When Barbara Weaver, an Amish housewife from Apple Creek, Ohio, was found motionless on June 2, 2009, suspicion fell on two people: her husband, Eli Weaver, and Barbara Raber, a Mennonite taxi driver.
“The Amish Affair,” a true-crime program inspired by the homicide of Barbara Weaver.
Highlights
- In the begining everything was well between Barbara and Eli Weaver but things started to change.
- Barbara’s sister knew that Eli had fling outside the Amish community.
- Eli had an affair with another Barbara (Raber) who shot Eli’s wife in the name of love.
Hannah (Mackenzie Cardwell) moves in with Aaron (Ryan McPartlin), a charismatic Amish leader, to assist with his ailing wife.
After leaving her Amish community, Hannah finds refuge with Aaron and his wife, who welcome her into their home.
While doing her chores, Hannah and Aaron feel a strong attraction towards each other.
Hannah knows their secret relationship is sinful for both of them.
However, the truth behind the shocking crime was even more scandalous than anyone had imagined.
Eli Weaver Affair Led To Take The Life Of Barbara Weaver
Identifying himself as “Amish Stud” in an online chat room, Eli Weaver left his wife twice to live outside the Amish community.
Eli and Barbara Weaver belonged to the Andy Weaver Amish, a conservative subgroup of the Old Order Amish.
This community prohibits using computers, the internet, and cell phones.
Despite this, Eli Weaver had a hidden cell phone that he used to communicate on a mobile social network.
Similarly, in the beginning, it seemed the Weavers had a happy marriage.
However, Barbara Weaver later wrote in letters to a counselor about her husband’s transformation:
“Where did my friend, love, trustworthy husband go? He now hates me to the core.”
Before Barbara Weaver’s tragic demise, her marriage to Eli was marred by infidelity that began even during their courtship.
Eli was notable for his wilder behavior than Barbara. He often partied and engaged with people outside the Amish community.
Eli’s infidelity included cheating on Barbara twice with non-Amish women and briefly leaving their marriage.
These actions led to his being shunned by the community, which required him to seek permission from elders to return.
Barbara’s sister revealed that before her death, Barbara had suspicions that Eli was once again being unfaithful.
Eli Weaver’s Ex-Marital Affair With Barbara Raber Inside The Movie ‘Amish Affair’
Barbara Raber, known as the “taxi lady,” was revealed to be a married mother of three who grew up Amish but later became Mennonite
It allowed her more modern freedoms like owning cars and cellphones.
Raber admitted to police that she had an affair with Eli, though she claimed it had ended six months before Barbara’s death.
Amish Affair Sneak Peek: Did God Sanction a Scandalous Affair? https://t.co/oF5sTgu6g9 (By @bleuangel88) pic.twitter.com/FMFfhzRV7y
— TV Fanatic (@TVFanatic) July 1, 2024
However, another woman named Dandi Heasley came forward, asserting she had a relationship with Eli after meeting an Amish stud on a dating website.
Meanwhile, investigators obtained phone records that showed Eli and Raber planned to poison her with a cupcake or carbon monoxide or cause a home explosion.
Eli even suggested his own children dying wouldn’t matter because they would go to heaven.
Raber confessed to falling in love with Eli, who persuaded her they could only be together if Barbara died.
She entered the Weavers’ home with Eli’s weapon and shot Barbara, though Raber claimed it was accidental, saying she intended only to scare her.
The film Amish Affair followed a similar tale, which “premiered on Lifetime on July 6th.
Additional Information
- In September 2009, the court convicted and sentenced Raber to 23 years to life.
- Eli Weaver accepted a plea deal and testified against Raber, and the court convicted them of complicity in committing homicide.
- Barbara’s husband, Eli Weaver, was nowhere to be found, and investigators discovered he kept hunting equipment near the home.
