WAVERLY, Ohio — More evidence collected on the Wagner family's property after they moved to Alaska was presented to the jury Thursday as the trial of George Wagner IV continued.
George — 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.
Evidence discovered and collected on the Wagner family's property on Peterson Road was presented Thursday as Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations agent Bryan White returned to the witness stand.
Investigators combed the property for two days in May 2017 — May 10 and May 12 — after the Wagner family moved to Alaska, where they lived for one year.
Bryan said the search uncovered printouts, thrown in the trash, of Facebook chats that happened between a man and George Wagner IV's ex-wife, Tabitha. Another printout was of a conversation between Hanna May and Angela Wagner, though White did not read what the messages said.
Shells casings and unfired .22 caliber rounds were found throughout the house and in outbuildings on the property.
Outside, investigators and law enforcement searched the property in a grid formation, discovering hundreds of shell casings, including .22 caliber long rifle, rim-fire casings similar to ones found at two of the four different crime scenes.
In addition to the shell casings, Bryan testified that investigators found a burn put on the property — in that burn pit, they recovered and collected a burned electronic device. He said he did not know what the device was or where it came from before it was burned in the pit.
PIKE COUNTY TRIAL: John Parker is now on cross-examination of Bryan White (again - he's been on stand before).
White says he doesn't know what that burnt electronic device was or where it came from (before the fire pit). pic.twitter.com/sDO7nBKPmG
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) October 6, 2022
Investigators also found a well or cistern in an old barn on the property, near the home. It was covered with debris, and bricks had been placed to try to fill it in; Bryan said agents worked to uncover the cistern and documented it. They were not able to check it for any evidence during the searches on May 10 and May 12 in 2017, he said, because they determined after looking inside they didn't have the proper equipment to safely send a person down into the cistern.
Bryan said agents determined they needed a dive team to safely go down inside the cistern, which he said wasn't particularly large, but was deep.
After lunch, Matthew White, a BCI ballistics and firearms lab technician, was re-called to the stand. He testified earlier in the trial that all of the shell casings recovered from the four different crime scenes were fired from the same three guns: .40 caliber casings were likely fired from a Glock pistol, .22 caliber casings recovered were likely fired from a Walther Colt 1911 pistol and .30 caliber rounds found were likely fired from an SKS rifle.
Prosecutor Andrew Wilson showed Matthew the list found in the notes on Jake Wagner's cell phone and asked if any of the guns on that list could have fired the rounds that killed the eight members of the Rhoden family. Two of the guns on the list would have been able to fire those kinds of ammunition, he said — an SKS 7.62x39 and a Colt 1911 .22 pistol. Prosecution asked whose name those guns appeared under, but defense attorneys objected and the question was withdrawn.
list continued: pic.twitter.com/ydJb7CpcYS
— Courtney Francisco (@CFranciscoWCPO) October 5, 2022
Wilson proceeded to identify evidence bags containing more than 80 shell casings collected from the Wagner yard, some of which don't match calibers used in murders; John Parker, George's defense attorney, objected to the presentation of many of the casings, but was overruled. Matthew confirmed he'd inspected each one.
Questioning focused on the .22 caliber casings, suspected to be fired from a Walther Colt 1911 pistol. Matthew previously testified that the firing pin impression on cartridges fired from that firearm was unique.
The firing pin impression found on the .22 caliber casings collected from the Wagner property had similar characteristics: The impression on the rim-fired cartridge started rectangular, but became a wedge shape at the end, while most rim-fired firing pin impressions are fully rectangular or circular, said White. Additionally, the pin impression did not extend past the rim of the cartridge — another unusual detail, Matthew said.
He made microscopic comparison of the shell casings collected from the Peterson Road property and the casings found in the two homes where Frankie, Hannah Hazel, Dana, Chris Jr. and Hanna May were murdered and ultimately formed the opinion that the shell casings were all fired from the same weapon.
PIKE COUNTY TRIAL: Matt White says the fired .22 cases from Scene 2, and from Scene 3 - plus 12 cases from Peterson Road - all were fired from the same firearm. That's his opinion based on microscopic review of pin impressions on the cases.
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) October 6, 2022
During cross examination, Parker asked just one question: Could Matthew determine, from the evidence he processed, who fired the weapon? He said he could not, and Parker said he had no further questions.
Prosecution told the court they'd planned to have a third witness take the stand during Thursday's proceedings, but that witness needed to have finished testifying by 3 p.m., and there would be no time to accommodate that need. As a result, court adjourned early for the day.
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:
- BCI agents testified to evidence collected on Wagners
- 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
