Closing arguments in trial in 2016 slayings of 8

WAVERLY, OHIO » Closing arguments are scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving in the trial of a man charged in the 2016 slayings of eight current and prospective members of another family in southern Ohio.

Prosecution and defense both rested their cases Friday for the Pike County trial of George Wagner IV. The 31-year-old took the stand earlier in the week to deny having had any knowledge of a plot to kill the victims and to say that he would have taken action to prevent the slayings had he known about such a plan. In April 2016, seven members of the Rhoden family and the fiancee of one member were shot to death in several different locations.