Live: Murder trial of George Wagner IV in Pike County continues
Update, 11:45 a.m.: Jurors in the murder trial of George Wagner IV began listening to audio clips captured by wiretaps and recording devices from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Wednesday morning.
The jury is currently at lunch and testimony is set to resume at 1 p.m.
Audio recordings the jurors listened to during their morning session featured mostly accusations, suspicions and arguments made between Angela Wagner, George Wagner IV and Edward "Jake" Wagner. Some contained conversations between Jake and his ex-wife Elizabeth Armer, who testified earlier that Angela Wagner was a controlling mother.
In two different recordings, Angela Wagner and George Wagner IV tell Edward "Jake" Wagner he needs to be better to his daughter, Sophia. Sophia was at the center of a custody dispute between Jake and Hanna Rhoden. Prosecutors say the dispute was the motive behind the Wagners killing the Rhoden family.
Jurors this morning heard five calls from May 2018 between members Wagner family in the #PikeCountyMassacre trial of #GeorgeWagnerIV. Investigators captured the audio from family phones and devices installed in the semi-truck Wagner IV and his brother Jake were driving then. 1/11
— Patricia Gallagher Newberry (@pattinewberry) November 9, 2022
WAVERLY, Ohio − Another day of testimony in the murder trial of George Wagner IV is expected to resume around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, but first the attorneys and judge are meeting to finalize entry of evidence.
While much of the country followed the midterm election prognostication on Tuesday, jurors in the Wagner trial saw an hour and 45 minutes of testimony and then followed deputies back to the jury room and waited. And waited. And waited for more testimony that never came.
In the courtroom, Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa and defense attorney John P. Parker argued, sometimes contentiously, over the entry of audio clips of communications between the Wagner family, who the state says killed the Rhoden family April 21/22, 2016.
Jurors began listening to audio clips captured by wiretaps and recording devices from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Wednesday morning.
Looking like today will be the final one for the prosecution in #PikeCountyMassacre trial of #GeorgeWagnerIV. Updates and live feed @Enquirer. pic.twitter.com/23cufN6ueR
— Patricia Gallagher Newberry (@pattinewberry) November 9, 2022
Defense schedules three witnesses for Thursday
Wagner IV attorney John P. Parker said Tuesday he is ready to more formally start presenting the defense's case. He said he’s got an expert witness flying in to appear on Thursday morning, with two other witnesses to follow.
Canepa said the prosecution will cede the floor on Thursday for the defense even if it does not rest its case by the end of Wednesday. That's what happened Monday, with the defense having scheduled three witnesses from Alaska along with three local witnesses.
Canepa expressed confidence she can move through the audio evidence quickly on Wednesday, since lawyers settled most objections on Tuesday. “We can get it done,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Pike County killings: Murder trial of George Wagner IV continues
