WAVERLY, Ohio (WXIX) – Ballistics and shoeprint experts from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will testify Tuesday as George Wagner IV’s murder trial continues in the 2016 Pike County massacre.
Special Agent Matt White is taking the stand again to finish the testimony he began for the state on Monday.
He will be followed by one of his colleagues, Special Agent Suzanne Elliott. She will talk about shoe impressions found at the scene.
Wagner IV, 30, is the first member of his family of four who was indicted in the April 21-22, 2016 slayings to go on trial.
He has pleaded not guilty to killing Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his older brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; his former wife, Dana Lynn Rhoden, 37, and their children: Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Frankie’s fiancé, Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, 20.
His younger brother, Jake Wagner, and their mother, Angela Wagner, pleaded guilty for their roles in the killings last year.
Both are scheduled to testify against him in the coming weeks.
Download & Listen on Spotify or Apple: Cincinnati’s Crime Vault | Beyond the Broadcast: Pike County Massacre – Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4
Days before the slayings, Angela Wagner, was seen on security camera footage buying shoes at the Waverly Walmart, according to prosecutors.
In her plea agreement, Angela Wagner admitted that she bought a brand of shoe that she said her sons would never wear and sizes that were larger than her sons’ feet.
The shoes have never been found. Prosecutors have said that evidence was destroyed.
Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk revealed Monday that no DNA from any of the Wagners was found at the fourth and final crime scene, Kenneth Rhoden’s trailer.
So now that is all four crime scenes where no Wagner DNA was detected.
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Most of the victims were found shot execution-style shortly before 8 a.m. on April 22, 2016, in three separate trailers on Union Hill Road.
The killers spared two babies and a toddler, leaving them behind with their slain parents at the Union Hill Road residences: Hanna May Rhoden’s 5-day-old daughter, Kylie; Frankie Rhoden’s 3-year-old son, Brentley and his other son, Ruger, whose mother was Hannah Hazel Gilley.
The slayings are considered the state’s biggest and most complex homicide investigation.
Jake Wagner, 28, pleaded guilty to eight counts of murder and 15 other charges including gun specifications, conspiracy, burglary, possession of dangerous ordnance and tampering with evidence.
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In exchange, prosecutors say they will drop the possibility of the death penalty and Jake Wagner agreed to serve eight life sentences without parole.
His lawyer said Jake Wagner “knows he’s going to die in prison without any judicial relief.”
He is held at the Franklin County Jail.
His mother pleaded to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, several counts of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, and other charges as part of a plea deal. The remaining eight counts of aggravated murder were dismissed.
The prosecution is recommending the 51-year-old woman serve 30 years in prison with no possibility of the death penalty. She currently is held at the jail in Delaware County.
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The other Wagner still facing trial and accused of actually shooting and killing anyone is the family patriarch, 50-year-old George “Billy” Wagner III.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains locked up at the Butler County Jail.
He is charged with eight counts of aggravated murder, four counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of tampering with evidence, two counts of unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance and single counts of conspiracy, forgery, unauthorized use of computer or telecommunications, interception of wire, oral or electronic communication, obstructing justice and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
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