayne was the only child left in the living room, sleeping in his dad's recliner on the other side of his parents bedroom wall. At one point in the night, Wayne woke up to the sound of what he thought was like this massive thunderclap. But he fell right back asleep.

[A]

Later that morning, before anyone else in the house was up, Eli's friends came by to pick him up. Of course, these are the English friends. But it took a while for him to come outside and his friends even had to get out of the car to summon him. Like he just, he wasn't coming out. They're like, why isn't he up? He knows to expect us. What's going on in that house?

[B]

Yeah, we're going on a fishing trip.

[A]

By Eli's recollection, he rose groggily and Barbara helped him get dressed before going back to bed. Imagine helping your capable husband get dressed every day. Yikes.

[B]

Yeah, like you know, if it was

[A]

wake up and dress Me?

[B]

Yeah, if it was you and I, it's just like, you know, I try to be as quiet as possible. And Eli's like, hey, Mommy, wake up. Bless me. You're 30, bro. Get it together.

[A]

So that morning, Eli's fishing buddies again noticed that things just weren't weird. Not only did he not really come out in the morning, but he was also very quiet and very preoccupied by the contraband cell phone he owned.

[B]

The contraband cell cell phone?

[A]

Yeah, because remember, Even though he's 30

[B]

years old, can't have a cell phone.

[A]

Can't have a cell phone no go in his community. But of course, he had one anyway, because Eli is a bad boy. So they stopped for breakfast, and Eli ordered an enormous amount of food, you know, while his family's freaking starving at home. But he barely touched any of it. They also noticed that he kept sneaking into the bathroom with his phone. So he's being really sus. And I want you guys to remember this for later, how much he's on his phone this morning and how weird he's acting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're clocking it. They're like, he's being really. And he's not enjoying the fishing trip like we're supposed to.

[B]

Yeah, he's just. He's preoccupied with something else in his mind.

[A]

Well, back in the car on the way to the fishing trip, he seemed caught in this intense conversation over text still. And he was, like, shielding his phone with his jacket. He didn't want anybody reading what he was texting somebody on the phone that he wasn't allowed to have.

[B]

Very secretive, this guy.

[A]

Later that morning, back at the Weaver home, the family got a bit of a late start as well, despite Barbara's preference to rise early every day so that she could write in her journal before getting her kids up and starting breakfast. But since she weirdly wasn't getting up, Barbara's young niece kind of took that task on herself because she really enjoyed playing house. Remember, all these kids are under 10, so she's a very young girl, but she, you know, this is also, I think, kind of how they're conditioned in this more traditional role of women or the homemakers. And so this was something that actually kind of excited her.

[B]

So the niece is trying to get all the other kids up for the day.

[A]

Yes. And she's saying, I'm going to take on Barbara's task. So she started getting the younger ones up for the day, but soon enough, because there's so many kids, she kind of fell in over her head. So Then she went to summon her aunt Barbara in her room. That's when Barbara's nine year old son Wayne awoke to confusion and screaming and went to his mom's bed. Seeing her still and lifeless, her lips blue and blood spatter behind her, and pulling back that blanket, he spotted a bullet hole through his mom's chest. And remember that thunderclap that he heard in the night? Yeah, that was the gunshot. 30 year old Barbara had been killed with a 410 caliber shotgun that had been pressed right up against the down comforter, blowing a smoky hole through the blankets, pulling before striking her clean in the chest and killing her almost instantly.

[B]

At that point, Wayne ran across the street to their neighbor's house to get help. And this neighbor, Linda Yoder, came to the house and confirmed the discovery. While her husband gathered the children outside of the house so that Linda could run to another house to find somebody who potentially could access a phone and then could call for help.

[A]

Which is crazy because of course they don't have phones, nobody has phones and they probably never need a call for help. And now they're like, somebody's dead, we need the authorities and they don't have a phone.

[B]

Well, it seemed like it was obvious who could have done this from the jump because the neighbors remember nine year old Wayne saying, quote, if this was my dad, he's had it. Barbara's murder came just a week before she and Eli's 10 year anniversary. As you can imagine, shockwaves rippled through the community. I mean this was only their second murder in about 250 years.

[A]

That's wild. So that nobody is equipped for this situation. Nobody knows what to do, not at all.

[B]

Eli, who was still out fishing with his friends, was called by two different people from back at his house as this news was spreading, calling the phones of the English friends that he was with. But at first he heard that Barbara was merely unresponsive and that she may not be dead yet. So he's like, well, maybe she's not dead yet. But the second call brought the news that she had been found deceased and that she was being examined as the beginning of a murder investigation. So of course Eli was summoned back home to deal with the murder and was instructed to head straight to the sheriff's station for questioning. And although, you know, these friends with him that day remembered seeing him sobbing, they also did note that they didn't see any tears coming out of his face.

[A]

These friends are really, they're clocking in, they're paying attention.

[B]

Well, Eli told police that he Left the house, of course, at about 3:30am after being woken up by his friends and told that he was running late. Like we said, he claims that Barbara had gotten up to help him get dressed and then headed back to bed when Eli left. When he was asked about the state of his marriage, he admitted that he would call it fair, but that they were working through things and that they were both committed to their union.

[A]

I think she's very committed to the union. Yeah.

[B]

But as you're gonna see, Eli was very much not committed. When he was pressed about the state of their marriage, he finally relented and told them that he had had two affairs, but that that didn't make him a murderer.

[A]

Never does, does it?

[B]

He named two English women. These two women that he was apparently having affairs with. This was Dandy Ray Heasley and Barb Raber.

[A]

So Dandy Heasley was around 25 when today's story takes place. And Eli was about 30 years old, by the way. They met while she was shopping at a store and he was taken with her instantly. You know, again, she's an English woman. He's probably taken very easily by women who are not in the Amish community. Yeah, yeah, he's like a woman. As for Barbara, who was 39 at the time this story takes place, Eli had known Barb for years because she had served as a driver for the Amish community and he often hired her to drive him for his obligations. Again, she was about 10 years older than Eli and actually too was married. She had a husband named Ed and three young sons. She was adopted at a young age by a bishop for the Amish church along with two other girls. But Barb actually eventually left the Amish community for the slightly more open minded Mennonite community, married her husband Ed, and began driving for the local Amish community, who, like we said, were unable to drive, but they were permitted to be driven in a car. She's still in the community, but she's also like. Feels like she's kind of half out of the community, which is why she could also be considered English because she wasn't as devout.

[B]

Yeah. And that's why she was able to, you know, drive, essentially start this Amish taxi service.

[A]

Right, yeah. So true. She was a known hoarder. And the Raber family home was in a constant state of disarray and turmoil. Heath has a really a clown frown on.

[B]

Yeah, well, I'm just gonna say you hate Barb. Barb is a terrible person, but she's. It's also very rough. 39.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Sorry. It's true.

[A]

We're gonna get into that. Yeah, I. I think it's funny. No offense. I think it's kind of interesting. Anytime we talk about a mistress, you assume that this is going to be like. Not to say anybody could be better than Barbara. I just mean, I think you always imagine the mistress has to be hot. And in this situation, you're like, what the fuck?

[B]

Well, you know, you've got Eli over here with his fucking Lloyd Christmas haircut. They put a goddamn bowl on his head and just went straight across that bitch.

[A]

Yeah. Eli is no stud.

[B]

No, he is not.

[A]

But wait, it's gonna be really interesting when we get into the Amish studio stuff. I don't know how this man got women.

[B]

That part is so unhinged.

[A]

It's so unhinged. Okay, so back to Barb. Barb and Eli actually started having an affair when she began driving him around the community about 10 years prior to Barbara's death. I know we're all doing the math there. That would have been around the same time that he and Barbara got married.

[B]

Yeah. So as soon as he got married, he's already stepping out.

[A]

Already stepping out. And he was only about 20 years old, and Barb was 29. So it's like from this young age, you had your room springa a couple years earlier. I'm just so disappointed that he didn't determine earlier on, before getting married, that this wasn't the lifestyle that he wanted when he clearly already knew that as he's getting married, because he's already stepping out with this English woman.

[B]

Sure, he had his opportunity. He didn't take it.

[A]

And then somebody had to pay with their life for that.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So back to the murder. Eli consented to letting them search his home, of course, where the murder took place and his business. And there were two guns found in the house, but neither of them were the gun that killed Barbara Weaver. Detectives noted that the back door had been left unlocked, but robbery was ruled out as a motive because there was cash left behind in two different locations inside the home. And there was no sign of forced entry. There was no sign of a struggle or any disturbance in the home like this. Nothing was missing. This motive felt very personal.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Somebody came in there to kill Barbara, and they killed her quickly.

[B]

Well, at Barbara's funeral gatherings, which are historically simple for the Amish, offering no eulogy, but instead just focusing on worship, multiple attendees kept their distance from Eli, already suspecting his guilt like it was noted that at one point he walked past her body and he wailed and nearly collapsed. But again, nobody could see any tears coming from his face.

[A]

Give it a rest.

[B]

Well, another attendee noted that it was the first time in months or even years that he had seen Eli pay his children any attention at all.

[A]

That's so sad.

[B]

It's very sad. One local woman named Tabitha Milton, who had also had an affair with Eli.

[A]

Jesus.

[B]

Yeah. Remembered Barb Raber saying in the aftermath of the murder that Barbara Weaver had been shot with a 410 gauge shotgun, which of course was information that had not yet been made public at the time.

[A]

Yeah, that's not something you want to share.

[B]

So both Barb and her husband, Ed Raber, were questioned in the aftermath of the murder. And Ed swore that they both had been home in bed at the time that Barbara was killed. However, he admitted that he had been asleep, so he couldn't have been entirely sure if she had left at some point in the night or not. Dandy Ray Heasley was also questioned and tipped off police that Eli had a computer and a cell phone.

[A]

You tell him.

[B]

Yeah. Despite these items being off limits in his religion, and that she had seen him using these devices at the store where they met. Thus, a search of Eli's devices revealed a troubling and unknown dark side to Eli that even his wife hadn't been privy to. He had been searching for pornography and talking to women on dating websites, including one called Moco Space, which he used to stock chat rooms to flirt with and proposition women. Eli posted a shirtless photo of himself on this site, giving himself the handle Amish stud.

[A]

This is where it comes in.

[B]

Yeah. And the caption read, quote, who wants to do an Amish guy? He had over 140 matches in his Moco account, including profiles with handles such as Too Much Ass, 69, Smiley Girl, Short and thick, sexy baby girl, Sexy goddess and naughty little sex slave.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

Who wants to do an Amish guy?

[B]

Eli had affairs with at least 10 women, despite telling the police that that there had only been two. And many of these women actually came forward in the wake of the murder to admit that they had slept with him and to offer up any information that they had and, you know, in hopes of getting this crime solved.

[A]

It's just crazy. The underbelly of this man's life. Like if nobody said anything about him having a cell phone and police decided to assume that he didn't have one because he's Amish. Yeah, like so much was Uncovered on his devices that he wasn't supposed to have and proved that he had been lying.

[B]

Yeah, he had this crazy, secret life outside of his faith and outside of the Amish community that really nobody was privy to, except for, I guess, the women that he was sleeping with.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So Dandy had actually been aware that he was married, but he had been able to kind of talk her into going along with it. And they were not subtle about the affair.

[A]

No, no, no.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Even getting caught having sex in his store during working hours.

[A]

This man is so stupid.

[B]

Probably the reason why he didn't want to take his kids to the store with him, because he's, like, using his store as a place where he can fuck.

[A]

It's his playground. It's so freaking creepy. So, during his stints in the English world, Eli enjoyed dating an exotic dancer and fathered a baby with an English woman that Barbara didn't know about, of course. Like, traditional values, my ass.

[B]

Yeah, he didn't have any values whatsoever.

[A]

He even paid child support for the baby behind Barbara's back. So all while he's giving her, like, measly change for the monthly food, he's stepping out. He's living with an English woman for six months, fathering a baby with a different one. What the hell? He also told a friend of his that he didn't care to be married and that if it wasn't for his children, he would have left Barb years ago. So he tried to find his way around it. Hence why a year before Barbara's murder, Eli asked a friend of his to help kill his wife. But when the friend seemed shocked in response because.

[B]

Because obviously, that's insane.

[A]

Yeah. So then Eli's like, oh, wait, I was just kidding.

[B]

No, it's just. Just jokes.

[A]

Well, after being caught having sex in his store with an English woman, the member of the Amish community who found them, because this was an Amish person, reported it to their bishop. He's like, eli is having sex in public with a woman that is not his wife. And an English woman at that.

[B]

In his store.

[A]

In his store. The bishops then brought this up as a very serious matter to Eli. But just like you guys are probably guessing already, Eli initially denied it, but eventually admitted that he had strayed from the church and he needed help getting on track. And the bishop says, you are forgiven.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

But, of course, nothing about his behavior changed. Dandy also revealed some more shocking details. That Eli had also asked her if she had any interest in helping him kill his wife. But she, too, of Course was shocked and said, absolutely not. So he brushed it off and again and said he was just kidding.

[B]

This is so, so crazy to me.

[A]

Like, testing the water.

[B]

He's really testing the waters. But he's also such a loudmouth. He's going around to all these different people being like, hey, want to kill my wife with me? And then they're like, no, you freak. And he's like, oh, no, that was just, I'm just kidding. It was just a joke. Like, how stupid could you be?

[A]

And how could he think that this wasn't going to come forward if he eventually did find somebody to kill his wife? But the investigation did slow down because the famously tight lipped community was just not prone to talking to outsiders, especially the police. You know, they dealt with everything in the home and in the community. So they're like, we're not going to say anything. But even more surprising was that the search of Eli's devices revealed that he had discussed family annihilation with his lover Barb, and that they had hatched possible plans of poisoning his wife and five children or bombing the house with the six of them inside. Eli actually texted Barb, just blow up the house or something. Exclamation point.

[B]

He is such a fucking monster.

[A]

He also like the. Just blow up the house or something.

[B]

Yeah, like nonchalantly.

[A]

And also like telling Barb to do it, girl. Just blow up the house.

[B]

Yeah, just, just do that for me.

[A]

He also floated the idea of hitting Barbara with a car. Since Barb was a driver, he's like coming up with all, hey, can you. What about this? You like this one? Is this better?

[B]

How do you want to kill my wife?

[A]

Exactly like, oh, my God. But when Barb couldn't fathom why he would kill his children as well, he expressed to her that they were mere collateral damage and that he was so eager to be rid of them that it would be worthwhile. He added that because they were innocent, they would be sent to heaven immediately, which they were better off for anyway. Writing to Barb, quote, we know they would go straight to heaven if it would happen that way.

[B]

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[B]

Start your free trial at shopify dot com goingwest. On the morning of Barbara's murder, Barb Raber and Eli were in touch via text through the hours of the early morning. Around 3am, Eli alerted Barb that he was leaving the house and reminded her to bring a flashlight. And then later reminded her not to lose anything as she fled.

[A]

When you're inside my house killing my wife, don't forget a flashlight. And don't forget to leave anything behind.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh my God. Right? Right in the flesh of the text.

[B]

But what's so funny here is that Barb responded that she was scared even texting him. Damn, Eli, I don't know if I can. It's too scary. To which he simply texted back a cheery morning. The bottom door is open.

[A]

He's like, too bad you're doing it.

[B]

When Barb arrived there around 4am clarifying that she could park her car, she later claimed that she hoped that Eli would come to his Senses and express concern for her well being. But of course, he did not. So she carried out the murder as they planned. Later that day, she texted him, quote, I just don't want to lose you. Later, when the search warrant was served to her home, authorities removed multiple cell phones, including one that was hidden behind the TV and multiple laptop computers, scouring them for, you know, any correspondence that she and Eli had. So it's really interesting here because their ignorance about technology led them to kind of like, neglect the fact that even if you get rid of these devices, the texts are able to be downloaded from the carrier. Yeah, yeah, they're gonna find it.

[A]

Which is why it's so wild. It's almost like when Eli was texting her morning, like, he didn't know that that was going to be found because it's very easy to recover that kind of stuff.

[B]

Yeah, an Amish guy using technology to try and cover murder. Imagine that.

[A]

Imagine, well, that clearly he doesn't know technology very well and how it works because he's Amish.

[B]

Well, Eli's store was searched as well, and a box of.410 slugs from Eli's shop revealed that there was one missing. Remember, in his initial line of questioning, Eli's clothes and hands were tested for gunshot residue, but none was found. So without the texts and such, you know, there's no physical evidence that he was responsible. But get this. The day after the murder, June 3, 2009, the community phone booth received a voicemail that read, quote, eli, you can run, but you can't hide. Obviously, we got the wrong person last night.

[A]

The call is coming from inside the house.

[B]

Yeah, of course. But Eli had told police that, you know, he believed Barbara's murder had been carried out by a girl gang from one of the larger cities in the region, like Akron or Cleveland.

[A]

Of course, because he's deflecting. He's like, it must be one of those big city gangs.

[B]

Yeah. So it's clear that he was hoping that this call would prove it. However, when played for multiple people, it was confirmed to be the voice of a family friend of Barb's named David, who was also familiar with Eli Weaver.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

So they set this up. They had this guy leave a voicemail at the community phone booth, being like, we're gonna get you, Eli. And it's literally just, you know, it was all set up.

[A]

David.

[B]

It's just David. We know David.

[A]

On June 10, 2009, following the discovery of the insane text messages, a warrant was issued for 39 year old Barb Raber. And she was arrested in her home. If you're watching on YouTube, you see that this mug shot goes kind of crazy. This is Eli's mistress, people. And if you want to see it, you can also check our socials if you're listening on podcast apps. I like. I hate that we have a picture of her and not Barbara Weaver, but this is what we're working with, people. I'm sure Barbara was much more beautiful. At the same time, Eli was arrested at his home while his children looked on. When Barb was questioned following her arrest, she gave a flurry of confusing statements and conflicting accounts of the days surrounding Barbara's murder. Of course, girl doesn't know what to say.

[B]

Yeah, she has no idea.

[A]

At first, Barb claimed that the murder had been an accident and that she arrived at the house around 4am admitting, Yes, I did kill her, but it was an accident, and here's what I did.

[B]

Yeah, I brought a gun to the house, but whoops.

[A]

Remember, though, at this point, there's no evidence tying her to the scene. It's just the text messages, and it's just what people are saying. She's the one who. Who's telling them. So she said that she entered the house and saw Barbara sleeping and that she only intended to wake Barbara up and scare her with the gun, kind of intimidate her, but that it discharged and she panicked and fled back to her home, returning the shotgun to her husband's gun cabinet. But this began a series of massive inconsistencies that continued throughout her trial. At one point, Barb said that Eli hadn't known about her actions at all. And at another point, she claimed that he had known about the murder and had been instrumental in orchestrating it. Like, girl, we have the text. Like, why are you. Why are you trying to protect him?

[B]

Yeah. And you're. It's because, you know, she's. She's in love with Eli. Eli doesn't give a about her. He's using her to get rid of his wife so that he can go be a player outside of the Amish community. Right.

[A]

And it's just like that text you read where she said that she was afraid. What'd you say? I just don't want to lose you.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So it's very clear that she is going to do what Eli wants her to do because she wants to stay in his good graces.

[B]

He's pulling the strings. He's completely manipulating her.

[A]

Well, then she actually insisted that it had all been Eli's idea and that he Pulled the trigger, not her. So she's. She's all over the place.

[B]

Oh, yeah. At first it's, you know, it was an accident. Then it's like Eli did it. She doesn't know what to say here.

[A]

Eli didn't know about it, but actually he was responsible. What is the truth? But as we know, on the morning of June 2, 2009, Eli texted Barb that he would leave the back door unlocked intentionally so that she could sneak in, shoot his wife, and then flee. And that storm just provided extra coverage since it was so loud that night, which is kind of wild that it happened. And again, their son Wayne thought that it was a thunderclap and it was actually a gunshot. It's just wild that they thought, there's a storm. You'll sneak in, you'll do it. I'm gonna be gone with my buddies, and no one will be the wiser. Yeah, it's the worst plan ever.

[B]

It really comes off as, like, a scene from, like, a thriller film, you know what I'm saying? Like, the storm outside, and the person walks in with the gun and the

[A]

thunderclop right as she's standing over the bed.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. The lightning, you could see it through the window, you know, as it flashes. But this actually did, as we're gonna get into this, was actually made into a Lifetime movie.

[A]

I'm sure. I watched it last night.

[B]

You did?

[A]

Nice.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I wonder if anybody else has seen it. Let us know. It's. It's fun.

[B]

Well, Barb's claim that she shot Barbara by mistake was disproved in the autopsy, as it was clear that the gun had been positioned directly over Barbara at the time she was killed. But strangely, when her husband's gun safe was searched, there was no gun inside that matched the gauge with which Barbara was shot. So Barb changed her story yet again and couldn't remember how she had gotten the gun or whether she had fired the shot at all.

[A]

This is just ridiculous. Make it stop.

[B]

Now. Interestingly, her friend David, you know, remember, this is the guy from the payphone call. Apparently loaned Barb a.410 shotgun over a year before the murder and couldn't remember if he had gotten it back from her.

[A]

How do you forget if you have your gun or not?

[B]

They probably got a lot of guns.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

But there were two 410 shotguns at Eli's store, though they didn't appear to have been ever fired, despite the fact that a slug was missing from one of the new boxes of ammunition. So they're like, there are two guns there that are the same gauge, but these two guns were never fired. So therefore, this couldn't. These couldn't be the murder weapon.

[A]

A lot of 410s over here.

[B]

Yeah. And then there was the.410 shotgun that she had bought in the month leading up to the murder. So investigators just could not find the actual gun that took Barbara Weaver's life. Now, Barb's husband, again, this is Ed Raber, was absolutely dumbfounded in the aftermath of his wife's arrest, having had no idea about the affair. Later, police hoped to gain a plea bargain for Barb's testimony against Eli. But Barb declined to officially turn on Eli. Whereas Eli, of course, accepted.

[A]

Of course, he's like, fuck you, Barb. I. I don't need you anymore.

[B]

Yeah, he doesn't care. And he pleaded to conspiracy to commit murder and agreed to testify against Barb at her trial. He seemed to have no trouble pinning the majority of the responsibility on his former lover. While he was in prison awaiting trial, he wrote to a family member from jail explaining to quote, I was feeling down one day, and Barb texted me and wanted to have sex with me. And I told her no. But I must say, I did give it some time that day. And she was upset and told me that she wished she could do away with my wife so that she could have me whenever she wanted me. Barb's trial began on September 16, 2009, and there were no members of the jury from the Amish community, as the Amish believe so staunchly in the forgiveness of those who have done wrong. And actually, the Amish were officially excused from serving jury duty in Ohio in 2004, so they don't have to serve jury duty.

[A]

Fascinating. Yeah, there's your excuse. People get out of jury duty, turn Amish. I'm Amish. The damning searches found on Barb's cell phone and computer were read aloud for the courtroom to hear. And between April and July of 2009, remember, Barbara was killed on June 2, 2009. Barb searched over 800 terms related to the murder.

[B]

Oh, and these searches are so insane.

[A]

Where can I get strychnine poison? What? Poisons kill humans? How much lye can kill a person? Fastest way to kill someone. Kill yourself pills. 10 best ways to kill yourself.

[B]

Kill yourself pills. What?

[A]

And rat poison. Suicide, among many, many others. I mean, at one point, Eli did actually attempt to poison Barbara by making her a drink with an overdose of sleeping pills in it. But Barbara caught on before anything happened and refused to drink it.

[B]

That is so sad because even after she got this inkling that Eli was trying to poison her to death, she still decided that she wanted to stay committed to him.

[A]

Well, yeah, because she kind of just maintained her hope that they could rekindle their relationship. And she had this faith in her husband and in their deeply rooted Amish faith. So this really kept her from walking away, which again, is so sad because Barbara was such a good wife and a good partner and a good mother and she was doing everything right and he just wanted a different lifestyle and he blamed her for it and he took it out on her.

[B]

And of course, again, you know, it was frowned upon to get divorced within the Amish community. So she's just trying to do her best to like, remain a faithful wife and mother and, and, you know, do right by her religion.

[A]

Well, throughout the trial, Barb maintained her stance that she had shot Barbara by accident. She went back to her original idea, but she was so naive that she had been openly speaking about intimate details of her case on the phone in prison. These people like Barb and and Eli

[B]

are just ding dongs.

[A]

Barb also complained incessantly on the phone about how she felt that the women in prison were trashy, ungodly, and far too sexually forward.

[B]

Girl, you're in prison.

[A]

And that they swore too much. She really didn't like that. But she can murder somebody. But God forbid you say fuck yeah,

[B]

you can't say any cuss words, but, you know, murder is fine.

[A]

Now as far as things go with Eli, he testified in court in front of Barb that he had never loved her and that he had simply been leading her on and using her for rides and access to. To the outside world via the phone and the computer that she offered him.

[B]

Just stake to the heart, really.

[A]

Then on September 22, 2009, 39 year old Barb Raber was found guilty of aggravated murder and was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. When the verdict was read, Barb collapsed on the table in front of her crying, I didn't do it. I didn't do it. Well, disappointingly, per his plea deal, Eli received a lighter sentence of complicity to commit murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life.

[B]

So she got more time because obviously she was the one that pulled the trigger. But he orchestrated the whole thing. He manipulated her and he's like, I'll take the plea deal.

[A]

And they're both terrible people, but Eli is like scary. Like, not saying that Barb isn't But she was just manipulated by this. Just this schmoozer.

[B]

Yeah. This terrible human being.

[A]

But he's this, like, evil, evil person. I mean, anybody's evil who murders, but you get what I'm saying. In the courtroom, the Amish attendees there to support Barbara Weaver either lowered their heads or stood and turned their backs on Eli, indicating an official shunning from the Amish community.

[B]

Yeah, you gone, boy.

[A]

This. Yeah. This time they're not forgiving you. After the verdict, Eli told the courtroom, I'm very sorry for what I did, and I hope everybody here can forgive me for what I did. Too late.

[B]

No, thanks.

[A]

I mean, this is. This is. What's so frustrating is he's offending. He's offending, and he just thinks, oh, well, everything I do can be forgiven because my people are so forgiving. But you're stepping out on your people. You just murdered one of the amazing people of your people, your first people, your wife. You know, you're one person.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You just think that anything you do is going to be okay and you're going to be forgiven.

[B]

That's just the excuse, you know, that's. He can use that. He can use that and say, well, I can do all these bad things because they're just going to. They're just going to, you know, accept me back.

[A]

I kind of wonder if part of him actually thought, because even though he was obviously in the English world as well, like, part of me almost wonders if he genuinely believed that he could be forgiven if they found out and he wouldn't be in trouble. Like, I almost wonder if he was so, like, mogged by that idea of how he was raised and the community that he was from that he almost forgot that, like, real life rules apply to things like murder.

[B]

I agree. I think he probably did.

[A]

The gun used to murder Barbara was never found. And there was never any direct evidence proving that Barb set foot in the Weaver's house on the morning of Barbara's murder. Just the texts and her changing confessions. So, again, she's the one. I almost wonder if she had said, I didn't do it. I was just texting him about it. It was a fantasy. They didn't have any evidence. She. She's the one who told them, yes, I did it, but it was an accident. If she hadn't said that, this could have gone very differently, and Eli could have. Could have fallen more on his shoulders. I wonder.

[B]

Yeah, but there was no physical evidence that was actually tying her. That was actually tying Barbara to being the one that actually pulled the trigger that morning.

[A]

Right. But still, the jury had enough. They. They knew what happened.

[B]

So in the aftermath of the murder, some members of the Amish community that Barbara left behind claimed that her murder had a lasting impact on this community, of course, and showed women that even in such a closed and conservative society, help should be available to those in danger or those in need.

[A]

Love that. I mean, finally. Took long enough.

[B]

Finally. Well, one member of the community told Rebecca Morris and Greg Olson, the authors of A Killing in Amish country, that counseling has become less discouraged now than it was within the faith because it can be seen as a tool to assist couples, you know, to overcome their worldly problems. Still, the religion remains in favor of men and those in power. And cases of sexual abuse and domestic violence, even against children, are encouraged to be handled in house with the bishops of the church instead of with the intervention of police, as well as the Department of Children and Family Services. They're like, we're still gonna do things by our way.

[A]

It's so disappointing, honestly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I feel like. I imagine there would be more abuse or less reported abuse in those type of situations when people really, like. Even in our society, where people do have resources and they have help, there's a lot of people that don't report abuse for various reasons. So imagine not having any of those resources and how infrequently it's reported then like this. It's so disappointing.

[B]

Yeah. It's a scary. Very scary situation to be in. Well, Eli has formally been shunned by the Amish community and will not be welcomed back after his release if he is released. Wildly, though, on the contrary, for Barbara, her Mennonite congregation was encouraged to write her in prison and to continue to pray for her. And in fact, members of the church took turns being assigned to write to her so that she was never without mail.

[A]

That's crazy.

[B]

I know. It's like, just give it up. She's a bad person. You don't. I don't know. Whatever.

[A]

It's like that loyalty. It's interesting that her community didn't turn on her, I think, because she said it was an accident. Maybe they just believed her.

[B]

Yeah, it's possible that they just believe that she, you know, either didn't do it or it was an accident. Ed Raber passed away in 2016 at the age of just 39, leaving his three sons without either parent. And to the end, Ed defended his wife and believed in her innocence to the point where one of his friends asked the attorneys to meet with him in a private room in the courthouse to go over the evidence in hopes of swaying his opinion like he was at trial.

[A]

How was that not enough? That's wild that they're like, please, please show him that she's guilty. But if her husband didn't believe that she was, again, maybe the rest of the Mennonite community didn't either. And they just wanted to believe what she said.

[B]

Yeah, they wanted to support her. Exactly. And what's also really interesting here is that because the gun that was used in the murder was never found, he maintained his belief that Barb just was never responsible for this crime.

[A]

Barb appealed her conviction in 2010, but was unsuccessful. In an interview after the trial, Mary Eicher, who is a neighbor and friend of the Weavers, said his wife, she genuinely cared about Eli. She would have even been willing to lay down her life for him to plot such a terrible thing to get rid of his wife just because she didn't fit into his agenda anymore. It just shows me really what an evil person he was. Like Heath mentioned earlier, Barbara's murder was turned into a Lifetime movie called the Amish Stud, as well as a book entitled A Killing in Amish Country. And the case also spawned multiple episodes of True Crime tv. Barb is currently serving her sentence at the women's prison in Marysville, Ohio, and will be eligible for parole in April of 2032. Eli is imprisoned in Grafton, Ohio, and will face a parole board for the next time in February of 2032. His first parole hearing took place in 2024, but it was denied. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[B]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Hopefully some of you guys also watched on YouTube. If you haven't subscribed, please do so.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Also, if you want to see photos of Lloyd Christmas on our socials, head on over to Instagram. We're over there at GoingWest podcast. We're also on TikTok as well as Facebook. Would love to know your thoughts about the Amish Stud.

[A]

Please comment. Let us know your thoughts. Comment on YouTube. If you're here, give us a thumbs up. Make sure, like he said, to subscribe. And if you're not, then let us know on socials what you think. Because this was such an unbelievably wild ride and it's so devastating because as crazy and comical as some of it is, just the stupidity of it all, like, Barbara did not deserve to be married to somebody like Eli. She deserved somebody who actually wanted to be there for her and support her and take care of her because that's who she was for him and he is just an evil piece of shit.

[B]

I mean honestly, the lengths that he went through through to distance himself from his own wife and his own kids and just, just everything combined from not supporting them, being a deadbeat, only giving them $300 a month.

[A]

The family annihilation.

[B]

Yeah, like literally saying just blow him

[A]

up, just blow up the house.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

Insane. Thank you guys so much for tuning in and we'll see you guys next time.

[B]

Alright guys, so for everybody out there

[A]

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