Rhoden killings: Initial questioning of jurors set for July in case against George Wagner IV

For the first time since the Wagner family was arrested in November 2018 for the killings of eight people in Pike County, a judge has set a complete timeline for jury selection and a trial date for one of the defendants.

Trial dates had been set before, but no process for jury selection had ever been scheduled or defined.

In Pike County Common Please Court Wednesday morning, Judge Randy Deering said that July 5-14 will be used for initial questioning of potential jurors in the aggravated murder trial of 30-year-old George Wagner IV, who along with his mother, father and younger brother were all charged with the Rhoden family homicides that happened in April 22, 2016.

Individual questioning will happen over three weeks in August, and Deering set the trial to start on Aug. 29.

George Wagner IV, his parents George "Billy" Wagner III and Angela Wagner, and their other son, Edward "Jake" Wagner are all charged with shooting to death Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife Dana Manley Rhoden; their daughter, Hanna May Rhoden; their sons, Christopher Rhoden Jr. and Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden; Frankie's fiancee, Hannah Gilley; Chris Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden; and Gary Rhoden, a cousin.

Jake Wagner, 29, pleaded guilty to all 23 charges against him on April 22, the fifth anniversary of the homicides. In exchange for his confession and plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the death penalty option for all four Wagners.

Jake Wagner and Hanna May Rhoden had a child together, and investigators have said disputes over custody and control of the child prompted the violence.

George Wagner III and George Wagner IV have asked the judge to drop those charges ahead of trial, but he has not done so because a condition of the agreement was that both Jake and Angela Wagner must testify at trial, so the death penalty option remains in place.

Angela Wagner — who prosecutors say helped to plan the killings and knew about them but did not participate — pleaded guilty to lesser charges in September. As part of her agreement to testify against her family, the now 51-year-old will spend 30 years in prison.

Read more: Former prosecutor says length of time to get Wagner cases to trial not unusual

Pike County killings: A look back at what happened

A look at the Wagner family: They spoke to the Enquirer

Jake Wagner will spend the rest of his life in prison, per the agreement.

Also on Wednesday, the judge set several additional court dates for George Wagner IV, including an April 1 hearing in which experts will testify about the viability of shoeprint evidence investigators say they found at the crime scenes.

Billy Wagner, 50, was in court on Tuesday, and prosecutors and his attorneys agreed that his trial date will likely be set some time in October.

hzachariah@dispatch.com

@hollyzachariah

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: One defendant charged in Pike County Rhoden homicides gets trial date