Rebakah Weikle must serve at least 30 years before she can seek parole.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — A Summers County woman was sentenced Thursday to consecutive life terms after admitting she killed her 4-year-old daughter, Haley Weikle, at their Forest Hill-area home in July 2022.
Rebakah Weikle, 33, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble ordered her to serve two terms of 15 years to life. Prosecutors said the plea ended a yearslong case that first focused on conflicting claims about who killed the child and what happened inside the family home.
Summers County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Lefler said Weikle had developed resentment and jealousy toward Haley before the killing. In court, prosecutors said the child went to bed after what had seemed like a normal day at the family’s home in the Forest Hill area. “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.”
The killing happened in the early morning hours of July 12, 2022, at a home on Barger Springs Road, according to earlier police accounts. Members of the Hinton Detachment and the Summers County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:30 a.m. and found the child dead at the scene. Investigators first charged both parents, Rusty Weikle and Rebakah Weikle, with murder, child abuse resulting in death, child neglect resulting in death and conspiracy. Prosecutors later said Rebakah Weikle alone carried out the killing and took steps to hide what she had done.
Prosecutors said Weikle used a knife to kill Haley, then hid the knife and the clothes she had been wearing. They said she left the child’s body in the home overnight. The next morning, Weikle told her husband that Haley was not awake. Rusty Weikle went to the room, found the child and told Rebakah Weikle to call 911, prosecutors said. Lefler said she entered the numbers into the phone but did not complete the call. Rusty Weikle then took the phone and called for help himself.
Investigators said digital evidence became a key part of the case. Lefler said cellphone data, phone activity and internet searches helped prosecutors build a clearer record of what happened before and after Haley died. Prosecutors said the data showed searches tied to harming others and knife wounds in the weeks before the killing. They also said Weikle later tried to blame her husband, claiming he killed Haley to cover up sexual abuse. Prosecutors said those claims were false, and Weikle admitted as part of her plea that she was solely responsible.
Rusty Weikle also faced charges, but prosecutors said investigators did not find evidence that he took part in the killing or the cleanup. He pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges connected to Haley’s death and to the couple’s two other children. He was sentenced to home confinement and probation after receiving credit for time he had already spent in custody. Lefler said Rusty Weikle ignored warning signs before Haley died, but he said the evidence did not show the father knew the killing would happen.
The case drew a strong response in Summers County after Haley’s death. A candlelight vigil was held in Hinton a week after police found her body. Speakers included local officials and community leaders, and residents gathered to honor the child and support first responders who had gone to the home. Doris Selko, director of Summers County REACHH, told those gathered that the loss had “ripped at our hearts and hurt our very souls.” Officials later said the case affected nearly every agency that touched the investigation.
Lefler said the investigation required work from the Summers County Sheriff’s Department, Hinton police, West Virginia State Police, forensic teams and child advocacy groups. The case was handled in Beckley before Froble, a Raleigh County circuit judge. Prosecutors said the plea gave the court record a final account of Haley’s death after years in which Weikle denied responsibility and made false claims against her husband. The guilty plea also removed the need for a trial, which would have required witnesses and investigators to revisit the evidence in open court.
Rusty Weikle spoke during the sentencing hearing and said the punishment 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 also said Haley died because he had been giving the child 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.
Weikle now faces two consecutive life sentences and must serve at least 30 years before she is eligible for parole. No further trial is expected because of the guilty plea, and the case moves into the post-sentencing phase.
Author note: Last updated May 3, 2026.