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George Wagner IV, an Ohio man convicted in the killings of eight people in the 2016 Pike County Massacre, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Monday, December 19, George Wagner IV, 31, was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences with 121 more years after being convicted last month on several counts, including aggravated murder. Wagner was also charged with conspiring with his family and attempting to cover up evidence in the 2016 massacre of the Rhoden family.
In April 2016, Wagner and his family conspired to kill the Rhoden family over a custody dispute involving a toddler shared by Wagner’s brother Edward “Jake” Wagner and one of the victims, Hanna Rhoden.
The judge sentenced Wagner despite the defense's contention that Wagner was unaware of his family's involvement in the 2016 shootings. However, prosecutors argued that Wagner was with his brother and father when they went to their homes in Pike county and helped move bodies after the murder.
George Wagner IV was accused of plotting the murder of the Rhoden Family
On Monday, George Wagner IV was sentenced to several consecutive life sentences after an Ohio judge declared him guilty of plotting the murder of the Rhoden family.
In 2016, eight members of the Rhoden family were shot to death, including a teenager in rural Ohio. George Wagner IV's family members were arrested and charged with the murder of the Rhoden Family over a custody dispute. Authorities said six people were reportedly killed in their sleep.
Wagner’s brother, Edward "Jake" Wagner, pleaded guilty to killing five people and provided testimony against his brother in exchange for prosecutors reconsidering the death penalty.
Wagner, the first to be sentenced for the gruesome crime, maintained that he was unaware of his family’s machinations. However, the judge, while sentencing the accused, said even if he didn't pull the trigger, he was still complicit in the murder as he did not stop his family from committing the atrocious crime.
In a statement during the hearing, the judge said:
"He was there and participated, and certainly there was no effort made to stop the crimes from taking place. In fact, by the testimony, the defendant was a willful planner and willful participant in the crimes."
The Wagner family is accused of killing 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr. and his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden. They also killed their three children, 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr, and 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, who shared a toddler with the brother of George Wagner IV.
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, were also among the slain.
George's mother, Angela Wagner, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill the family and is presently awaiting trial with her husband, George "Billy" Wagner III, who pleaded not guilty to the killings.
