One of Barbara Weaver’s children went to a neighbor on the morning of June 2, 2009. He’d found his mother in bed and thought she was dead. The neighbor went to check. Barbara had been shot. Her husband, Eli, was on his way to fish at Lake Erie when he got a call about her. [1]
Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia · Image source · CC BY 3.0 · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence.
The unlocked door
Barbara and Eli had five children. Eli was having an affair with Barbara Raber, who had given him a cell phone. Testifying under a plea agreement, he said he and Raber had discussed ways to kill his wife. He told Raber when he’d be leaving on the fishing trip and said he left the bottom basement door unlocked. [1]
As Eli traveled toward the lake, Raber sent him messages about the dark. At 3:20 a.m., he suggested she take a light. A few minutes later she asked where he was. He said he was in Wooster and told her to leave nothing behind. At 3:29 she asked about driving behind the pines. The coroner put the death sometime between midnight and six, a window that included the messages. [1]
wilson44691 · Image source · CC0 · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence.
A voicemail after the shooting
A voicemail left on a phone outside Eli’s gun shop suggested that someone had killed the wrong person. Linda Yoder checked the message the day after Barbara’s death. The caller, David Weaver, testified that Raber had asked him to leave it. [1]
Raber initially told police the messages were a joke. She later admitted going to the house with a gun and said it fired by accident. Her account put her in the doorway. The physical evidence supported a close-range shot through the bedding. A firearms examiner identified a .410 shotgun from the evidence, and testimony established that Raber had access to guns of that type. [1]
Tysto · Image source · Public domain · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence.
The two judgments
Eli pleaded guilty to complicity to commit murder and was sentenced to fifteen years to life. A separate jury convicted Raber of aggravated murder and found that she’d used a firearm. The appellate opinion describes her sentence as a total of twenty-three years. [1] [2]
The Ohio appeals court affirmed Raber’s judgment in 2010. The majority held that her early reference to a lawyer hadn’t clearly invoked her right to counsel. Judge Eve Belfance understood it as a request for a lawyer and still voted to affirm because the other evidence made admitting the statements harmless. [1]
Case brief
Wayne County, Ohio · 2009
- Recorded outcome
- Eli Weaver pleaded guilty to complicity to commit murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in 2009. Barbara Raber was convicted of aggravated murder with a firearm specification. The Ohio Ninth District affirmed Raber’s judgment in 2010.
Key moments
People in this case
- Eli Weaver
Pleaded guilty to complicity in Barbara Weaver’s murder
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Look closer · 9 visuals
Inside the evidence.
Open a visual to explore what it contributed to the case—and the limits of what it shows. Photographs, historical reproductions and original illustrations are individually labeled. Open the notes for each image’s source, credit, and limitations; setting photographs do not depict crime scenes.
Two women named Barbara
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Names must remain distinct throughout the story.
A name guide; no invented portraits or case photographs.
The messages surround the departure
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Planning communications supplied important evidence of opportunity and intent.
Not an authentic phone screenshot or a transcription of every message.
An interval, not a known minute
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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The death certificate time did not establish exactly when the shot was fired.
No precise murder timestamp is claimed.
Shotgun evidence has limits
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Physical findings supported the prosecution alongside planning evidence.
Common pellet sizes and firearm access are not unique identification.
The wrong-target voicemail
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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The caller testified that Raber asked him to leave the message.
Not a recording or invented quotation.
One judgment, differing counsel analysis
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Judges differed about an earlier counsel statement while agreeing on affirmance.
No general advice about police interviews or Miranda rights.
Apple Creek in Wayne County, Ohio
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit.
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Apple Creek in Wayne County, Ohio. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia · Image source · CC BY 3.0
Wayne County Courthouse in Wooster
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit.
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Wayne County Courthouse in Wooster. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
wilson44691 · Image source · CC0
Architectural detail of Wayne County Courthouse
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit.
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Architectural detail of Wayne County Courthouse. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Tysto · Image source · Public domain
★ Key evidence used in a conviction · ✓ Exclusion or reversal · ◇ Disputed evidence · ⊘ Excluded at retrial · ◆ Identity / investigative finding, not a conviction. A symbol does not mean one item proved the whole case.
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Put the story on the map.
Follow the dated entries, then select an event to find its regional setting. Shared-location pins open a group of events. Evidence symbols identify important findings and their limitations.
Open the map in its own window ↗Sources & further reading
- State v. Raber, 2010-Ohio-4066 — Ohio Ninth District Court of AppealsOfficial opinion: family and relationship, planning messages, firearms, false voicemail, confession, counsel issue, conviction and appellate affirmance.
- Eli D. Weaver sentenced to 15 years to life — Sharon Haught, The Holmes County JournalContemporary courtroom account of Eli Weaver’s September 23 sentence for complicity to commit murder and his cooperation agreement.
Editorial review: 2026-11-12 · 405 words