WAVERLY, Ohio — In a Pike County court room on Friday, Judge Jonathan Hein decided to eschew the prosecution's plea deal with Edward "Jake" Wagner and instead provide him an opportunity for parole.
Jake pleaded guilty in 2018 to the murders of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families in Pike County. The murders, which happened on April 22, 2016, took the lives of 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr., 37-year-old Dana Rhoden, 20-year-old Hannah "Hazel" Gilley, 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr., 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 37-year-old Gary Rhoden, 19-year-old Hanna May Rhoden, and 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden.
The plea deal Jake entered into with the prosecution was for eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Instead, Hein sentenced him to eight life sentences with the possibility of parole after 32 years.
Edward "Jake" Wagner, his mother, Angela, and his grandmother, Rita Newcomb, were all sentenced Friday for their parts in the 2016 murders of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families in Pike County.
Newcomb was sentenced to five years probation; Angela Wagner was given 30 years in prison, of which she's already served six. That sentence was in line with the plea deal she forged with the prosecution.
However, when it was Jake's turn to be sentenced, Hein shocked the court room.
"How do I resolve what looks to me as some sort of gender bias?" said Hein.
He pointed to Angela receiving a "good deal" for her cooperation with the prosecution, while Jake — who also cooperated and testified during his brother George's trial — was meant to be sentenced the same as George.
"How do I resolve the good deal your mom got, especially since she could have stopped the whole thing dead in its tracks?" said Hein.
Before the sentences were announced, Hein gave the Rhoden and Gilley families the opportunity to address Angela, Jake and Newcomb; after that, each defendant was allowed to make a statement.
You can watch the family's statements in full in the video below:
Andrea Shoemaker, Hannah Hazel Gilley's mother, spoke first, often shouting in anger.
"You are the evilest mother, to help plan, carry out and take the lives of three young mothers," said Shoemaker to Angela. "My daughter was only 20 and you want 30 years behind bars? She was 20. She never even got to try alcohol. She got six months with her son."
She told Jake and Angela she wanted them all to suffer and that she hates them.
She addressed Newcomb briefly, telling her she felt sorry for the woman but grateful that she'd been the first to confess to the crimes and express feelings of guilt.
"My heart breaks for you to have such an evil, controlling daughter," Shoemaker said to Newcomb.
Other statements from the family were read by Prosecutor Angela Canepa. The last person to speak, Lisa Wiesel, the niece of Chris Sr. and Kenneth, said she did so on behalf of the rest of the Rhoden family.
She said the family did not agree with the sudden sentencing ahead of Billy Wagner's trial.
"We do not agree with making hasty decisions to get it over with," she said. "The Wagner family are master manipulators. They are a true danger to society and this crime is nothing to be taken lightly or play jeopardy with ... We can only pray that actions in this courthouse today will not dismantle the justice that has not yet been served."
Then, addressing Jake, she said the sentencing would be the last time she spared him any thought.
"You've said over and over we'll always be family," she told Jake. "No, we will not. I will no longer ever think of you after today. When those doors close behind you, you will be an afterthought to our family forever."
During their statements in court, Newcomb and Angela expressed regret.
Newcomb simply stood for a moment, said a single apology through tears, and sat back down.
Angela expressed regret for the murders and said she is no longer the woman she was in 2016.
"I didn't consider the consequences those actions would cause," said Angela.
You can watch Angela's full statement in the video below:
When it was Jake's turn to speak, he asked permission to turn and address members of the Rhoden and Gilley families face to face.
"I have a lot I want to say, but if it's OK with you, I would like to look at the victim's family because they're who I really want to speak to," he said.
Jake stood and turned, facing the gallery of the court room.
"I've had friendships or relationships with a lot of you," he said. "I've known many of you, and I know full well that the way my crimes, what I've done to you and your family, there's no amount of apology I can give today, no amount of explanation, no thing I can do to help you ease the pain you have, the loss, anger, hate. Nothing can save that."
From there, he spoke for over 10 minutes, mostly about his faith, his strengthened relationship with God, and how the victim's families may be able to heal through their faith. He specifically addressed Shoemaker at times, whom he said had shown the most hatred for him, telling her hate would not heal her heart.
While Jake spoke, most of the members of the Rhoden and Gilley families stood and filed out of the court room.
Despite this, he continued to speak, mostly about his faith but also recounting a tale of how he'd helped another inmate he'd met — who'd had plans to murder his child's mother after he was released — and led him to faith too.
"I'm not miserable," said Jake. "I don't live in misery. I've experienced your loss. I've experienced your pain."
Upon hearing him say that, more family members walked out of the court room.
Jake ended his speech by telling the victim's family members he still prays for them and will continue to do so.
"Don't," said someone in the gallery.
You can watch Jake's full statement in the video below:
Prosecutors filed a request on December 10 and again on December 30 asking the Supreme Court of Ohio to try to disqualify Judge Jonathan Hein from the Pike County cases, as prosecutors protested Hein scheduling the sentencings.
Both requests were denied, paving the way for sentencing to continue as scheduled.
Hein announced to the courtroom during a November 20 hearing that he planned to throw out the death penalty in Billy's case before trial begins, and officially sentence other members of the Wagner family.
Both Jake and Angela made complicated plea deals with the state in 2021 and have yet to be sentenced, since those deals hinged on testifying during any trials tied to the murders — including Billy's.
In the deal with Angela, prosecutors agreed to drop eight charges of aggravated murder in exchange for the plea, and recommended she serve 30 years in prison with no early release.
Jake's guilty plea is more complicated: He pleaded guilty to 18 counts, including aggravated murder. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the possibility of the death penalty for all members of the Wagner family in exchange for Jake's testimony at any trials. He could still receive up to eight consecutive life sentences for the murders.
Now, with the death penalty no longer on the table for Billy and the prosecution's main witnesses scheduled for sentencing, it's unclear whether Jake or Angela will still have to testify at Billy's trial.
Newcomb, Angela's mother, was charged with obstructing justice and forgery charges in 2018 and also took a plea deal in 2019.
Further complicating the case, Hein has also decided to rule in favor of defense attorney's requests to move Billy's upcoming trial out of Pike County. On November 25, Hein ruled there has been too much public and media interest in the case to seat an impartial jury.
"The court finds that the intense scope of media coverage in this case — and other closely related cases — was so pervasive that prejudice is presumed," reads Hein's decision. "The small population of Pike County and the intense media coverage leads the court to conclude that no jury could truthfully answer that they have no prior knowledge of the horrendous factors of this case."
So far, where exactly Billy will face trial has not yet been announced.
