4 kin arrested in 8 Ohio slayings in 2016
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A family of four arrested Tuesday in the gruesome slayings of eight people from another family in rural Ohio two years ago carefully planned the killings for months in a crime prosecutors vaguely explained as a custody dispute, authorities said.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said a grand jury indicted the four on aggravated-murder charges and that they could be sentenced to death if convicted.
DeWine gave scant detail about why the eight people were killed, but did say the custody of a child played a role.
One of those arrested was Edward “Jake” Wagner, 26, who was a longtime former boyfriend of 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, one of the eight victims, and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre. The others arrested were Wagner’s father, George “Billy” Wagner III, 47; his wife, 48-year-old Angela Wagner; and George Wagner, 27.
The investigation began when seven adults and a teenage boy were found shot in the head at four homes in a rural part of Ohio about 60 miles south of Columbus in April 2016.
DeWine said the case involved an “obsession with the custody and control of children” and called it one of the most bizarre situations he has seen.
John Clark, a lawyer who has been representing the Wagners, said he expects the family will be vindicated.