Edward Jake Wagner pleads guilty in fatal shootings of Rhoden family
The charges included eight counts of aggravated murder, as well as charges of conspiracy, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence and other charges. Author: 10TV Web Staff, Associated Press Published: 1:16 PM EDT April 22, 2021 Updated: 11:29 PM EDT April 22, 2021
On the fifth anniversary of when eight members of a Pike County family were found dead in their homes, one of the suspects pleaded guilty in their murders.
Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 counts in court in a deal with prosecutors that spares him from a potential death penalty.
“I am guilty, your honor,” Wagner calmly told the judge again and again, as each count was read.
Updated: 6:13 PM EDT Apr 22, 2021 WLWT Digital Staff WLWT Digital Staff Edward “Jake” Wagner will now plead guilty to eight counts of aggravated murder in the slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family five years ago.Five years to the day after eight members of the Rhoden family were found dead in 2016, 28-year-old Jake Wagner appeared in a Pike County courtroom Thursday, taking a plea deal.He will plead guilty to eight counts of aggravated murder.He also agreed to plead guilty to gun specifications, conspiracy, burglary, possession of dangerous ordnance and tampering with evidence.In exchange, prosecutors will drop the possibility of the death penalty.Eight members of the Rhoden family seven adults and a teenage boy were shot execution-style at four homes near Piketon, about 90 miles east of Cincinnati in rural Ohio, on April 21 and 22, 2016.Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Clarence Frankie Rhoden, 20; Dana Lynn Rhoden, 37; Gary Rhoden, 38; H
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.