WAVERLY, Ohio — Trial of a man accused of killing eight people in Pike County continued Thursday, beginning with lead agents with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations presenting evidence collected during the investigation and ending with text message conversations about the custody battle prosecutors say was motive for the murders.
George Wagner IV — along with his mother Angela, father George "Billy" Wagner and brother Edward "Jake" Wagner — is accused of shooting and killing the Rhoden family members "execution-style." The family's bodies were found on April 22, 2016. He faces eight charges of aggravated murder, along with other charges associated with tampering with evidence, conspiracy and forgery.
Found dead that day were 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 trial is the first time a person has faced a jury for the deaths of the Rhoden family six years ago.
Ryan Scheiderer, a BCI agent who was lead on the murder investigation, took the stand first on Thursday. He explained to the jury that, after receiving evidence about purchases of items investigators believed could be used to create a homemade silencer, he bought replicas of the same items. Those pieces were shown to the jury one by one, including a bug detector investigators said was bought with a credit card in George's name.
In July 2017, Scheiderer said agents searched a property on Bethel Hill Road where the Wagner family lived years before the murders, before the house on that property burned down; prosecutors said the family intentionally burned the home to collect insurance money before they moved to a farm on Peterson Road.
Scheiderer said agents were searching for evidence on the property because it was still owned by Billy Wagner's mother, Fredericka, and Billy, George, Jake and Angela would have still had access to it after the murders. They were searching for any evidence relevant to the murders that could have been stashed there, as well as a semi trailer they suspected was stolen.
Investigators ultimately didn't find anything relevant to their case against the Wagners on Bethel Hill Road, Scheiderer said, though they did discover a buried trailer.
Searches were also conducted at the Flying W Farm, also owned by Fredericka, and a property on Havener Lane in South Webster, where the Wagners moved after their return from Alaska; the Havener Lane property had been owned by Angela's father, Edward Pug Carter, Scheiderer said.
Investigators also placed pole cameras to covertly record the goings-on at the Flying W Farm and the Havener Lane properties.
"We had received information that there might have been some threats that were being made to law enforcement officials, especially myself, as well as then-Attorney General Mike DeWine," he said.
At both homes, agents gathered several devices. One device, which Scheiderer said was used by Angela, contained search histories for Scheiderer's name. Another device from Havener Lane showed Google searches about forgery.
Because investigators had information that Billy, Angela, George and Jake would use computers at the Flying W Farm — and because Billy resumed living there after the family returned from Alaska — computers from that location were seized as well, Scheiderer said.
On one such computer, investigators found someone had searched information about grand jury proceedings and repercussions to lying during such a hearing, along with lying to BCI.
Scheiderer said after their return from Alaska, when George and Jake renewed their driver's licenses they used an old address for Angela's mother, Rita Newcomb, instead of the Havener Lane address, despite the Wagners having never lived at Newcomb's home in Jackson County, Ohio.
During cross examination, George's defense attorney, John Parker, asked Scheiderer about the buried trailer found on the property on Bethel Hill Road. It was a shipping trailer from a semi truck, found buried within a hillside and "appeared to be used for storage," said Scheiderer.
Parker asked if Scheiderer was aware Billy was "a doomsday prepper" who often stored items like food and water on properties in preparation for the end of the world; He said he hadn't been aware of that.
Pivoting to the credit card in George's name that was used to purchase a bug detector, Parker asked if there was any evidence George himself had actually made the purchase. Scheiderer said he couldn't be certain who actually made the order.
After Scheiderer stepped down, prosecutors re-called Matt White, a BCI agent who specializes in firearms and ballistic evidence. Andrew Wilson, special prosecutor, questioned him about a shell casing discovered inside a cistern — along with a device experts testified was a damaged, homemade silencer — in a barn on the Wagner's former home on Peterson Road.
Matt was also the BCI expert who examined and analyzed all of the ballistic evidence collected from the four different crime scenes, including the .30 caliber rounds, jackets and shell casings collected from the home and bodies of Chris Sr. and Gary Rhoden. In September, Matt testified that a Russian-made SKS rifle was the likely culprit for the .30 caliber high-powered rounds fired at that scene.
In previous testimony, Matt told the jury the .30 caliber bullets collected weighed more in their damaged form than a typical bullet of the same kind would weigh whole, which he eventually matched to a 154-grain ammunition sold by Tul-Ammo, a Russian manufacturer.
The fired casing recovered from the cistern on Peterson Road was consistent with the Tul-Ammo rounds and the ballistic evidence from the first crime scene, Matt said. He said he determined this by cleaning the cartridge found in the well and comparing the branded stamp at the end of it with new bullets of the same kind.
After a lengthy lunch break, prosecution re-called Julia Eveslage, BCI intelligence analyst, to the stand to read several text message conversations between Hanna Rhoden and Jake Wagner.
The texts came from backups of Jake's phone made to a laptop BCI agents seized from the Wagner family vehicle at the border of Montana and Canada as the family returned to Ohio from Alaska, according to Eveslage.
The texts revealed that arguments about custody of Sophia, Jake and Hanna's child, began before the girl was even born. The pair argued about their relationship, where they would live and who the baby would stay with after her birth in October of 2013; Sophia was born on November 8, 2013.
Prosecutors and investigators have claimed the custody battle over Sophia was the primary motive for the murder of eight members of the Rhoden family.
"I done told u she is living with me now u can live with us or not that's ur choice," Jake wrote in a text to Hanna on November 4, 2013.
Hanna replied, writing that the baby would not live with Jake and that, if he tried to take the baby away from her it would be Jake's worst mistake.
"Hanna I'm telling you right now make a choice and make it now if u do this it's over and I'll take Sophie and if I have to by force," Jake replied. "I love u with all my heart if u love me and Sophie u will make the right choice I want u to live with me and Sophie. That don't mean we have to stay at my house all the time but she will live wear ever I am."
Jake said his house with his family is better for the baby until they can get their own place. He doesn't want the baby living with Hanna's brother. pic.twitter.com/KZSTxTiDld
— Courtney Francisco (@CFranciscoWCPO) October 20, 2022
The couple continued to argue in texts leading up to and after Sophia's birth.
Hanna complained that the pair always stayed at Jake's house with his family and she rarely got to see her own or have her family spend time with the baby. Jake indicated he didn't want Sophia living under the same roof as Hanna's brother, Chris Jr., writing "at least no one at my house would hurt a baby." Jake also complained to Hanna that he didn't have as much time with their child because of his job; he texted multiple times that when he was home he wanted Sophia to stay with him.
If Hanna ever tried to tell Jake he had no rights to the baby again, he'd take her until the pair planned to marry, which was over a year away, read another text from Jake, sent on December 10, 2013.
The couple argued for months about where they stayed, with Hanna messaging that she wanted the pair to get their own home instead of living with family. In January 2014, Hanna told Jake she refused to move in with him until they had their own place; Jake argues their plan had been to move in together as soon as possible after Sophia's birth.
Hanna also expressed concern that Angela would try to raise Sophia like she was with Bulvine, George's son.
In March 2014, Hanna told Jake she would be going to Kentucky to stay with her cousin and Jake told her she was not allowed to take Sophia with her; Hanna responded they were already in Kentucky and Jake said he was going to come get the child. He again threatened to take Sophia away from her.
Through the fall of 2014, the pair argued about their relationship and whether Hanna would ever "come home" to live with Jake. Jake also repeatedly admonished Hanna for being a bad example for their child, being lazy and acting like a "spoiled city slicker" instead of the "farm girl" he'd hoped she'd be.
Hanna repeated her request that the couple get their own place to live, but Jake responded, "if you want me, got to take the farm too."
On October 10, 2014, in the midst of an argument, Hanna texted Jake an emoji of a woman with four gun emojis pointed in the woman's direction and said, "is what you wish would happen."
Hanna texts gun emojis and said is this what you wish would happen pic.twitter.com/sxOb4BHGys
— Courtney Francisco (@CFranciscoWCPO) October 20, 2022
In the spring of 2015, Hanna again complains about being unable to share a home with Jake because he won't move out of his family's house; she refused to move back into the Peterson Road home.
"I don't have to live 100 feet away from my dad, why can't you do the same," she wrote on March 15, 2015.
Later on that month, the tone between the couple shifted dramatically.
"I don't want to be with you. You hurt me," Hanna wrote.
"Baby plz you hurt me too," Jake replied.
"You hurt me," Hanna repeated.
Earlier in the trial, Hanna's cousin and best friend testified that she'd heard recordings made on Hanna's phone of Jake admitting to hitting her, choking her and pushing her against a wall.
On March 20, 2015, Jake texted Hanna and told her he and Sophia wanted them all to be a family together, adding that Hanna had until "tomorrow" to come back to him.
Hanna replied that she'd never come back, because Jake had laid his hands on her and hurt her. She pointed out that Jake also used to slap her in the face when she cursed.
"I thought I could trust you to never leave," Jake texted.
"Obviously not," Hanna replied.
The next day, Jake texted to let Hanna know her deadline for coming back was coming up and he told her he'd never love anyone else again. Hanna told him she wasn't coming back and would never be happy in the Wagner family's house. She told him she was trying to get her life on track and if she moved back in with Jake, he'd just be mean to her again. She also pointed out to him that he wouldn't let her go to college when she lived with him previously.
On March 30, 2015, Jake complained that Hanna wasn't getting Sophia farm animals to take care of, to teach her responsibility. The pair argue about whether a dog is good enough before Jake pivoted to discussing Sophia's safety while at Hanna's home. He told her only she or her mother were allowed to watch Sophia, calling other members of her family "crazy."
"You don't even love Suds enough to keep our family together until she's 18," he wrote.
Hanna replied that if they got back together, Jake would put his hands on her again. Jake argued and said Hanna's mother probably told her that, claiming Dana Rhoden didn't want Jake to have his daughter.
Later that month, Jake and Hanna argued about whether Sophia could be enrolled in daycare. In April and June of 2015, they argued about their future together; Hanna said she didn't want a relationship because she was working on herself and reiterated that she didn't want to be with Jake. Jake told her he still loved her, asking "what did I do wrong?" Hanna told him he'd hurt her physically and emotionally and that she wasn't interested in a relationship.
Jake told her if she ever did decide she wanted him back, he'd still never leave the farm.
On June 10, 2015, Jake texted Hanna to ask her to send him a screenshot of a message about Tabitha, George's ex-wife and the mother of Bulvine. Tabitha testified she was tricked into signing a custody agreement over Bulvine that stated she could only see her son while supervised by the Wagners. Tabitha said she'd been under the impression the agreement would change once she moved into her own home and out of her mother's house, but that never happened. Eventually, Tabitha hired a lawyer and began trying to fight George for a more equitable custody arrangement.
"What ever Tabi tell u idc if it's what she likes to eat we need to know ok," Jake texted Hanna. "This is about Bulvine. So plz promise me u will. U got a pic of the msg of Tabi saying she smokes pot if u do I need it. Resend it plz that's very important."
"I know your probably setting me up as well," Hanna responded.
"No I'm not. Y would u even say that," Jake texted back. "I want u to come home Hanna. I love u."
"Yeah whatever," Hanna replied.
She reiterates she wont' sign anything. pic.twitter.com/mGctpZNOYJ
— Courtney Francisco (@CFranciscoWCPO) October 20, 2022
That summer, the pair argued about Hanna allowing her boyfriend at the time around Sophia, Hanna not being a good enough Christian and being a bad example for Sophia. They also argued about Hanna being able to visit Bulvine. Jake repeatedly told Hanna he was the best dad and that she needed to do better.
"I want to be proud to call you her mother, Hanna," he wrote.
The text messages presented to the jury didn't go past July 2015.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Richard Nash asked Eveslage whether the texts she'd read aloud were screenshots; she said they were real text messages backed up to the family's laptop.
Nash also asked about whether Eveslage remembered a GoFundMe set up by Jake after Hanna's murder. Eveslage said she personally didn't investigate that, but said she remembered that the account existed. Nash asked her to read the description of the GoFundMe account, in which Jake had asked for a goal of $20,000 to cover legal expenses for his daughter's custody fight.
In the description on the page, Jake explained his daughter's mother was among the eight members of the Rhoden family murdered in Pike County. Before Hanna's death, he said he only saw his daughter half of the time; he needed funding to cover attorney feels to seek full custody of Sophia, he said.
"These are not expenses I was supposed to have," he wrote.
He added that he was working extra hours to cover the costs, preventing him from seeing Sophia except on weekends, calling the murders "horrific."
"We have to get our lives back," he wrote. "I hate seeing my daughter cry."
Nash finished cross-examination by showing Eveslage the email account through which the bug detector purchased with George's credit card was bought. He asked her whether that email was associated primarily with Angela, not George; Eveslage said she knew it was used as a home email and that Angela used it, but she couldn't say Angela was the only person who used it.
You can catch up on the day's testimony below:
Watch opening statements below:
You can read recaps of each day of the trial in our coverage below:
- Witnesses describe intertwined Wagner finances and a device found inside a well
- Clandestine recordings made by Jake, Wagner family finances presented
- Wire taps played for jury as court enters sixth week of testimony
- George Wagner IV's grandmother testifies
- Interview with Angela played for jury, Angela's half brother takes stand
- Texts highlight Wagner family dynamic, purchases for possible silencer
- Dozens of guns collected in search of Flying W Farm, but no murder weapons
- Jury shown evidence collected from Wagner belongings
- Evidence collected on Wagner property presented
- BCI agents testified to evidence
- Ex-wife of George Wagner IV describes 'strange and controlling' Wagner home
- Jury hears from George Wagner IV's ex-wife as fourth week of testimony begins
- Family members tearfully describe the day of the homicides
- Bloody shoe prints, cell phone records are focus
- Experts testify about ballistics, shoeprint evidence
- Third week of trial moves on to Kenneth Rhoden's home
- Evidence presented from third crime scene
- Scene where Dana, Chris. Jr and Hanna May Rhoden were killed is focus
- Testimony focuses on second of four crime scenes
- Coroner describes two of eight victims autopsied
- Forensic testimony continues into Monday
- Forensic evidence takes center stage
- Testimony centers on Kenneth Rhoden, final victim discovered
- Emergency responders testify about chaotic scenes
- Witnesses describe discovering their family members' bodies
- Opening statements detail grisly moments in the six-year-old murder case
- Read a full timeline of the Pike County murder investigation
