Law&Crime Sidebar - Pike County Massacre: The Story So Far

Episode Date: September 5, 2022

More than six years after the murders of 8 members of the Rhoden and Gilley families in Pike County, Ohio, a trial for one of the defendants charged with the killings is beginning. Chris Rhoden, Sr., Gary Rhoden, Frankie Rhoden, Hannah Gilley, Dana Manley Rhoden, Hanna May Rhoden, Chris Rhoden, Jr., and Kenneth Rhoden were shot to death on April 22, 2016. Many of them were asleep with babies by their sides when they were shot. Prosecutors later said four members of the Wagner family committed the murders over a child custody dispute. Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy speaks with former Deputy Attorney General for the State of Ohio, Mark Weaver and forensic death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan about the case that rocked the foothills of Appalachia and beyond.GUESTS:Mark Weaver, Former Deputy Attorney General for the State of OhioJoseph Scott Morgan, Forensic Death InvestigatorLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that will

keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. We believe the evidence will show that suspects spent months planning the crimes. A horrific crime rocks the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeast Ohio. members of the Rodin and Gilly families executed in one night. My brothers were good people. They would give you the shirt off their back. Years later, another family, the Wagner's, are charged with the murders.

They studied the victim's habits and their routines. Now, George Wagner IV is on trial for his role in the killings and the plot to carry out the murders. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and welcome to the. this special edition of Law and Crime Sidebar Podcast, where I'm going to tell you about this case that we're going to be covering coming up here on law and crime. We've actually been covering it all week long. This is a case that I've covered since day one, since April 22nd of 2016. And you know, I remember very clearly. It was a Friday morning, and I had worked a night shift the night before. I came in around 10 a.m. to the newsroom. And the news director looked at me and

said, get in the car, you're going to Pike County. Seven people in one family have been murdered. And I just thought to myself, oh my goodness, first of all. And second of all, I didn't really know where Pike County was. It was a county on the very, very outer edge of our viewing area. We just didn't cover that area. But it was right across the county line from another county called Adams County that was in our viewing area. And really the only time I had ever been out there was when I would drive through there to go to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. So I went out there. There were police cars everywhere, sheriff's deputies cars everywhere, blocking off Union Hill Road, where this crime happened, where seven of the family members were

shot in the head. Most of these people were shot in the head. Some were not, but they were shot in their sleep. It's just an awful, awful case. And we want to tell you a little bit about how this whole thing unfolded and how it began. There's blood all over the house. Okay. My brother's all these days. A chilling 911 call on the morning of April 22nd, 2016 led to the largest criminal investigation in Ohio history.

Bobby Joe Manley found her brother-in-law, Chris Rodin Sr., and his cousin Gary, dead in Chris's trailer. In another mobile home on Union Hill Road, Chris Sr.'s ex-wife, Dana and their children, Hannah May and Chris Jr., shot in the head. head as they slept. Hannah May's newborn baby was unharmed next to her. Chris and Dana's son Frankie and his fiance, Hannah Hazel Gilli, were also shot. Their six-month-old baby boy, in bed with them, covered in blood. Frankie's toddler son and the baby were unharmed. Then, hours later, an eighth victim, Kenneth Rodin, found shot in the eye in his camper several miles away.

Rumors spread that the Mexican drug cartel had committed the murders since Chris and Kenneth had marijuana grow operations. A year later, with few solid leads, the Rodin family matriarch, Geneva Rodin, issued a public plea. If there's someone out there that knows anything about what happened, would they please, please come forward. forward. The following month, something led investigators to a farm where Angela Jake and George Wagner had lived. They had recently sold it and planned to move to Alaska. Their belongings were stored at another property and were also searched. Investigators also searched the sprawling flying Worse farm where Billy Wagner's parents raised horses. Jake Wagner was the father of Hannah May Rodin's oldest daughter. And after Hannah was murdered, Jake was awarded custody of the

little girl. More than a year later, in November 2018, Billy, Angela, George, and Jake Wagner were charged with the murders. There certainly was obsession with custody, obsession with control of children. The attorney general said the murders were planned meticulously, with the Wagner's hacking into the Rodin's social media accounts to surveil them. The motive, custody of the little girl that Jake Wagner shared with Hannah Rodin. I just might tell you this is just the most bizarre story I've ever seen in being involved in law enforcement. I mean, when the entire story is it will unfold at trial, it is just, it's just amazing. Then more than two years later,

on the fifth anniversary of the murders in 2021, a shock. I am guilty, Your Honor. Jake Wagner admitted that he and his family planned and carried out the murders over custody of his daughter. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison. Months later, Angela Wagner was the next domino to fall. Jake and Angela have agreed to testify against Billy and George, George claiming he's not guilty because he didn't actually shoot anyone. And his lawyers stating in court documents that he only went along that night, fearing that their father, Billy, might kill Jake. George did not shoot or kill anybody that's a named victim in this case. He did not pull a trigger once. Jake, on the other hand, admitted to killing at least five people personally and shooting a sixth.

Prosecutors say George Wagner is just as responsible as the rest of the family. Unfortunately, there's more than one doubt on this case, and that is all four of the individuals who are charged in this matter. Again, Jake at least provided some peace to the victims in this family, and that was a very strong motivator for us in resolving his case in the way that we did. George is not, not that. When George Wagner and Billy Wagner, Angela, and Jake were all charged with these murders, there were other family members who were charged with lesser crimes. One of them was Frederica Wagner and she is the grandmother to Jake and George,

the mother of Billy, and she was charged with obstruction of justice and perjury. Prosecutors had said she lied about purchasing a bullet resistant vest for Billy Wagner to the grand jury. Fredericka always said she didn't lie about that and that she did purchase it to offer him some protection. But prosecutors say, and they still believe, I guess, that she is lying and that they could refile the charges. The other family member charged is Rita Newcomb, who is the grandmother to Jake and George Wagner. She was charged with obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury, according to prosecutors. And then also with forgery. The prosecutors had said she lied about forging custody documents related to this case. And she was a notary and her notary seal was on those custody documents. Well, turns out that Rita Newcomb came clean at a hearing and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction charge and agreed to testify against her family members. So she will be testifying next week against George Wagner and then later his father, Billy Wagner, at trial. Opening statements are set for the morning of September 6th. That's a Tuesday morning, the day after Labor Day. And despite Pike County

being really small. There are between 27,000 and 28,000 people who live there. It's really small. They were actually able to seat a jury in that county. It's made up of nine women and three men. The alternates are made up of five women and one man. So this is mostly women that will be hearing the evidence in this case. And really to understand this case and the victims who died, I think you have to know a little bit about the area where they lived. As I mentioned, this is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. And it's really an area that, It's seen a lot of challenges. It's not a wealthy area. And I spoke with former deputy attorney general for the state of Ohio, Mark Weaver, about the area. He's actually tried cases out there.

So this is a rural Appalachian, poor white county in south, southern part of Ohio. And it might be the poorest county in the state. If it's not the poorest, it's among the top three or four poorest counties. The courthouse is old and dated. The county employees do not. make a lot of money. Like so many Appalachian counties in America, the opioid drug epidemic has hit hard. There's a lot of job loss. And so this, what national focus will come to a town that is just barely making it in a county that is rarely inside anybody's spotlight. So this case, you know, eight people murdered in the middle of the night. It seems almost like a given that you would get the death penalty in this case. But, you know, the state still has to obviously

prove its case, do its job. They seem to think from everything we've heard in court that they have a very strong case. It would appear that way. But George Wagner claims, I didn't kill anybody. I didn't actually pull the trigger. So I shouldn't be convicted. But that's not how it works in Ohio. No, it doesn't. And we're still not sure whether the death penalty is going to go forward in this case, largely to see who testifies. So for the viewers and listeners who don't know, the allegations are that this Wagner family was a criminal enterprise that met together and decided to go out and commit mass murder. This is a little bit like the Hatfields and the McCoys. This is a little bit like one family being very angry at another family. And the Wagner family, according to prosecutors,

was a criminal enterprise. And as a result, some of the folks in the family have already pled guilty and are willing to testify against the two remaining defendants. And if they do so, then the death penalty will be taken off the table. If they don't, there still is the ability to bring the death penalty, at least for some of these defendants. But it's not just that they have to testify. Like the part of the agreement that I think, the part of the agreement I find interesting, it's it to the satisfaction of the state. That's how it's worth. Yeah, that's a big catchall. Normally we say truthfully testified, but when you say to the satisfaction of the state, that gives the prosecutors the sole judgment on whether or not to bring the death penalty charges. Now, it's hard to do a death penalty case. I have prosecuted here on the Long Crime Network, a death penalty case against the serial killer Sean Great a few years ago. It's very complicated. There's a lot of moving parts. Frankly, most prosecutors would rather not bring a capital case because of the additional layers of procedure and appeal built in. Having said that, this case rocked the region when this happened, the notion of going in and killing

everybody except the babies, including a couple of teenagers, really got people's attention. And I think it's going to get the country's attention when this trial starts. Now, this was a massive investigation that took investigators from Ohio to Alaska and many points in between. There are actually 264 potential witnesses in this case. some of them actually federal law enforcement officials who assisted. And the evidence includes digital computer evidence, ballistics, shoe impression evidence, and there were also a number of wiretaps in this case. And there's other evidence that it's included too. And prosecutors have said that they have evidence that the Wagner's hacked into the Rodin's social media accounts in an effort to

surveil them. And they also say that Angela Wagner has admitted buying Walmart gym shoes for her son, to where to specifically carry out this murder or this set of murders. And Jake Wagner had admitted to committing the murders, shooting five of the victims, killing them, shooting a sixth. And then he also led prosecutors to a truck that they purchased just to carry out these murders. So I spoke with a Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic death investigator about the evidence and the challenges of investigating a case like this. I went by the Wagner farmhouse, you know, and it's this kind of interesting,

multi-storied home that was built many, many years ago, and it looks, it's got a very, I have to say, it's got a very Norman Rockwell kind of appeal to it when you see it. But then you think about what went on, you know, within those walls. Because you're talking about it, group of people, a family group that sat around kitchen table, perhaps, or in the front room

or on the front porch. And allegedly, they planned the slaughter of another family. And it wasn't just like they go into, you know, some kind of single room like Scarface and wipe everybody else. This is meticulous where they're going from location to location. to location, to location. And then prior to that, you got all the prep work. Remember, the mother has already stated, you know, that, you know, she's admitted her guilt in this particular case. She's gone out and coordinated things,

and we've talked about shoes, I think, a little bit. That's come up in pretrial, you know, how shoes were purchased in order to facilitate this, that would be footwear that had not previously been worn. that, you know, she would buy all together. There was the acquisition of weaponry, a vehicle, you know, comes into play. So all of the logistical issues that have to come into play were there. And not to mention, the route would have to be planned.

Also expected to testify at the trial is George Wagner the fourth's ex-wife. Her name is Tabitha Clayter. And she's expected to testify that when she left, George Wagner and got a divorce, that the family coerced her into signing over custody of their son to the Wagner families and that basically she was isolated from her son after being pressured to do that. Some of the other evidence in this case includes a Facebook message that prosecutors have cited in prior court hearings. And in this message, Hannah Mae Rodin was talking to Tabitha Clater's mother. And Tabitha Clater's mother said to Hannah Rodin in this message,

do not sign over custody of your child because she was being pressured to do so by the Wagner family. And in that message, Hannah Roden said to Tabitha Clater's mother, they will have to kill me first. This is a Facebook message that was revealed in a court hearing in August of 2020. It was cited during that hearing and there was testimony about it. And interestingly enough, that Facebook message between Hannah Rodin and Tabitha Clater's mother took place in December of 2015, about five months before the homicides. And there was testimony also that Angela Wagner had found that Facebook message by surveilling those Facebook accounts and showed it to Jake Wagner, and apparently the plot unfolded from there. So this will really be something to watch.

And the Rodin family will be there every day, along with the Manley family and the Gilly families, seeking justice for their loved ones. That's it for this edition of Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. It is produced by Sam Goldberg and Michael Dininger. Bobby Zoki is our YouTube manager. Logan Harris does some of our editing. Alyssa Fisher is our booking producer. And Kiera Bronson handles our social media.

You can catch Sidebar on Apple, Spotify, Google, and wherever else you get your podcast. And of course, you can watch it on Law and Crimes YouTube channel. I'm Ingenet Levy, and we will see you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.