Rebakah Weikle received consecutive life terms and will be parole eligible after 30 years.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A West Virginia woman was sentenced to two consecutive life terms after admitting she killed her 4-year-old daughter at their Summers County home in 2022, ending a case prosecutors said left investigators and the community shaken.
Rebakah Weikle, 33, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the killing of her daughter, Haley. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble ordered Weikle to serve two terms of 15 years to life, meaning she must serve at least 30 years before she is eligible for parole. Prosecutors said the plea closed a three-year investigation that centered on what happened inside the family’s home in the Forest Hill area in July 2022.
Summers County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Lefler said in court that Weikle developed resentment and jealousy toward Haley before the killing. He said investigators found digital evidence, including cellphone activity and internet searches, that helped them piece together the events inside the home. Lefler said Weikle researched ways to harm the child before the attack. “She stated that she had this great resentment towards her daughter for whatever reason, and decided to take her life,” Lefler said after the hearing. “It almost seems impossible to accept.”
Prosecutors said the attack happened after a normal day at the home. Haley went to bed, and Weikle then used a knife to kill her, according to the account presented in court. Prosecutors said Weikle hid the knife and the clothes she had been wearing, then left the child’s body in the home overnight. The next morning, Weikle told her husband, Rusty Weikle, that Haley was not awake, according to prosecutors. Rusty Weikle went to the room, found the child and told Rebakah Weikle to call 911.
Investigators said Rebakah Weikle entered the numbers into the phone but did not complete the emergency call. Prosecutors said Rusty Weikle took the phone and made the call himself. Lefler said Rebakah Weikle later tried to blame her husband, claiming he had killed Haley to cover up sexual abuse. Prosecutors said those allegations were false. As part of her plea, Weikle admitted she was solely responsible for the killing and acknowledged that the claims against her husband were not true.
The case also brought charges against Rusty Weikle, though prosecutors said he was not involved in the killing. He pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges and was sentenced to home confinement and probation. Lefler said Rusty Weikle ignored warning signs before Haley’s death, but he also said investigators did not find evidence that the father took part in the murder or the cleanup afterward. The couple’s two other children have since been adopted by another family, officials said.
The hearing included sharp statements from Haley’s father and from prosecutors, who described the case as one of the hardest they had handled. Rusty Weikle said the sentence brought some relief after years of uncertainty. “I’m glad to hear that she’s finally going to prison,” he said. “She’s never going to get out.” He said Haley died because he was giving her attention and trying to protect her. “To do this to a baby that’s four years old, for me giving her attention, is monstrous,” he said.
Lefler said the investigation required work from several agencies, including the Summers County Sheriff’s Department, Hinton Police Department, West Virginia State Police, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, forensic teams and child advocacy groups. He said digital and biological evidence played important roles because many details inside the home were known only to Rebakah Weikle. The case was handled by Froble, a Raleigh County judge, to avoid conflicts of interest in Summers County.
Officials said the plea gave investigators a clearer record of how Haley died after years in which Rebakah Weikle denied responsibility. Lefler said the admission mattered because it rejected the false claims that had been made during the investigation. “She revealed that she was solely responsible for this, and she has now taken responsibility for committing this,” Lefler said. He said the case had affected nearly every agency involved in Summers County and remained difficult for those who worked on it.
Weikle remains sentenced to consecutive life terms, with parole eligibility after 30 years. No further trial is expected because of the guilty plea, and the court record now moves into the post-sentencing phase.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.