A man convicted in the killings of eight members of an Ohio family in 2016 was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
George Wagner IV, 31, remained emotionless and looked straight ahead as Pike County Judge Randy Deering ordered him to serve eight consecutive life sentences, plus another 121 years.
'No sentence would right the wrong that has been inflicted on the victims and their families,' Judge Deering said just before delivering Wagner's fate on Monday.
The Ohio man was convicted earlier this month on eight counts of aggravated murder for each victim of the Rhoden family and other charges related to conspiracy and attempts to cover up evidence in the 2016 killings.
Wagner and his family plotted the murders amid a dispute over custody of Wagner's niece, prosecutors said. Wagner denied any knowledge of his family's involvement.
His brother Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to murder charges and is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. Their mother Angela Wagner pleaded guilty in exchange for a 30-year sentence. Their father pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
George Wagner IV, 31, was sentenced to life in prison on all eight counts of aggravated murder for each victim in the Pike County killings
Wagner was sentenced on Monday after an emotional hearing at which the victims' family members spoke of their devastation and grief, and urged the judge to show no mercy toward a man they called evil and remorseless.
He declined to make a statement in court, and his lawyer said he maintains his innocence.
The April 2016 shootings at three mobile homes and a camper near Piketon terrified residents in that part of rural Ohio and initially prompted speculation about drug cartel involvement. The resulting multimillion-dollar investigation and prosecution is among the state's most extensive.
Prosecutors said most of the victims were killed as they slept, in some cases next to their very young children, who weren't injured.
Wagner was convicted on 22 counts, including aggravated murder. It's no longer a death penalty case because his brother made a plea deal to testify against the others and help all four Wagners avoid execution.
Prosecutors have said that George Wagner showed no remorse and should be imprisoned with no chance of parole. They said what he really deserves is a death sentence and that he was spared only because of his brother's actions, not his own.
The prosecution alleged Wagner was with his brother and father when they went to the homes, that he went inside, and that he helped his brother move two bodies.
Wagner's attorneys emphasized that he didn't kill anyone and said that denying him 'a meaningful chance of parole' would be unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.
They also requested a new trial. Judge Randy Deering denied that motion Monday.
Of the four defendants in the slayings, Wagner is the only one to face trial so far.
Jake (right) suspected daughter Sophia was getting sexually abused as she would return to his house with her genitals being 'red' and had a 'foul odor,' according to Angela. Jake and Angela took plea deals and agreed to testify against George IV (left), who has pleaded not guilty
She said it was George 'Billy' Wagner III's idea to kill the Rhodens as he feared they would seek revenge if his son Jake, now 29, killed his baby's mother ( L-R) Angela and Billy Wagner)
Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and other charges, admitted responsibility for five of the shootings, and is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Angela Wagner pleaded guilty to helping to plan the slayings, and prosecutors recommended a 30-year sentence for her.
Her husband, George 'Billy' Wagner III, pleaded not guilty in the killings and awaits trial.
The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence 'Frankie' Rhoden, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, and 16-year-old Christopher Jr.; Clarence Rhoden's fiancée, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.´s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.
Prosecutors say the Wagner family planned the killings for months, motivated by a dispute over custody of the daughter Jake Wagner had with Hanna Rhoden. Authorities said that child was staying with the Wagners when the killings happened.
Hanna, then 19, was pushed by the Wagners to give custody to Jake but later wrote on social media months before the slayings that 'they will have to kill me first.'
Jake testified last month that Hanna's comment was his 'tipping point' and worried his toddler daughter was at risk for abuse.
'I had no other choice than to kill Hanna,' Jake said in the crowded courtroom.
Jake Wagner (center) testified in court against his brother George Wagner IV as a part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. He pleaded guilty last year to shooting five members of the Rhoden family in Pike County, Ohio on April 22, 2016. Jake pictured in court in 2021
Hanna, then 19, was pushed by the Wagners to give custody to Jake but later wrote on social media months before the slayings that 'they will have to kill me first.' She was shot in her sleep after she claimed Jake had to kill her in order to gain custody of the three-year-old they shared
Hanna wasn't the only one killed in the massacre - eight members of the Rhoden family were murdered, and all but one were shot in the head while they slept in their homes.
The victims were Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; and the couple's three children, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Hanna May Rhoden, 19; and Clarence 'Frankie' Rhoden, 20.
Frankie Rhoden's fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 4; and a cousin Gary Rhoden, 38, were also murdered.
The Wagner family planned the massacre for nearly three months and bought masks, ammunition and a device to cut off phone signal, Prosecutor Angela Canepa said.
On the night of the massacre, George, Jake, and Billy drove to four separate homes across rural Ohio where the victims were killed and moved the bodies.
Hanna was the main target for the Wagners - but her brothers Chris and Frankie Rhoden and their father Chris Rhoden Sr. were also on their hit list.
She was shot multiple times as she slept next to her baby whom she shared with another man.
Jake said he previously thought about pinning the murders on Hanna's boyfriend Corey Holdren.
Earlier in the trial, the matriarch of the Wagner family who helped with the Pike County Massacre testified in court against her son, claiming that it was her husband's idea.
Hanna Rhoden, mother of Jake Wagner's toddler daughter, was shot multiple times while sleeping with her baby. Her brother Christopher Jr, right, was also killed in the slayings
Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, and his ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37, were among those killed
Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, (left) and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38, were also shot dead
Clarence 'Frankie' Rhoden, 20, and his fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20, were shot dead while sleeping with their child
Angela Wagner, 52, testified that it was her husband George 'Billy' Wagner III's idea to kill the Rhoden family as he feared they would seek revenge if their son Jake, now 29, killed his baby's mother.
Angela Wagner said that her younger son, Jake, had wanted to kill his child's mother, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, but that her husband, Billy, 50, objected because he believed the woman's family would seek revenge.
'They'll know, and then they come for Jake. They'd shoot him, if not all of us,' Angela Wagner said her husband had told her. He also said the rest of the woman's family 'had to be murdered,' she testified.
The slayings stemmed from a child custody dispute involving another of Angela's sons and one of the victims, authorities have said.
Angela testified that they feared Jake's daughter Sophia was being sexually abused because she would return to their home with her genital area 'red' and it had 'strong odors.'
She testified that the murders were performed to protect the child, Fox19 reported. When asked why the family didn't contact Child Services, Angela reportedly said she didn't know.
Angela Wagner, who was asleep when the murders happened but knew about it, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to 14 counts and agreed to testify against her older son and her husband.
In return, prosecutors dismissed eight counts of aggravated murder and agreed to not seek the death penalty.
Investigators claim the family bought ammunition, a magazine clip, brass catchers and a bug detector to prepare for the crimes.
It is claimed that they constructed a homemade silencer that was used in the shootings and used 'counter-surveillance devices' on the properties as well as tampering with phones, cameras and parts of a home security system.
The Wagner family lived in Alaska (pictured) briefly in spring 2017. Everyone but Billy wanted to live there permanently after the murders, but the father didn't because his own dad was ill
The Wagner family fled to Alaska after the murders. From left to right: Edward 'Jake' Wagner, Angela Wagner and George Wagner IV are pictured outside a supermarket in 2017
Forged documents were found on the computer purporting that Hanna Rhoden had agreed to share custody.
The Wagners took phones from six of the victims, as well as a recording device and trail cameras.
Angela reportedly confessed that the family took a vote on whether they would commit the murders and both her sons and husband said yes.
Prosecutors claim that Billy lured Christopher Sr to his death by setting up a fake 'lucrative' drug deal at the Union Hill Road Property before he was shot dead.
George and Jake were hidden in the car and are accused of ambushing Hanna's father before going on to three other homes along the road.
In a 911 call following the shootings, a woman sounded out of breath as she frantically told a dispatcher: 'I think my brother-in-law's dead ... There's blood all over the house.'
'There's blood all over the house. My brother-in-law is in the bedroom and it looks like someone has beat the hell out of him.'
In this 2016 photo, a private property sign guards the boarded up garage on property on Union Hill Road near the trailer where the bodies of Dana Rhoden and her children, Chris Rhoden Jr., and Hanna Rhoden, were found on April 22, 2016
Crime scene investigators were first called to Union Hill Road at 8.21am, when seven of the victims were found.
The first three homes where bodies were found are located within a couple miles of one another on a sparsely populated stretch of road, while the eighth body was found in a house within 30 miles just before 2pm.
The Wagner family moved to Kenai, Alaska, after the killings but returned to Ohio in 2018 when they ran out of money. They were arrested in November of that year.
At the time, the family said they were moving to escape what they claimed was unfair speculation that were responsible for the murders.
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