Hannah Gilley.
Kenneth Rhoden was found shot once in his camper several miles away.
Bobbi Jo Manley, Dana Rhoden’s sister, went to Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s trailer to feed his dogs. Manley found Christopher and Gary’s bodies covered in blood in the trailer and called 911. Christopher had defensive wounds on his body, according to an autopsy report.
“There’s blood everywhere,” Manley said on the 911 call. Manley and her brother,
James Manley, found six other members of their family shot. Frankie Rhoden and his fiancée, Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, were shot in the head in their bed. Their 6-month-old child was in the bed with them covered in blood. Frankie’s toddler son was covered in blood as well and answered the door when Bobbi Jo approached.
In an immediate hearing which was called on Thursday afternoon, 28 year old suspect Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to the brutal killings of all eight of the Rhoden family members who were murdered on April 22, 2016.Â
The hearing, which began at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday in Waverly, was a result of Wagner s decision to change his not guilty plea from three years ago to guilty. That original plea was made back in 2018 when four members of the Wagner family were arrested and charged with the murder of eight Rhoden family members.Â
Thursday marks exactly five years since arguably the most horrendous event in Pike County s history. The event has garnered national attention in the years since and has been the result of TV show episodes, documentaries, podcasts, and more.Â
But when Deering asked Wagner for his plea to the aggravated murder charge for Hanna Mea Rhoden, the mother of Wagner’s young daughter, Wagner paused. He hesitated. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his face grew red. He held back tears.
Everyone waited on edge for the words.
Edward Jake Wagner pleads guilty to all charges
“I am guilty, your honor,” he finally said. By the day’s end, he had pleaded guilty to all 23 charges originally filed against him (his parents and older brother still face the same charges) for what investigators said was an elaborate and long-planned execution plot to get rid of anyone who might stand in the way of custody and control of Jake Wagner’s child.
Pike County murders: 8 deaths, multiple arrests tied to one key factor child custody Will Garbe
The fight for custody of a child was at the center of a battle that led to one of Ohio’s most notable mass murders, the killings of eight members of a Pike County family, according to a Dayton Daily News investigation that first appeared in December of 2018.
Today, on the fifth anniversary of the killings, Jake Wagner agreed to plead guilty to a number of charges in the case and to testify against some of his family members.
Here is the 2018 Dayton Daily News investigative piece on the bitter child custody fight in its entirety:
Apr 22, 2021
On the 5th anniversary of the Rhoden murders in Pike County, one of the suspects in the case on Thursday, admitted to his role in the slayings during a court hearing.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that Jake Wagner s surprise plea in Pike County court was not listed on the public docket until moments before the hearing took place.
Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk said the 28-year-old Wagner changed his plea and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the cases against his parents and older brother in exchange for taking the possibility of the death penalty off the table in his own case.