Relative of 8 slaying victims fileswrongful death lawsuit
A man who COLUMBUS — lost several relatives in the killings of eight people in southern Ohio four years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the suspects, saying he wants to be sure none of them receive financial gain fromthe crime.
TonyRhodenSr. is seeking unspecified economic and punitive damages against four suspects in the April 2016 killings and two others who were charged with peripheral offenses. Four are awaiting trial in Pike County; charges were droppedagainstonesuspect, and another pleaded guilty to an obstruction charge last year.
“In my eyes, why should someone benefit from destroying other people’s lives?” Rhoden, whose brothersGaryRhodenandChristopherRhodenSr. wereamong the eight victims, said in an interview. Any money that arose frompublicity over the case should go to the victims’ surviving children, he said.
The shooting deaths of the seven adults and a teenage boy in April 2016 terrified residents in the rural community and led to one of the most extensive criminal investigations in state history. Not untilNovember 2018, more than two years after the killings, did authorities announce arrests.
Surviving family members “suffered and continue to suffer damages for the mental anguish caused by the deaths,” according to the lawsuit filed in Pike County, where the killings happened.
“We will do whatever is necessary to attempt to hold those responsible for these heinous acts accountable,” said Columbus attorneys Brian Duncan and Adam Nemann, representing Tony Rhoden.
Several lawyers representing those named in the criminal complaint said they couldn’t comment because they hadn’t seen the lawsuit yet. Attorney Mark Collins, representing George Billy Wagner III, said, “Once he gets served, I’ll get him to an appropriate civil attorney to defend that.”
It’s unclearwhether any of the suspects — if convicted — could receive compensation, such as proceeds from a book ormovie. Like many states, Ohio has a “Son of Sam” lawthat prevents convicted criminals from benefiting financially from their crimes.
The law is named for the nickname given to the 1970s New York City serial killer David Berkowitz. Itwas originally passed out of concerns he might try to make money from his crimes, though he denied ever wanting to.
Tony Rhoden’s lawsuit names the six members of one family — the Wagners — who were arrested and charged in November 2018.
Authorities have said a custody dispute between the RhodenandWagner families may have been a motive for the killings. One of the suspects, Edward “Jake” Wagner, was the former boyfriend of 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, one of the victims, and shared custody of their daughter.
Prosecutors say theWagner family spent months planning the killings, which happened at three trailers and a camper near Piketon. Most of the victims were repeatedly shot in the head, andsomeshowedsigns of bruising, as if they had been beaten. Three young children at the scenes were unharmed. All but one of the victims were shot multiple times in the head.
TheWagnerslivednearthe scenes of the killings about 60 miles south ofColumbus.
The victimswere 40-yearold Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-yearold Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna; Clarence Rhoden’s fiancée, 20-yearold Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-yearold Gary Rhoden.
In addition toEdwardWagner, the lawsuit names his brother, George Billy Wagner IV, and their parents, George BillyWagner III and AngelaWagner. All four have pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuit also names Fredericka Wagner, the mother of George BillyWagner III, and Rita Newcomb, the mother of Angela Wagner.
TheWagner family iswellknown in southern Ohio for breeding horses, dogs and other animals on a farm founded by FrederickaWagner and her late husband, George Wagner Jr.
Fredericka Wagner still lives on the the roughly 2,000-acre farm, which is valued at justover $4million.