Edward “Jake” Wagner returns to court today for a pretrial hearing. Wagner, along with 5 of his family members, are charged in connection with the murders of 8 members of the Rhoden family in 2016. Watch the hearing live at 11am in the player above courtesy Fox19.
George “Billy” Wagner III, 47; Edward “Jake” Wagner, 26; Angela Wagner, 48; and George Wagner IV, 27, are all facing aggravated murder charges. Rita Newcomb, 65, and Fredericka Wagner, 76, are charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.
The victims in the case are Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; Hanna May Rhoden, 19; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20; Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, 20; Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and Gary Rhoden, 38.
Jake Wagner broke up with Hanna May Rhoden while trying to raise a young daughter together, according to details in a WLWT report. An unnamed Rhoden family member told the outlet that in the weeks before the killings, this man attempted to get Hanna to grant him parental rights to their daughter, but she said no. Court documents showed that Wagner sought custody six days after the deaths.
