Naman Shrestha
Lifetime’s ‘Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story’ is a biographical crime drama movie that follows Eli and Barbara Weaver, a couple residing in the Amish community of Apple Creek, Ohio. As Barbara learns of his multiple affairs, Eli orchestrates a plan to kill her with one of the women he was having an affair with, Barbara “Barb” Raber. When Barbara was found dead in early June 2009, the entire Amish community was rattled to its core. The investigation led the police to Eli and Raber, whose arrests further shocked the community. Eventually, they were brought to justice for their crimes.
Eli Weaver Hatched a Murderous Plot to Get Rid of His Wife
Born on September 2, 1979, Eli Weaver was raised in the Andy Weaver Amish community in rural Ohio. He crossed paths with Barbara Miller, a woman from his Amish community, in the late 1990s, and sparks began to fly between them. Their relationship eventually became official when they tied the knot in 1999, following which the couple welcomed five children into the world — three boys and two girls. While Eli worked at a hunting store where he sold firearms and hunting equipment, Barbara took care of their house and children. Their marriage began on the right foot, but it began to deteriorate when his wife caught him being disloyal. Behind Barbara’s back, Eli reportedly used to meet with multiple women on the social networking website called MocoSpace, under the name of “Amish Stud.”
Although the Amish community he was a part of disallowed the usage of electronic devices, he had a secret mobile phone, through which he talked with the women he met online. Throughout their marriage, Eli reportedly left Barbara a couple of times to live outside the Amish community, once with his girlfriend, Laura Kelley. However, he returned home to his wife after a few months. Apart from his affairs, the couple also dealt with other problems, such as Eli withholding money from her. Sometime in the 2000s, Eli began an extramarital affair with a Mennonite taxi driver for the Amish, Barbara “Barb” Raber, who was married and a mother to three children. Despite promising his wife to keep being faithful to her, he continued maintaining affairs with women, including Raber.
When he couldn’t hide his affairs from Barbara any longer, he reportedly asked several people to get rid of her. Raber was the one who took his idea seriously and decided to help him. After conducting research on the internet on ways to kill a person, the two decided to kill her with a rifle after conversing mostly through text messages. In the early hours of June 2, 2009, while Eli headed out for fishing with one of his friends, Barbara got into the Weaver house in Apple Creek, Ohio, as Eli had left it open for her. During the homicide investigation, Eli initially claimed that he had nothing to do with the killing. However, later, he admitted to planning Barbara’s murder with Raber and claimed that Raber had killed her. About a week after the murder, both Eli and Raber were arrested and charged with aggravated murder.
Eli Weaver is Currently Incarcerated at an Ohio Prison Facility
Eli Weaver pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of complicity to commit murder, and in exchange, he agreed to testify against Barbara “Barb” Raber during her trial. During his testimony, he tried to minimize his involvement in the crime and told the jury that he didn’t think that she would actually commit murder. After testifying against his accomplice, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for his involvement in the murder of his wife, Barbara Weaver.
After he was sentenced, Eli was reportedly transferred to different prison facilities. During his time behind bars, he took on multiple prison jobs, including food service worker, trash crew worker, reception worker, plumber, material handler, program aide, porter, and maintenance repair worker. As of today, he is serving his sentence at Grafton Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio, with his parole eligibility date scheduled for April 2032.
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