Pike County Massacre: Ohio Supreme Court declines Billy Wagner’s death penalty appeal

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PIKE COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) -The Ohio Supreme Court has denied George “Billy” Wagner III’s appeal to remove the death penalty for his role in the Pike County massacre.

“The Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling wasn’t surprising, and I expected this to be the outcome,” said Pike County Common Pleas Judge Rob Junk, who previously served as the county prosecutor.

Wagner’s defense team had appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court after a lower appeals court reversed a ruling that had removed the death penalty as a potential sentence.

His attorneys then filed an appeal in March asking Judge Jonathan Hein to again take the death penalty off the table, citing Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s unofficial moratorium, which has halted all state executions since 2020.

Prosecutors argued the moratorium applies to individual cases and is not a blanket policy. Special prosecutor Angela Canepa said Wagner should be treated no differently than his co-defendants.

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“He was indicted with the death penalty just as his co-defendants were. There was no disparate application of this,” Canepa argued.

Wagner’s attorneys had argued the death penalty specifications were unconstitutional.

His attorneys said the length of the case has affected everyone involved.

Wagner’s trial has faced multiple delays, largely stemming from repeated clashes between Hein — a visiting judge who took over the case — and Canepa, who has been on the case from the start. Hein previously removed the possibility of the death penalty, citing concerns about trial delays and litigation. Canepa appealed that decision, alleging “judicial malfeasance.” The lower appeals court sided with her, finding that Hein abused his discretion and that “no sound reasoning process” supported his ruling.

Both sides had agreed in February that if the Ohio Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal, the trial could begin in October. A change of venue has already been ordered, as Hein ruled the trial will not be held in Pike County due to publicity surrounding George Wagner IV’s 2022 trial and the overall case.

Wagner has been held in jail since his November 2018 indictment. He pleaded not guilty to all 22 charges, including eight counts of aggravated murder, stemming from the execution-style killings of his youngest son’s ex-girlfriend and seven of her family members in Pike County in April 2016.

Wagner is the last member of the family awaiting trial.

Jake and Angela Wagner took plea deals while the eldest son, George IV, was convicted in connection with the 2016 murders.

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