Billy Wagner, the last remaining suspect in the Pike County massacre from 2016, finally has a trial date set for January 11, 2027, for his alleged role in the murders of the eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families.
The Charges
It has taken more than a decade since the killings for the case to reach this point. According to Fox 19, he is currently being held without bond at the Pickaway County Jail on on 22 charges, including eight counts of aggravated murder.
Prosecutors may seek the death penalty if Wagner is convicted. NBC4i reported that after “the Ohio Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling, they reinstated the death penalty specifications against Wagner.” However, it’s not known where the trial will take place.
The Murders
The April 2016 killings claimed the lives of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families, who were killed execution-style. They ranged from the age of 16 to 44.
As for the motive, prosecutors pointed to a dispute involving the custody of children fathered by Edward “Jake” Wagner. The mother of the child, Hanna Rhoden, was aged 19 at the time of her death.
Only three small children were spared in the Pike County massacre. Apart from Billy Wagner, Jake Edward, Angela, and George IV, all faced their court procedures but Billy’s trial was delayed due to legal issues.
Moving The Trial Venue
Visiting Judge Jonathan Hein, who has been appointed by the Supreme Court, changed the trial venue and that was because of the interest by Pike County community members. He believed that it would be difficult to find a juror who was not already influenced by the facts of the killing.
Dayton 24/7 reported that the judge ruled in 2024 that “a change of venue is necessary to seat a fair and impartial jury due to the intense publicity and the likelihood that potential jurors will possess knowledge of the case from sources outside the courtroom.”
Defense attorney Jay Clark agreed that moving a trial away from the county where the crime happened is rare. He also noted that “It just makes a whole bunch of sense to transfer it to another county where you don’t even have to worry about [pre-judgment]”
An Expensive Case
Multiple reports note that the investigation took a long time and involved thousands of hours. Evidence collected included “bloody footprints” and forensic data. In total, it cost just over $4 million.
The intense interest in the Ohio Pike County Massacre case was heightened when Apple TV dropped a documentary titled The Pike County Murders back in 2023.
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