The Ohio man accused of helping carry out the mass slaughter of his son’s ex-girlfriend and seven of her family members in 2016 is pushing for his trial to be moved to another county, claiming his local jury pool has been “tainted” against him.
A pretrial hearing for William “Billy” Wagner III, 53, who is accused of helping carry out the execution-style murders of his son’s ex-girlfriend Hanna Rhoden and her family amid a custody battle for Rhoden’s young daughter was held in Pike County Wednesday.
His lawyers had previously requested that the trial, scheduled for Jan. 6, be moved to another county, as “the jury pool has already been tainted,” Fox 19 reported.
Wagner has pleaded “not guilty” to 22 counts, including eight counts of aggravated murder.
In court, Wagner’s son Edward “Jake” Wagner said he made up his mind to kill Rhoden when she refused to let him share custody of their daughter — the product of a teen romance that began when Jake was 17 and Rhoden was only 13.
Jake then enlisted his parents and brother to slaughter his ex and her entire immediate family, including a 16-year-old boy.
The four allegedly hunted down their victims in three different trailer homes, armed with guns outfitted with homemade silencers.
Rhoden was breastfeeding her second child, a newborn, when Jake found her. He shot her twice in the head and then propped up her body so the baby could continue nursing.
A 3-year-old and 6-month-old were also left alive among the carnage.
It took two years for police to finally announce the arrests of the Wagners.
Before discovering the true motive, they had previously suspected gang or cartel violence, as marijuana plants were discovered growing near the murder scenes.
When he was finally caught, Jake Wagner dodged a potential death sentence in exchange for a guilty plea and testifying against his family members.
He confessed to personally shooting five of the eight victims, and he and his brother George Wagner IV are currently serving eight consecutive life sentences for the murders, plus 121 years for lesser crimes.
In exchange for her guilty plea and testimony, Angela’s charges were downgraded to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, burglary, and tampering with evidence.
But Billy Wagner has refused to plea guilty to any of his charges, though his family are expected to testify against him in his upcoming trial.
The victims of the April 2016 massacre included Gary Rhoden, 38; his cousin Kenneth Rhoden, 44; Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Christopher’s former wife Dana Lynn Rhoden, 37, and their children Hanna May Rhoden, 19; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Clarence Rhoden, 20; and Clarence’s fiancé, Hannah Gilley, 20.
