The Pike County Murders to Be Revisited in New Oxygen True Crime Special
Prepare for a deep dive into The Pike County Murders.
Oxygen True Crime announced that the infamous murders of the Rhoden family will be explored in the new series, which premieres in Winter 2023.
"How did it come to pass that eight members of the same family could be brutally murdered execution-style in four different locations in one night by another family they called friends? The largest murder investigation in Ohio's history rips off the veneer of small-town America, exposing an underbelly of violence, pitting family against family, mother against son, brother against brother, in a haunting story of lies, secrets, and betrayal," a series description reads.
RELATED: 'The Devil Always Hunts In The Dark': George Wagner IV Sentenced For Pike County Massacre
The series, produced by KT STUDIOS, centers on the events that led to the April 22, 2016 murders of Hanna Rhoden; her parents, Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, and Dana Manley Rhoden, 38; along with her brothers Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20, and Chris Rhoden, Jr., 16. Frankie Rhoden’s fiancée Hannah Gilley, 20, and Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s older brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and cousin Gary Rhoden, 38, were also killed.
After a lengthy investigation, it was determined that the Rhoden's friends, the Wagners, likely killed them over a custody dispute over Hanna and Jake Wagner's daughter Sophia, who was in his custody on the night of the killings.
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Jake Wagner ultimately pleaded guilty to eight counts of aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his mother, father and brother, in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Jake's mother, Angela Wagner, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, forgery, unauthorized use of property and unlawful possession of a dangerous ordinance.
Jake's older brother George Wagner IV pleaded not guilty and stood trial on murder charges. A jury ultimately found him guilty of eight counts of aggravated murder and other charges. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences plus 121 years.
A trial date has not yet been set for William "Billy" Wagner.
Oxygen True Crime previously covered the murders in the special The Piketon Family Murders, which aired in 2019.
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