Wagner family father pleads not guilty to Pike County murder charges

Wearing a belt WAVERLY — around his orange Butler County Jail uniform that bound his shackled hands to his waist, Billy Wagner stood Tuesday before a Pike County judge and pleaded not guilty to charges that he and his family killed eight people 2½ years ago.

Like his wife and two sons last week, Wagner, 47 — whose legal name is George W. Wagner III — waived his right to speedy trial and was ordered held without bond. He will be held at the jail in Hamilton.

As with each of the prior arraignments, surviving members of the Rhoden, Gilley and Manley families sat several rows deep for the hearing, many still wearing T-shirts commemorating loved ones killed April 22, 2016, including the mother of Wagner III’s granddaughter.

Last week, Wagner III’s wife, 48-year-old Angela Wagner, and their two sons, Edward “Jake” Wagner, 26, and George Wagner IV, 27, each pleaded not guilty to the same 22 counts, including eight counts of aggravated murder that carry the possibility of the death penalty upon conviction. Jake Wagner also pleaded not guilty to allegations of unlawful sexual conduct with Hanna Rhoden, one of the murder victims with whom he fathered a child.

Also charged in connection to the case are Billy Wagner’s mother, Fredericka Wagner, 76, and Angela Wagner’s mother, Rita Jo Newcomb, 65. Both pleaded not guilty to accusations they lied to a grand jury and helped cover up the killings. Newcomb additionally pleaded not guilty to forgery charges.