Pike County trial of George Wagner IV on recess until Tuesday
WAVERLY, Ohio -- The trial of George Wagner IV, now in its fifth week, continued in Pike County on Friday. Wagner IV entered a plea of not guilty on 22 counts related to the 2016 shooting deaths of seven members of the Rhoden family and one future member.
Investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation took the stand on Friday to review evidence they found in Adams County. That is where the family packed their belongings into two pickup trucks and three trailers in mid-2017 when they left Ohio for Alaska.
George Wagner IV trial: Pike County murder trial continues Wednesday with interview of Wagner's father
Here's a summary of the Friday action in three sets of Twitter threads.
Takeaway from #PikeCountyMassacre morning testimony in trial of #GeorgeWagnerIV for @enquirer: Wagners dumped a houseful of belongings into two pickups & three trailers when they left Ohio for Alaska in mid-2017. That was a year after the Rhoden family was killed in 4/16. 1/8 pic.twitter.com/m8UTul5Cl6
— Patricia Gallagher Newberry (@pattinewberry) October 7, 2022
On the stand this morning in #PikeCountyMassacre trial of #GeorgeWagnerIV for @Enquirer is Todd Fortner, a special agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. He's walking the jury through evidence found in Wagner trailers and trucks. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/VDSmM198zo
— Patricia Gallagher Newberry (@pattinewberry) October 7, 2022
The final day of week 5 in the #PikeCountyMassacre trial of #GeorgeWagnerIV ends, with a three-day weekend ahead. Jurors heard more detail about Wagner possessions put in storage trucks/trailers when the family moved to Alaska in mid-2017. 1/7
— Patricia Gallagher Newberry (@pattinewberry) October 7, 2022
Pike County murder trial highlights of the week
On Thursday in the Pike County Common Pleas Court, morning witness Bryan White, a former BCI agent now with the Madison County Sheriff Office, walked jurors through ballistic evidence found at a former Wagner family home in Adams County.
Afternoon witness Matthew White, a BCI ballistics expert, said bullet casings found at two of the four crime scenes in the case matched 12 found at the family property. Based on his "microscopic examination" of casings, White said, all of the projectiles "were fired in the same specific pistol."
Defense attorney John Parker ended Thursday with a key question for White.
Pike County killings: More Wagner family members expected to testify
"You don't know who fired the weapon?" Parker asked.
White replied: "No, sir I cannot say that."
On Wednesday, Parker called for a mistrial after the prosecution played a nearly two-hour recorded interview between Wagner IV's father and an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent.
In the video, George "Billy" Wagner III talked to an agent about his friend Chris Rhoden Sr., one of the eight victims shot to death in 2016 in Pike County.
On Tuesday, Wagner IV's former wife, Tabitha Claytor, called the Wagner family "strange and controlling" during a full day of testimony,
Pike County murder trial: Pike County's Wagner family 'strange, controlling,' ex-wife says
On Monday, two family friends along with Claytor, described Wagner family dynamics. Wagner IV's mother, Angela Wagner, made many of their decisions, witnesses said.
More family members are expected to testify moving forward.
The trial resumes Tuesday after the three-day Columbus Day holiday weekend.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pike County killings: What's happening in trial of George Wagner IV
