Jurors convicted a person Wednesday within the killings of eight individuals from one other Ohio household after weighing his denials and different testimony towards the phrase of witnesses together with his brother and mom, who beforehand pleaded responsible for his or her roles.
George Wagner IV, 31, was discovered responsible of all 22 counts he confronted in southern Ohio's Pike County, together with eight counts of aggravated homicide within the 2016 shootings of seven adults and a teen from the Rhoden household. Wagner sat immobile because the verdicts had been learn, closing his eyes or trying down.
Members of the Rhoden household, who stuffed the courtroom in Waverly, about 80 miles east of Cincinnati, hugged one another and wiped away tears moments after Wagner was led away in handcuffs.
Tony Rhoden, whose brother, Christopher Rhoden Sr., was among the many victims, stated he felt sorry for Wagner "as a result of he's human."
"George Wagner is human. They simply did not present it on that evening," Rhoden stated outdoors the courthouse. "It ought to have by no means occurred."
Prosecutors say the ugly slayings, which initially spurred hypothesis about drug cartel involvement, stemmed from a dispute over custody of Wagner's niece. The deadly shootings at three cell properties and a camper close to Piketon in April 2016 terrified residents and launched one of many state's most in depth felony investigations.
Wagner denied any data of his household's involvement within the killings and testified that he would not have let it occur if he had recognized of the plans.
Prosecutors argued that he did know, participated within the plans and will subsequently be convicted within the killings. Although he wasn't accused of taking pictures anybody, they alleged that Wagner was together with his brother and father once they went to the properties, that he went inside with them and that he helped his brother transfer two our bodies.
His youthful brother, Edward "Jake" Wagner, pleaded responsible to aggravated homicide and different prices and agreed to testify towards George and their mother and father in a deal to assist the household keep away from potential loss of life sentences.
Their mom, Angela Wagner, pleaded responsible to serving to to plan the slayings. Their father, George "Billy" Wagner III, pleaded not responsible within the killings and awaits trial.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who oversaw a lot of the investigation whereas he was the state's legal professional basic, stated the case concerned greater than 5,000 items of proof. He thanked the jury, calling it "one of many longest, if not the longest, trials in Ohio historical past.
He stated he hopes the victims' households take consolation in realizing George Wagner IV was convicted and can be punished.
"From the day that these murders occurred and all through the lengthy investigation I at all times believed that we might discover the reality," DeWine stated. "And I at all times believed there can be justice for the victims."
"We're not carried out but," he stated. "There's another trial."
The victims had been 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three kids, 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, and 16-year-old Christopher Jr.; Clarence Rhoden's fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.
Most had been shot repeatedly within the head.
Ohio Lawyer Normal Dave Yost stated in an announcement after the verdicts that investigators spent numerous hours on the case and that it "reinforces the workforce's dogged willpower to safe justice for the victims and their households."
Prosecutors say the Wagner household deliberate the killings for months, motivated by a dispute over custody of the daughter Jake Wagner had with Hanna Rhoden. Authorities stated that baby was staying with the Wagners when the killings occurred.
Three different younger kids from the Rhoden household who had been on the scenes weren't damage.
Jake Wagner pleaded responsible on the fifth anniversary of the killings and apologized in courtroom. He has not been sentenced, however his lawyer stated he understood that he would spend his life in jail.
Prosecutors beneficial a 30-year jail sentence for Angela Wagner.
A sentencing date can be scheduled later for George Wagner IV. Along with the aggravated homicide counts, he was convicted on Wednesday on prices together with conspiracy, tampering with proof, obstructing justice and fascinating in a sample of corrupt exercise.