Ohio man sentenced to life in prison for horrifying family massacre
An Ohio man convicted of plotting with his relatives to massacre eight members of a rival family was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
George Wagner IV, 31, was the third member of the Wagner family to receive his sentence in connection with the 2016 killings of the Rhoden family in Piketon, Ohio.
Wagner was convicted in November on eight counts of murder and 14 lesser counts.
The 2016 execution-style murders in southern Ohio shook the region. Until the Wagners were arrested in 2018, many people believed they were drug cartel-related.
Wagner’s mother, Angela, and older brother, Jake, pleaded guilty to roles in the crimes last year.
Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, his ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37, their three children Clarence, 20, Hanna, 19, and Christopher Jr., 16, Christopher Sr.’s brother Kenneth, 44, Clarence’s fiancée Hannah Gilley, 20, and 38-year-old cousin Gary Rhoden were killed in the attack.
Jake Wagner and Hanna Rhoden shared a child. The Wagner family schemed to kill everyone who could possibly claim custody of that child, according to investigators.
“We are all suffering, hurting, always heartbroken, forever without our children! All because devils like the dark, devils hunt at night, just like you, George Wagner IV, and your evil family did,” said Andrea Shoemaker, Gilley’s mother.
At trial, George Wagner IV claimed he had no knowledge of the plot and would’ve stopped it if he did. However, Jake and Angela Wagner testified against him and said that George IV knew all about the plan.
Wagner was not eligible for the death penalty because his mother and brother took plea deals that spared the whole family from death row.
A fourth Wagner, George III, awaits trial. He has pleaded not guilty to any role in the massacre.
With News Wire Services.
