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Eight members of the same family were executed in remote areas. southern ohio One night six years ago, four members of another family were indicted for a shocking murder that shocked the nation.
After multiple delays, 30-year-old George Wagner IV became the first defendant in the case, which opened last week with a 12-man jury seated in Pike County Court.
Opening statements were scheduled for September 6, but the proceedings were delayed by a week due to the illness of one of the participants in the lawsuit, court records show.
On April 22, 2016, authorities launched the largest criminal investigation in Ohio history after seven adults and a teenager were found dead in three trailers and a camper van.
Roden Family Execution-Style Murders: Four Family Members Arrested in 2016 OHIO Murder
Rumors initially swirled that a Mexican cartel may have been involved, due to the alleged involvement of the two families in the marijuana cultivation business.
However, an investigation resulted in the arrest of George Wagner IV, his brother Edward “Jake” Wagner, his mother Angela Wagner, and his father George “Billy” Wagner III.
At the press conference announcing the arrests, then-Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said, “There was certainly an obsession with custody, an obsession with control over the children.” It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever been involved with in an enforcement agency.”
Sources say the Wagner family spent months planning the murder, motivated by a custody battle between Jake Wagner and victim Hannah Roden’s child.
The feud between the families has been described as a modern-day Hatfield-McCoy rivalry.
unforgettable crime scene
The jury, made up mostly of women, began last week with an unforgettable trip to the site of a mass murder in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
The victims are Christopher Roden Sr., 40, his ex-wife Dana Manley Roden, 37, and their three children Hannah Roden, 19, Christopher Roden Jr., 16. Clarence “Frankie” Lord (20)).
Frankie Rhoden’s fiancée, Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, 20, was also killed, while Christopher Rhoden’s eldest brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and cousin Gary Rhoden, 38, were also killed.
Prosecutors say Jake, young George, and older George Wagner methodically ambushed the Rhodens and raided their respective trailers in the middle of the night.
According to prosecutors, they used guns with homemade silencers and “phone jammers” to prevent victims from calling for help.
Most of the victims were shot repeatedly in the head while sleeping. The killer escaped two infants and a toddler who were later found splattered with their parents’ blood.
Special Counsel Angela Canepa said some of the victims were collateral damage and were “killed because they happened to be there.”
This area is one of the poorest in Ohio and has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
custody war
According to prosecutors, Jake Wagner started dating Hannah Rhoden when he was 13 and became pregnant with her two years later when he was 20.
The couple split, and a bitter dispute over custody of their daughter soon erupted. Roden refused to sign papers agreeing to share custody of her with George Wagner IV.
Roden family murder linked to custody battle, says Ohio AG
“They will have to kill me first,” she wrote in a Facebook message in December 2015.
After Angela Wagner allegedly hacked her Facebook account, the Wagners saw the messages without her knowledge.
According to prosecutors, Roden was also pregnant with another man’s child, and Jake Wagner didn’t want his daughter exposed to a new boyfriend or his family.
Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are said to have begun planning for Roden’s death and those who felt that someone else in her family was interfering with their custody.
The Wagners acted as a unit, making family decisions by voting and discussing when George and Jake Wagner should get intimate with their wives, Law & Crime reported.
They lived an isolated life, homeschooling their children and working together as truck drivers.
Flashback: In the Roden family murders, we asked 4 people, including an ex-victim, for tips
Roden wasn’t the first ex-boyfriend the Wagners allegedly targeted.
George Wagner IV’s ex-wife and son-in-law Tabitha Crater signed court papers promising investigators that the arrangement would be temporary after pressure from family members to give up custody. said.
However, it is said that Mr. and Mrs. Wagner did not let her see them.
Wagner clan rift
George “Billy” Wagner III has pleaded not guilty and will be tried after his son.
Surprisingly, Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to multiple murder and other charges last year, marking the fifth anniversary of his execution.
The 29-year-old confessed to killing five victims in a plea bargain that would have spared him the death penalty if he testified against his brother and father.
He said in court that he was “deeply and very sorry” for what he had done, adding that his attorney understood that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ohio ‘Pike County Massacre’ suspect pleads guilty to killing eight former family members
“He knows he will die in prison without judicial release. This is terrifying for everyone, but he is as sorry as he can be,” defense attorney Gregory Myers told the judge. told to
After her son objected to the family, Angela Wagner soon followed, providing new information to prosecutors and asking for a deal.
She pleaded guilty to helping plan the murder and agreed to testify against her husband and son in exchange for a 30-year prison sentence.
the defense’s allegations
Attorney for George Wagner IV He claimed he only took part in the massacre that night, fearing his father would kill Jake Wagner if he didn’t, according to court documents.
They also said he was not directly responsible for a single murder.
“George did not shoot or kill the named victim in this case,” attorney John Parker told the judge at a preliminary hearing. “He never pulled the trigger.” Hmm.”
But prosecutors allege that the four defendants conspired to commit the murder, convicting all parties under Ohio law regardless of who pulled the trigger.
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The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks and may call more than 250 witnesses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.