Family of four finally arrested for the brutal murders of eight members of one Ohio family in 2016 – The Wagner family allegedly wiped out the Rhoden family after they ‘went to war over custody of toddler’ now in their custody
Father, mother, two sons arrested two years later for the brutal murders of eight Ohio family members after they ‘went to war over custody of toddler’ who they now look after
Four members of the Wagner family were charged on Tuesday with murdering eight members of the Rhoden family in Ohio in 2016
Autopsy reports suggested the murders were calculated and brutal – Prosecutors said the murders had been meticulously planned over the Wagner family’s ‘obsession with custody’
Those arrested include: George ‘Billy’ Wagner III, 47; his wife Angela Wagner, 48; and their two sons, George Wagner, 27, and Edward Wagner, 26
The Wagners, from the rural Ohio village of Peebles, were all charged with planning and murdering the Rhoden family who lived in the neighboring village of Piketon, 11 miles away, back in April 2016.
The arrests are the culmination of a massive investigative effort since the seven adults and a 16-year-old boy were found shot dead at four different homes
The Wagner family, who lived nearby and whose son fathered one of the victim’s children, moved to Alaska after being questioned over the killings multiple times
Those killed were Hanna Rhoden, 19, her parents Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, and Dana Rhoden, 37, her brothers Clarence ‘Frankie’ Rhoden, 20, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16
Other victims included Frankie Rhoden’s fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20; an uncle, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38.
Hanna May Rhoden was the ex-girlfriend of one of those arrested, Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner, they shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre
Hannah’s dad Christopher Rhoden Sr had ‘a large-scale marijuana growing operation’, which initially lead many to speculate that the killings were drug-related
Suspects: George ‘Billy’ Wagner III, and his wife Angela Wagner, [right], were arrested on Tuesday for the murders of their neighbors, the Rhoden family in Ohio in 2016
A family of four has been arrested for the gruesome slayings of eight people from another family in southern Ohio two years ago.
George ‘Billy’ Wagner III, 47; his wife Angela Wagner, 48; and their two sons, George Wagner, 27, and Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner, 26, were all arrested on Tuesday in connection to one of the state’s most notorious crimes.
The Wagners, from the rural Ohio village of Peebles, were all charged with planning and murdering the Rhoden family who lived in the neighboring village of Piketon, 11 miles away, back in April 2016.
Attorney General Mike DeWine revealed this week authorities believe that the murders had been meticulously planned over the Wagner family’s ‘obsession with custody’.
Sophia Wagner, now 5, is the daughter of one of the suspects and one of the victims. DeWine said there was a ‘fixation’ and ‘obsession’ regarding custody of Sophia.
Suspects: The couple’s two sons, George Wagner, [left] and Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner, [right], were also arrested for the Rhoden family murders
Edward Wagner, Angela Wagner and George Wagner are seen here in July 2017
Sophia is their daughter. She was not with her mother on the night of the killings, but three other children, including a step-sister, were. They were all unharmed.
Sophia remains in Jake Wagner’s custody having moved with her father and the rest of the family to Alaska shortly after the killings in 2017.
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Is there a DRUG connection? Marijuana farms found at properties of Ohio family of 8 killed in suspected executions
Hanna May Rhoden, 19, [left], was the ex-girlfriend of one of the suspects, Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner, 26, [right]. They shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre
Three children were found unharmed.
The Wagner family, who lived nearby and whose son Jake fathered Hanna May Rhoden’s child, moved to Alaska after being questioned over the killings multiple times.
They took the toddler with them.
Investigators scrambling to determine who targeted the Rhoden family had conducted over 130 interviews and processed over 100 pieces of evidence and 550 tips, while getting assistance from more than 20 law enforcement agencies.
Authorities had refused to discuss many details about the slayings, saying they didn’t want to tip their hand to whoever was responsible for the shootings.
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Victim: 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16 was the youngest victim in the massacre that killed his parents, sister and brother, as well
Authorities in June of 2017 announced they were seeking information about the Wagners, including details on personal or business interactions and conversations that people may have had with the four.
None was named a suspect at the time. Investigators also said they had searched property in southern Ohio sold by the Wagners.
26-year-old Jake Wagner was a long-time former boyfriend of Hanna Rhoden, 19, one of the eight victims, and shared custody of their daughter at the time of the massacre.
Victims: Christopher Rhoden Sr [left], and his ex-wife Dana Rhoden [photo], were among those killed in April 2016 in Piketon in southern Ohio in a ‘family wipeout’ initially believed to be drug related
Victims: Christopher Rhoden’s son Clarence ‘Frankie’ Rhoden and his fiancee, Hannah Gilley, [photo], both 20, were shot dead while sleeping with their child. The infant was spare by the killers
Victims: Two more members of the Rhoden family, Christopher Rhoden Sr’s brother Kenneth, [left], and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, [right], were also shot dead
Both Jake Wagner and Angela Wagner told the Cincinnati Enquirer they were not involved in the April 2016 killings.
Angela Wagner said in an email to the newspaper that what happened was devastating and Hanna Rhoden was like a daughter to her.
A message was left on Tuesday with John Clark, an attorney who has been representing the Wagners. Clark said a year ago that four of the Wagner family members had provided laptops, phones and DNA samples to investigators, and agreed to be interviewed about the slayings.
The Wagner family had lived in Peebles, Ohio, at the time of the killings but later moved to Alaska.
Clark said at the time that the family was being ‘harassed while the real killer or killers are out there’.
Christopher Rhoden Sr. had ‘a large-scale marijuana growing operation’, which initially lead many to speculate that the killings were drug-related.
One of the four crime scenes where eight members of the Rhoden family were shot to death in 2016. Investigators scrambling to determine who targeted the Rhoden family had conducted over 130 interviews and processed over 100 pieces of evidence. Initially investigators erroneously believed it was a drug related hit
Sad day for one Ohio family: The hearses carrying five members of the Rhoden family are pictured above ahead of their funerals in April 2016
Christopher Rhoden Sr. is the only victim who was believed to have been awake when they were shot.
The father-of-three sustained nine gunshot wounds in his forearm, torso and cheek.
Sharing a trailer with Christopher Sr. was his brother Gary, who was shot twice in the head and a third time in the face. His autopsy report says a ‘muzzle stain’ was left on his head, suggesting at one point a shot was fired while the gun was pressed against him.
Dana Rhoden was carefully shot four times around her head and a fifth time from under her chin.
She was sharing a trailer with Christopher Jr. and Hanna who were both shot in the head multiple times. Hanna was in bed with her five-day-old child at the time.
Frankie Rhoden and Hannah Gilley were also shot in the head, but their six-month-old child, who was sleeping between the couple, was spared. Hannah was shot five times in total, with one shot hitting her left eye.
Kenneth Rhoden was shot only once, with the bullet entering his right eye.
Three funerals were held for the victims.
something that I think adds dimension to this case is that the shooter took the time to reposition the dead mother so the baby could nurse if it wanted after he shout the women. that is seriously screwed up.