Woman testifies that husband wanted 8 family members killed - ABC News

WAVERLY, Ohio -- A pistillate who helped program the 2016 slayings of 8 members of different family, a transgression that shook agrarian confederate Ohio and stymied investigators for implicit 2 years, says the massacre was her husband’s idea.

Angela Wagner made the assertion portion testifying Tuesday astatine the execution proceedings of her 31-year-old son, George Wagner IV, who could look the decease punishment if helium is convicted. She was expected to instrumentality to the basal Wednesday.

The slayings stemmed from a kid custody quality involving different of Angela Wagner's sons and 1 of the victims, authorities person said.

Angela Wagner said that her younger son, Jake, had wanted to termination his child's mother, but that her husband, George “Billy” Wagner III, objected due to the fact that helium believed the woman's household would question revenge.

“They’ll know, and past they travel for Jake. They’d sprout him, if not each of us,” Angela Wagner said her hubby told told her. He besides said the remainder of the woman's household “had to beryllium murdered,” she testified.

Angela Wagner pleaded blameworthy successful September 2021 to 14 counts and agreed to attest against her older lad and her husband. In return, prosecutors dismissed 8 counts of aggravated execution and agreed to not question the decease penalty.

Jake Wagner pleaded blameworthy successful April 2021 to shooting 5 of the victims, saying helium had nary prime but to termination the parent of his daughter, a toddler astatine the time.

George Wagner IV — who is accused of helping to program the killings — is the archetypal idiosyncratic to spell connected proceedings for the killings. His begetter has pleaded not blameworthy and apt won’t spell connected proceedings until adjacent year. Mark Collins, an lawyer representing George “Billy” Wagner III, declined remark Wednesday citing the judge's gag bid successful the case.

The 4 members of the Wagner household were not arrested until much than 2 years aft the slayings.

Those killed were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their 3 children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, the parent of Jake Wagner's daughter; Clarence Rhoden’s fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.