A Pike County jury will be taken to several locations pertaining to the murders of seven members of the Rhoden family and Hannah Gilley in 2016 in rural southern Ohio. George Wagner IV is one of several members of his family implicated in the crime.
Four members of the Wagner family were charged in the 2016 murders of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County, Ohio. The first trial — of eldest son George Wagner IV — began this week.
Rita Newcomb, 66, had been accused of forging custody documents and lying to a grand jury and investigators in an effort to cover up the execution-style murders of eight members of the Rhoden family.
The 76-year-old grandmother, who is facing charges of obstruction, is an institution in Pike County known by some as a beloved Sunday school teacher who is always giving back to her community.
Investigators believe the slaughter of eight family members in Piketon, Ohio could have been triggered by a custody dispute between one-time lovers Jake Wagner and Hanna Rhoden.
