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The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre is a true crime docu-series currently streaming on Oxygen. On April 22, 2016, a heinous and horrible act rocked rural Ohio. Eight members of the Rhoden family were brutally killed in Pike County in a premeditated and horrible slaughter at gunpoint.
The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre, a three-part documentary series on Oxygen, centers on this horrific incident. The first two episodes aired on November 24, 2023, and the third episode premiered on November 25, 2023.
In November 2018, four Wagner family members who knew the Rhodens were arrested in Ohio and Kentucky and charged with the eight murders. George Wagner III is one of the accused in the crimes and his wife and two sons have already been sentenced in connection to these crimes.
The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre - Is George Wagner III convicted of murder?
George "Billy" Wagner III is the patriarch of the Wagner family and he is about to get a standing trial after years of delays. As of now, George Wagner III is not convicted of murder, unlike his other family members.
According to Oxygen.com, Wagner's online jail records show that he is accused of 22 crimes, eight of which are related to the 2016 Rhoden family tragedy and involve aggravated murder. Additional counts include forgery, burglary, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, and more. He entered not-guilty pleas to each of the 22 accusations.
Why was George Wagner's trial delayed several times?
George 'Billy' Wagner has been in jail awaiting trial following his arrest in November of 2018. He’s the final defendant to stand trial in the Pike County family massacre. Over the years, his case has been stalled for several reasons.
Wagner's lawyers have been battling hard to have the trial moved outside of Pike County, citing the case's pre-trial publicity and the high probability of a biased jury, particularly in light of his son George's conviction in the same courtroom last year. Thus, a change of venue delayed the trial.
Wagner's trial was again postponed until January 2023 due to the requirement to select a new judge for the case after Pike County Judge Randy Deering retired, according to WCMH-TV.
Trial procedures were further postponed with the selection of Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk as Judge Deering's substitute. Having Junk take over for Deering would have presented a conflict of interest because he was one of the original prosecutors on the mass murder case.
The case has been further delayed after it was decided at a status conference hearing in March 2023 that delaying the trial until 2024 would give the lawyers ample time to review the copious amounts of evidence and paperwork from Wagner's son George's 2022 trial.
How many people did George Wagner III murder?
According to the prosecution, Wagner was directly involved in carrying out the killings. As per their reports, the Wagner family planned Hanna Rhoden's execution along with the deaths of her closest relatives in order for Jake Wagner to have exclusive custody of Sophia, his daughter with Hanna.
George Wagner III is believed to have planned the string of killings with his two sons, Jake and George Wagner IV. In particular, Wagner III is charged with acting as the triggerman in at least three of the killings, based on testimony given in court. According to WXIX, he is suspected of shooting and killing Christopher Rhoden Sr., Hanna's father, as well as Gary and Kenneth Rhoden. Thus, he has murdered three members of the Rhoden family.
The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre is currently streaming on Oxygen.
