Pike County massacre: Still no trial date, location set for Billy Wagner’s trial

WAVERLY, Ohio (WXIX) - The fourth and final Wagner family member who has not been convicted in the 2016 Pike County massacre is still waiting for his trial date and location to be set.

Billy Wagner says he is innocent despite his wife and two sons testifying that he was involved during George Wagner IV’s trial two years ago.

The Pike County massacre happened nine years ago on Tuesday and prosecutors say justice for the Rhoden family is long overdue.

Eight members of the Rhoden family were shot in their homes after prosecutors say the Rhoden’s refused to give Jake Wagner custody of the 2-year-old daughter he had with Hannah Rhoden.

Billy Wagner waived his right to be present at a hearing Friday.

“The first issue to deal with is Mr. Wagner is not here, so how does the defense want to handle this?” said visiting Pike County Judge Jonathan Hein.

That left the judge, the attorneys, and some of the surviving Rhoden family members to hear the arguments.

The attorney representing Tony Rhoden is asking the judge to reconsider his prior ruling to move Billy Wagner’s trial out of Pike County.

“My sole purpose as the legal representative for victim T.R. is to make sure his voice is heard and the effects of a change of venue would implicate his right to be present at trial and there are hardships that the entire surviving family would see from that,” said Morgan Calle, Rhoden family attorney.

Wagner’s attorneys say their client could not get a fair trial in Pike County due to the publicity of his son’s trial in 2022.

Judge Hein said he would not rule on the new change of venue challenge right away and allowed the family’s attorney to proceed with her arguments.

“It’s just not feasible. There is no choice for these victims to up and move to a hotel room, to drive to and from Columbus or Cuyahoga or wherever this matter ends up. The further away, the more hardship there would be for the the victims,” Calle said.

“There’s no way we can have a fair trial in Pike County,” said Thomas Hayes, Billy Wagner’s attorney.

Wagner’s attorneys argued that the rights of the Rhoden family would not be violated by changing the venue.

“Nobody’s arguing that the victims don’t have a right to be present. The victims can be present in the courtroom. The doors aren’t going to be shut. There’s livestreaming. The state can help facilitate options of transportation if they needed to,” said Hayes.

Another hurdle to cross in Billy Wagner’s trial is an appeal by the prosecution after Judge Hein dismissed the death specifications in the case.

The appeals hearing is scheduled for June 12 with a decision to be handed down within 30 to 60 days.

Billy previously pleaded not guilty to all 22 charges, including eight counts of aggravated murder.

Three of the Wagner family members were sentenced at the beginning of the year.

Judge Hein sentenced Edward “Jake” Wagner to 32 years in prison with the possibility of parole; Angela Wagner was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole; and Rita Newcomb, Angela’s mother, was sentenced to five years of probation and a suspended sentence of 90 days of which she has already served seven.

Complete Coverage | Pike County Massacre

The victims of the April 2016 massacre were Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his older brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; Chris Rhoden Sr.’s 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.

Two infants and a toddler were spared by the killers and left behind at the murder scenes: a 5-day-old baby girl, a 6-month-old baby boy, and a 3-year-old boy.

Prosecutors have said the motive in the murders was the custody of the young daughter of Jake Wagner and one of the victims he confessed to shooting in the head twice, Hanna May Rhoden.

The young couple began dating when she was 13 and he was 18. She became pregnant with their daughter at 15.

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