Woman Admits Role In Killings Of 8 Members Of An Ohio Family

A 50-year-old Ohio woman has admitted to helping plan the murders of eight members of a family in 2016.

Angela Wagner pleaded guilty Friday in southern Ohio’s Pike County to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, burglary and evidence tampering, the Associated Press reported.

Aggravated murder charges against her were dropped as part of her plea deal. Wagner also agreed to testify against the other remaining defendants. Prosecutors recommended that she serve a 30-year prison sentence.

Wagner became the second member of her own family to admit a role in the 2016 killings of seven adults and a teenager from the Rhoden family. Her husband and their two adult sons also were charged in the slayings that prosecutors said stemmed from a dispute over the custody of Wagner's granddaughter.

In April, her son Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 charges, including aggravated murder, in a deal with prosecutors that spares him and his three family members from being sentenced to death, Fox19Now reported. He also agreed to testify against his mom, dad and brother at their trials.

Jake agreed to a sentence of eight life sentences without parole, according to the outlet.

His father, George “Billy” Wagner III, and his older brother, George Wagner IV, have pleaded not guilty.

Eight members of the Rhoden family were fatally shot in April 2016 at three trailers and a camper near Piketon in Pike County, Ohio. Guns with homemade silencers were used to kill the victims as they slept, according to prosecutors.

Special prosecutor Angela Canepa said the Wagners spent months planning the murders and originally targeted only some of the victims. "Some sadly were killed because they happened to be there," the prosecutor said.

Most of the victims were shot in the head, and some had bruising. There were three young kids present in the trailer and camper at the time of the incident, but they were unharmed.

The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr. and 19-year-old Hanna; Clarence Rhoden’s fiancée, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.

Prosecutors said the Wagners planned the murders due to a dispute over the custody of the daughter Jake had with Hanna Roden.

Jake's mother was fully aware of the plans and bought "phone jammers" to make sure their victims would be unable to call for help, the special prosecutor said. She also forged custody documents and monitored the social media activities of some of the victims, according to Canepa.

After Jake’s guilty plea in April, Tony Rhoden Sr., the brother of one of the victims, said the family was grateful that they were able to get "some semblance of justice."