Man pleads guilty in fatal shootings of 8 from Ohio family
By Mark Gillispie and Kantele Franko - Associated Press
A man pleaded guilty in the murders of his child’s mother and seven other members of her family on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of when the shootings were discovered in southern Ohio.
Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 counts in Pike County court in a deal with prosecutors that spares him from a potential death penalty. He agreed to cooperate in the cases against his parents and brother, who also are charged in the Rhoden family slayings of seven adults and a teenage boy.
Ohio Man Pleads Guilty in 2016 Killings of 8 in Same Family
Edward Wagner, 28, who prosecutors said had been in a custody dispute over his daughter, apologized for the Rhoden family murders.
Edward Wagner after apologizing to the Rhoden family during a court hearing in Pike County, Ohio, on Thursday at which he pleaded guilty to killing eight of their family members.Credit.Robert McGraw/The Chillicothe Gazette, via Associated Press
April 22, 2021Updated 11:37 p.m. ET
An Ohio man pleaded guilty on Thursday to eight counts of aggravated murder in the fatal shootings of his child’s mother and seven of her family members in 2016, a crime that spurred rampant speculation that it was tied to drug trafficking but that prosecutors said had stemmed from a bitter custody dispute.
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.
Associated Press
Edward Jake Wagner is arraigned at the Pike County Courthouse on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018 in Waverly, Ohio.
In the Pike County Common Pleas Court Thursday, Edward “Jake” Wagner changed his plea to guilty for all 23 of the charges he faces. He stood flanked by his attorneys in a black button down shirt, hands clasped in front of him.
At times he appeared to smile as he repeatedly responded “I am guilty your honor,” while the judge read through each individual count and specification.
Judge Randy Deering presided, and he explained many of those counts carry mandatory minimum sentences. Early on he added them together to explain the full scope of the sentence Wagner is facing.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) â Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost today issued the following statement following the plea agreement filed in the case of Edward Jake Wagner:
âI am incredibly proud of our team at the Bureau of Criminal Investigation whose dedication, perseverance and expertise lead to todayâs plea.
The scope of this crime and subsequent investigation surpasses any other in Ohioâs history. The dedicated men and women of BCI rose to the challenge in the pursuit of justice for the victims â and never gave up.
BCIâs work spans countless long nights, weeks and years and will continue until all responsible for these crimes are held accountable.