The jurors deciding on Barb Rieber's fate were mostly young and female, thanks in large

part to assistant district attorney Edna Boyle. She knew it would be much easier to get

sympathy for Barb Rieber with a panel that looked a lot like her.

Before the trial, Judge Robert J. Brown went on a little field trip with these jurors. He

wanted to show them the Weaver House and what he called the alleged crime scene. It was

only a 15 minute ride from the courthouse in Worcester, but driving through white barns,

windmills, and buggies has a way of making you feel worlds apart, especially when you're

headed to a house marked by murder.

As Judge Brown gave a tour of the conservative, pretty clean house, the jurors took mental

notes. There was the birthday cake still sitting on the counter from Harley's birthday and

cash sitting out in the open nearby. They began to get a sense of the Weaver family.

Crayon drawings of birds were stuck on the refrigerator. A Bible sat proudly on a cabinet.

There was also a wooden plaque with two hearts joined. Eli and Barb's names were written

on them plus the data they were wetting. The boy's bedroom was outdoor themed. There were

antlers and the Laura Ingalls Wilders little house on the prairie series. Meanwhile, the

girls' room was accented with a pink teddy bear and pink clothes on the floor, plus tiny

furniture for a tea party.

Judge Brown reminded the jurors not to share what they'd just seen with anyone or to watch

in a news coverage of the case. Nothing that would influence their decision.

Judge Brown was struggling to make sense of the case himself. In over 20 years as a trial

judge, he hadn't seen many crimes involving the Amish. Only two instances of an Amish

husband murdering his wife had been reported in America in more than 250 years. There

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