Pike County murder trial: 'I had no other choice than to kill Hanna'

Jake took the stand Monday morning — the first time he and his brother have laid eyes on one another since the family's arrest in 2018. Early in his testimony, he smiled when he told the jury he loved his brother and would love nothing more than for George to be able to go home.

By: Felicia Jordan

WAVERLY, Ohio — Jake Wagner was in the courthouse Monday to testify against his brother as George Wagner IV's murder trial entered its seventh week. Jake opted out of being recorded by media, so his testimony will not be seen by anyone outside of the courtroom.

Here's why you won't see or hear Jake's testimony.

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.

Jake took the stand Monday morning — the first time he and his brother have laid eyes on one another since the family's arrest in 2018.

Early in his testimony, he smiled when he told the jury he loved his brother and would love nothing more than for George to be able to go home.

The prosecution began by questioning him on the different homes owned by the Wagner family; he admitted they'd intentionally burned down their house on Bethel Hill Road for insurance money. After that, the Peterson Road farm the family bought was put into his and George's names because their insurance history was clean.

He also admitted the family burned a semi truck in 2016 and that he intentionally wrecked George's truck in order to collect insurance money.

Jake and his brother would also commit other crimes, like poaching deer. Alongside their father, Billy, they also stole fuel, lumber, appliances, tools, fencing and building materials and livestock from businesses in the area. Jake said they chose businesses with insurance so they wouldn't hurt working-class people nearby.

Like other witnesses before him, Jake told the jury the Wagner family finances were very entangled, with family members holding several bank accounts both alone and with one another. He and George often shared accounts, he said, though he was always able to access other family members' accounts for purchases if he needed.

The prosecution asked him about how decisions were made among the Wagners and he described the family meetings the jury heard about previously from Jake's ex-wife Beth Ann and George's ex-wife Tabitha Claytor. During those meetings, the family discussed chores, farm work and anything else affecting the family; at the end of the meetings, family members voiced their opinions and sometimes took votes to determine what everyone would do.

Jake described meeting Hanna Rhoden, when she was 13 and he was 17, in the 4-H building at the Pike County fair; he said the pair began dating, with her parents' permission. At the age of 16, Hanna gave birth to their child, Sophia, who was born on November 18, 2013.

At one point during a fight with Hanna, Jake admitted to putting his hands on her. Hanna's cousin, Kendra, testified earlier in the trial Hanna had played her recordings in which Jake admitted to hitting her, choking her and pushing her against a wall.

Jake recounted the fight differently and told the jury he didn't choke Hanna, but held her against a wall by her shoulder because she'd been trying to storm off. He said he held her to the wall until she "calmed down," less than five minutes later.

"She was lazy in her responsibilities she voluntarily chose to do," Jake said was the reason for the fight.

Hanna was supposed to help with yard work at the farm, including mowing the lawn every other week and he said he was picking up her slack. He told the jury Hanna had an attitude and was acting like Tabitha — of whom he said he didn't have a high opinion.

The relationship ended in February of 2015 — a little over one year before the murders — and Jake said that's when custody concerns began. Jake didn't believe his daughter would be safe living with the Rhodens.

"I was concerned that Hanna was going to let my daughter be molested," he told the jury.

He wasn't a fan of the men Hanna dated after they broke up and said he was concerned Sophia wouldn't be safe in the presence of Hanna's new boyfriends.

Hanna was dismissive of that concern, he said.

By the end of 2015, Hanna had begun stalling on signing paperwork that would define their shared custody over Sophia; he said sometimes George was with him as he went to pick up or drop off his daughter.

Meanwhile his mother, Angela, was monitoring conversations Hanna had with George's e-wife, Tabitha, and Tabitha's mother on Facebook Messenger, Jake said. That's how he became aware that Hanna said the Wagners would have to kill her before she would sign custody papers.

Earlier in the trial, an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations agent testified that a screenshot of that private conversation was made on an iPad belonging to the Wagners less than a half hour after Hanna sent it.

The message was a catalyst for the Wagner family; Jake said he discussed it with his parents after his mother showed him what Hanna said.

"To be frank, I had decided I felt I had no other choice than to kill Hanna," he said.

Billy proposed murdering her first, and Jake initially refused. He told the jury he eventually changed his mind and told his dad they could kill Hanna and her boyfriend, Corey Holdren, framing Holdren as the shooter in a murder-suicide.

But Billy didn't like that idea and the family instead decided they would kill Hanna, Frankie, Chris Sr. and Kenneth; prosecutors said during opening statements that Chris Sr. was targeted because of his role as the family patriarch, Frankie was murdered because he knew of Hanna's complaints about Jake's violence toward her and Kenneth was killed because he'd previously retaliated against someone who'd beaten Chris Sr. up.

Jake's father told him to collect the guns they needed to commit the murders, prepare a silencer device and buy a vehicle that couldn't be traced back to the family. Jake chose a .22-caliber Colt 1911 — the weapon used to kill Frankie, Hannah Hazel, Dana, Hanna Rhoden and Chris Jr. — and a .40-caliber Glock pistol — the weapon used to kill Chris Sr., Gary and Kenneth.

He also test-fired George's SKS rifle, but it failed when he tested a homemade silencer on it, Jake said. After he tried making silencers from two different kinds of flashlights, the family decided instead to use oil filters.

Then, he bought a pick-up truck from his great uncle, he said. George was with him the day he bought it in early April 2016, just before the Rhodens were murdered.

Jake told the jury he modified the truck, creating a false bed providing a hiding spot for him and George. Then, Jake said he told his mother to buy two pairs of shoes.

"I think I used the word 'ugly' tennis shoes," he said.

He, Angela and George made the child custody documents and Angela forged Hanna's signature. He said he knew Hanna was pregnant with her second child, so the family planned to wait to strike until after the baby was born.

He and George dyed their hair dark to match their favorite character from the TV show The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon. To psych himself up before the murders, he said he watched a clip from the movie Boondock Saints; he smiled and held back laughter in the courtroom when the prosecution made him watch the clip in court.

The night of the murders, Jake told the jury he had the Colt pistol, Billy took the Glock and George had his SKS rifle. Jake said Billy drove them to Chris Sr.'s home where they planned to lure him and his cousin Gary outside, but George didn't pull the trigger when the chance arose, despite having a clear shot.

"I told him to shoot, but he didn't," said Jake.

Jake took his brother's position outside Chris Sr.'s trailer, he said, and Billy pretended to search for his cell phone, asking Chris Sr. to call it so he could track it down. When Chris Sr. stepped into sight again, Jake pulled the trigger.

He said he was aiming for Chris Sr.'s head, intending to fire just one shot so Chris Sr. wouldn't feel anything.

"I missed, closed my eyes and started firing in the midsection," he said.

His father then shot Gary inside the trailer.

While Jake ran to steal the hard drive to a security system on the property, someone else dragged Chris Sr. and Gary to the bedrooms, he said.

The prosecution then led him scene by scene, where Jake described the details of each murder. In the gallery of the courtroom, family members cried and passed tissues to one another.

His recount of the scenes closely matched the descriptions special prosecutor Angela Canepa gave the court during opening statements seven weeks ago: He described climbing into an open window at Frankie and Hannah Hazel's trailer to kill them, leaving their months-old baby lying unharmed between their bodies.

"I did not notice their baby until I leaned over to shoot Hannah Hazel," he said.

When Billy, George and Jake arrived at Dana's home, Jake told the jury how he crept inside and into Dana's room, where he found her still awake and on her phone; he said he froze, then heard the cries of Hanna May's days-old baby.

It was then that Dana saw him and gasped, Jake said, before he shot her "once or twice."

Then he crept to Hanna's room where he said he found her breastfeeding the infant. He said she rose up to look at him as he entered the room, then he shot her.

He returned to Dana's room and shot her again before heading down the hall to Chris Jr.'s room, where he shot the 16-year-old boy in the head.

Jake said he returned to Hanna's room to find her body had fallen off the bed a bit; he moved her and repositioned her so her baby could continue to feed, in case it took awhile for the bodies to be found, he said.

He told the jury George and Billy had entered the home at that point, but the trio left and drove to Kenneth's camper. While Jake and George waited in the truck, he said Billy went inside and shot Kenneth.

After that, he said, the three of them drove back home to Peterson Road.

More about Jake Wagner and his plea deal:

Jake pleaded guilty to the murders in April 2021, accepting a deal from the state.

In exchange for Jake's testimony in the trials of any family members who face a jury, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the possibility of the death penalty for himself, his parents, Angela and Billy, and his brother, George Wagner IV, all of whom face similar charges in connection to the killings.

In addition to pleading guilty to all eight counts of aggravated murder, which is punishable by life imprisonment, Jake admitted guilt to:

Felony conspiracy
Aggravated burglary
Unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance
Tampering with evidence
Forgery
Unauthorized use of property
Interception of wire and oral communications
Obstruction of justice
Engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity
Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Hanna May Rhoden, who was 13 when their relationship began

You can catch up on Friday's testimony below: