Judge says death penalty in Rhoden family murders won’t be dropped yet
A Pike County judge denied a motion to dismiss a death penalty specification Thursday in the case of George “Billy” Wagner III.
Billy Wagner is charged with murder and other charges related to the killings of eight members of the Rhoden family in rural Pike County.
Billy Wagner’s younger son and his wife have already pleaded guilty. Angela Wagner pleaded guilty earlier this month. Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty in April.
In exchange for Jake Wagner’s testimony, prosecutors agreed to spare him and the rest of his family from the possibility of the death penalty.
Billy Wagner’s lawyers argued Thursday that the death specification should be dismissed now. The lawyers said it is a waste of resources and “prejudicial” to start a trial as a death penalty case only to change it after the trial as started.
The prosecution argued that Jake Wagner must testify first and that the plea agreement says the State of Ohio gets to determine if the youngest of the accused Wagners held up his end of the plea deal.
Pike County Common Pleas Judge Randy Deering sided with the prosecution, so the death penalty specification will remain in place for now.
Billy Wagner’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. During the brief hearing Thursday, he told Judge Deering that he was happy with his lawyers.
Jake Wagner’s older brother, George Wagner IV, was in court earlier this week, but the hearing was delayed because a certified court stenographer was not present. He’ll appear in court again on Oct. 25.
The four Wagners were arrested in November 2018 in what officials called the largest murder investigation in Ohio history.
Neither Jake Wagner nor his mother, Angela Wagner, have been sentenced. While prosecutors took the death penalty off the table for the entire family when Jake Wagner pleaded guilty, it is likely that both of them will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Shot to death in four homes on three properties in Pike County on April 22, 2016, were: Christopher Rhoden Sr.; Dana Manley Rhoden; their daughter, Hanna May Rhoden; their sons, Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden and Christopher Rhoden Jr.; Frankie’s fiancée, Hannah Gilley; Kenneth Rhoden, Chris Sr.’s brother; and Gary Rhoden, a cousin.
Most were shot multiple times at close range while sleeping. Kenneth was shot just once, and evidence at the home showed that Chris Sr. and Gary were awake when attacked.
The investigation started when Bobby Jo Manley — Dana Rhoden’s sister — called 911 at 7:49 a.m. to report finding the bodies of Chris Sr. and Gary when she arrived at Chris Sr.’s home on the morning of April 22, 2016.
Jake Wagner and Hanna May Rhoden had a child together, and investigators have said disputes over custody of the child prompted the violence.
Jake Wagner has admitted to shooting five of the eight Rhoden victims.