Man won’t face death if convicted of slayings of 8

WAVERLY, OHIO >> A man charged in the 2016 slayings of eight members of a family in southern Ohio will not face the death penalty if convicted. Closing arguments are scheduled next week in the trial of 31-year-old George Wagner IV. He was arrested along with three of his relatives more than two years after seven members of the Rhoden family and the fiancee of one of them were shot to death in several different locations in August 2016. Prosecutors agreed in September not to seek the death penalty against Wagner and his father, who will be tried later, in a deal with the other two family members who agreed to testify. Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa moved Tuesday for dismissal of the capital punishment specifications.