Where Is Eli Weaver's Mistress Barbara Raber Now? Inside Her Life After Killing the 'Amish Stud's Wife By Caroline Blair

Barbara Raber was a former Amish woman who was convicted of killing her lover’s wife.

Raber had been raised in the Amish community by her adopted family, but she left the group after she got married, according to Snapped: Killer Couples. Even after she separated from the Amish, she didn’t completely remove herself from the community and offered rides to Amish people.

During her time as a driver, she met Eli Weaver, and he became one of her repeat customers. However, their relationship turned romantic, and they became engaged in an affair — despite Eli being married to Barbara Weaver.

Although Weaver was reportedly aware of her husband’s infidelity, she wanted to remain married to him. Eli had other plans and allegedly began conspiring to kill Weaver with the help of Raber.

On June 2, 2009, Eli left for a fishing trip and said goodbye to his wife. Later that morning, Raber entered the home with a shotgun and killed Weaver. Raber was sentenced to 23 years to life for aggravated murder while Eli testified against her and was sentenced to 15 years to life for complicity to commit murder. The story was adapted into the 2023 Lifetime movie Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story, which hit Netflix on Jan. 15.

Here’s everything to know about where Barbara Raber is now after killing Eli Weaver’s wife, Barbara Weaver.

How was Raber connected to Eli Weaver?

Raber lived in rural Ohio with her husband and their three children and was part of a Mennonite church after leaving the Amish community. She started working as a driver for the Amish and became known as the “taxi lady,” per Snapped: Killer Couples.

After Eli used her services several times, they started having an affair. At the time, Eli had been married to Weaver since 1999, and they had five children together.

Although Raber and Eli initially alleged that their affair had ended six months before June 2009, their text messages later contradicted those claims.

In addition to Eli’s affair with Raber, he had also engaged in infidelity with several other women, per The Daily Record. A woman named Dandi Heasley later came forward and claimed that they had also been involved in an affair, and additional women shared similar stories with investigators.

Eli even had a secret phone on which he created a social networking account where he referred to himself as “Amish Stud,” according to the 2017 book A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold-blooded Murder.

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How did Raber kill Weaver?

As divorce is generally not accepted in the Amish community, Eli allegedly wanted to find a way that he could get away with his affairs while remaining part of the group.

Using his secret phone, Eli texted Raber about the different ways they could kill Weaver, which included poisoning her or using carbon monoxide. The night before they carried out the murder plot, Eli texted Raber about how to delete their messages and how she could enter their house.

On the morning of June 2, 2009, Eli woke up and left his wife and five children to go on a fishing trip. While the exact details of the moments leading up to Weaver’s death remain unclear, she was ultimately found fatally shot in bed. One of the Weaver children found her there, and once paramedics reached her, she was pronounced dead.

Shortly after, police began investigating Weaver’s death and noticed that there was no sign of forced entry, leading them to believe the killer was either let in or knew where to enter. They also interviewed Eli, who denied being involved and shared his alibi of the fishing trip.

However, it didn’t take long for Weaver’s sister to contact police about her brother-in-law’s affairs. Then, Raber’s prints were found in the Weaver home.

She eventually confessed to conspiring to kill Weaver but was adamant that it was an accident. Raber alleged that she walked into the bedroom with her husband’s shotgun but wanted to back out upon seeing Weaver. Raber claimed that she only wanted to show the gun to Weaver to scare her, but alleged that the weapon accidentally went off and killed her, per Snapped: Killer Couples.

Raber alleged that she plotted to kill Weaver because Eli was unhappy in the marriage. She also revealed that she was in love with Eli, and claimed he convinced her to kill Weaver so they could be together. However, Eli accused Raber of plotting the murder by herself.

Was Raber convicted of killing Weaver?

On June 10, 2009, both Eli and Raber were arrested in connection with Weaver’s death and charged with aggravated murder, per The Daily Record. Right before he was set to go to trial, Eli was granted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder. In exchange for the lesser charge — and a 15-year to life sentence — Eli had to agree to testify against Raber at her trial.

During the September 2009 trial, Raber maintained that she shot Weaver as an accident, while Eli continued to pin the murder and the plotting on her.

A jury found Raber guilty of aggravated murder and convicted her in connection with Weaver’s death. She was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. Eli was found guilty of complicity to commit murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life.

Where is Raber now?

Raber has been serving her life sentence in the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio, since Oct. 1, 2009, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. She will be eligible for parole in April 2032.

Meanwhile, Eli is still serving his minimum 15-year sentence at Grafton Correctional Institution, and his next parole board hearing will take place in February 2032.