Photo: Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Years after eight family members wereslaughtered in their southern Ohio homes, four people — a husband, wife and their two adult sons — have been arrested in connection with the 2016 crime, which authorities said was related to custody of a young child.
On April 22, 2016, seven adults and one teenage boy — all members of the Rhoden family —were fatally shotin four separate properties in rural Piketon, Ohio. Three of those properties contained marijuana-growing operations, and at the time, DeWine described the killings as a “preplanned execution” and a “sophisticated operation.”
On Tuesday, DeWine said a dispute over custody of a young child was a factor in the crime, according to multiple reports.
“There wasan obsession with custody, obsession with control of the children,” DeWine said, according toThe Washington Post. “This is the most bizarre story I have ever seen, being involved with law enforcement.”
The slain people were Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Dana Rhoden, 37; Hanna Rhoden, 19; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Gary Rhoden, 38; Kenneth Rhoden, 44; Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20; and Hannah Gilley, 20.
“We promised the victims’ families that the day would come when this case would be solved, and today is that day,” DeWinesaid in a statement. “The indictments allege that these suspects developed a calculated plan to execute the victims in the middle of the night and then carefully cover their tracks. Their alleged plan was sophisticated, but not sophisticated enough for our team of investigators and prosecutors.”
The Rhoden Family.Pike County Sheriff’s Office
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The murders became the largest and most complex homicide investigation in the state’s history, authorities said.
In addition to the aggravated murder charges they face, the Wagners also face a total of nine other charges including conspiracy, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, unlawful possession of a dangerous ordinance, and aggravated burglary, the news release states.
In addition, Edward “Jake” Wagner was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. According to the news release, Jake allegedly had sex with Hanna May Rhoden when she was 15 and he was 20. The two conceived a child together, a daughter, who was staying with the Wagners on the night of the murders.
Angela Wagner’s mother, Rita Newcomb, and Billy Wagner’s mother, Fredericka Wagner, were also arrested on Tuesday. Both face felony charges for obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators over the course of the investigation.
Rita Newcomb and Fredericka Wagner.Pike County Sheriff’s Office
“This, along with a great deal of other investigative findings, led us to these indictments and arrests today,” DeWine explained. “The Wagners were friends with the Rhodens and had been for years. They knew the layouts of the Rhodens’ homes, and they knew the victims’ routines. It is our belief that the suspects used this knowledge to meticulously plan these horrendous, cold-blooded murders.”
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“I made a promise to the victims’ families and to the people of Pike County that we would solve this, no matter how long it took,” Reader said. “It’s been tough to be patient at times, but we kept our eye on the goal – justice for the victims.”
Junk added, “We have never stopped working to find the people responsible for these savage crimes, and our sympathies continue to be with the victims’ families. There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we will continue to fight to hold these alleged killers accountable.”
source: people.com
