HINTON, W.Va. (Hinton News) — A Summers County woman was sentenced Thursday to two life terms in prison for the 2022 murder of her 4-year-old daughter, concluding a case that prosecutors described as “monstrous.”
Rebakah Weikle, 33, of Forest Hill, received the sentences after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse and neglect resulting in death. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Weikle will be eligible for parole in 30 years, though the court noted she is likely to spend the remainder of her life behind bars.
The sentencing follows a multiyear investigation into the death of Haley Weikle, whose body was discovered in the family’s home in July 2022. According to evidence presented by Summers County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Lefler, Rebakah Weikle admitted to stabbing the girl and cutting her throat while the child lay in bed.
Investigators said the motive for the killing was an obsessive jealousy regarding the attention the child’s father, Rusty Weikle, paid to his daughter.
“She was jealous that I was paying attention to her, doing what I was supposed to do, watching out for her,” Rusty Weikle said following the hearing. “To do this to a baby that’s four years old… is monstrous.”
In the immediate aftermath of the killing, Rebakah Weikle attempted to frame her husband, claiming he had murdered the girl to cover up alleged sexual abuse. She later admitted those claims were fabrications intended to deflect responsibility, according to court testimony.
Rusty Weikle also faced charges in the case, pleading guilty to child neglect and abuse resulting in death, as well as neglect involving two other children in the home. He was sentenced to home confinement and probation. Prosecutors stated that while he was not involved in the murder, he failed to address “red flags” exhibited by Rebakah Weikle leading up to the incident.
The couple’s other two children have since been adopted by another family.
“She revealed that she was solely responsible for this,” Lefler said. “It almost seems impossible to accept.”
