CINCINNATI -- The state of Ohio has agreed to pay nearly $40,000 for five victims of last year's notorious massacre in Pike County.
The money helps cover funeral expenses for Christopher Rhoden Jr., Clarence Rhoden, Hanna Rhoden, Dana Rhoden and Hannah Gilley.
Attorney General Mike DeWine's office approved claims from their relatives between August and October last year.
Ohio pays claims out of its Victims of Crime Compensation fund. By law, the state can cover a maximum of $7,500 for victims' funeral expenses. Funeral payments go directly to companies that provided services, not to the victims' surviving relatives.
The state has agreed to pay $37,327.55 to date:
- Hannah Gilley: $7,327.55
- Christopher Rhoden Jr.: $7,500
- Clarence Rhoden: $7,500
- Hanna Rhoden: $7,500
- Dana Rhoden: $7,500
The five were among eight members of the same family killed at four locations near Piketon on April 22, 2016.
State and local authorities have spent a year on the case, but they've made no arrests and identified no suspects, at least publicly. Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader told WCPO he believes the killers are locals and knew the family.
READ MORE: One year later, the mystery still remains
Reader and DeWine plan to answer questions about the case Thursday in Columbus.
Relatives of Christopher Rhoden Sr. and Clarence Rhoden filed other requests with the state.
The attorney general's office denied a claim for lost wages from Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother-in-law, saying the victim wasn't eligible because he'd been cultivating felony-level amounts of marijuana.
The state hasn't yet decided what, if anything, it will pay for a claim of loss of support from the mother of Clarence Rhoden's first-born child. The attorney general's office asked her for more information to support her claim in October and November.
Ohio pays, at most, $50,000 to certain crime victims and their families.
