The child’s mother later admitted she killed 4-year-old Haley Weikle in 2022.
SUMMERS COUNTY, W.Va. — A father’s discovery of his 4-year-old daughter’s body led to a yearslong case that ended when the child’s mother admitted she was responsible and received two life sentences.
Haley Weikle was found dead in the bedroom of her family’s home in the Forest Hill area in July 2022. Her mother, Rebakah Weikle, 33, pleaded guilty April 30 to first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. The sentencing closed a case that began inside a home, moved through conflicting accounts and ended with prosecutors saying the mother killed the child because she resented the attention Haley received from her father, Rusty Weikle.
Prosecutors said the morning after the killing unfolded in short, stark moments. Rebakah Weikle told Rusty Weikle that Haley was not awake. He told her to wake the child. She then said Haley was dead. Rusty Weikle went into the room and found his daughter, then told Rebakah Weikle to call 911. Prosecutors said she entered the numbers but did not place the call. Rusty Weikle took the phone and called for help himself. That call brought police to the home and started a case that would continue for nearly four years.
The discovery came after what prosecutors described as a concealed killing the night before. Rusty Weikle and the couple’s two sons had gone to bed. Haley was still awake with her mother. Prosecutors said Rebakah Weikle told the child to go to bed, took a knife from the kitchen and followed her into the bedroom. Summers County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Lefler said she tried to keep the attack quiet so Rusty Weikle would not hear. In court, he said Haley struggled before the fatal wound was inflicted.
Rusty Weikle told the court he had been giving Haley attention because he was trying to care for her and keep her safe. “I want everybody to know how evil the person that she is and what all she has done,” he said at sentencing. “She killed a four-year-old baby, my baby.” He said Rebakah Weikle was jealous of his relationship with Haley. Prosecutors also said Rebakah Weikle admitted she had developed resentment toward the girl, a motive Lefler said was almost impossible to accept.
The father’s role in the case was examined closely. Both parents were initially charged after Haley’s death, but prosecutors later said Rusty Weikle did not commit the killing and did not know what happened until he found the child. The murder charge against him was dropped. He later pleaded guilty to child neglect and abuse counts. Prosecutors said he ignored red flags in the household that could have helped prevent Haley’s death. He was sentenced to home confinement and probation.
Rebakah Weikle tried to shift blame onto Rusty Weikle during the investigation, prosecutors said. She claimed he killed Haley to hide alleged sexual abuse. Lefler said those allegations were false. As part of her plea, Rebakah Weikle admitted she had fabricated the claims. Prosecutors said the false story delayed a clear public understanding of the case and forced investigators to test statements against phone records, search history, physical evidence and the scene inside the home.
The evidence showed that Rebakah Weikle had searched online before the killing for information about harming people, stab wounds, lacerations and fatal injuries, prosecutors said. Lefler said the searches began in mid to late June 2022. Investigators also reviewed what she did after the killing. Prosecutors said she hid the knife, hid or moved the clothes she had worn and left Haley’s body in the bedroom overnight. Those actions, Lefler said, showed an effort to conceal the crime before the father found the child the next morning.
The case reached a final court stage before Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble, who handled the matter because of conflict concerns in Summers County. Froble sentenced Rebakah Weikle to 15 years to life for first-degree murder and another 15 years to life for child abuse resulting in death. He ordered the sentences to run consecutively. Under the plea agreement, Weikle must serve at least 30 years before she can be considered for parole.
Local officials said the case affected nearly every agency that touched the investigation. Lefler named the Summers County Sheriff’s Department, Hinton Police Department, West Virginia State Police, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, forensic laboratory workers, child advocacy interviewers and other local organizations. He said the case was especially hard because the victim was a child and because investigators had to unwind a false accusation while still building a murder case strong enough for court.
Haley’s two brothers were removed from the home and are living with another family or relatives, according to public statements in the case. Prosecutors did not say the children were involved in what happened. Their placement became one of the few public details about the surviving family members after the guilty plea. The court record now identifies their mother as the person responsible for Haley’s death, while their father’s conviction stands on neglect charges tied to the conditions before the killing.
Rebakah Weikle remains imprisoned under the consecutive life terms. Her sentence makes her parole eligible only after 30 years, leaving the next formal step in the case far in the future.
Author note: Last updated May 23, 2026.