PIKE COUNTY — The matriarch for the Wagner family, whose members have been convicted or are facing charges in the 2016 Pike County murders, has filed a new claim trying to have her name removed from a separate wrongful death lawsuit.
>> Downtown Dayton restaurant named as one of top 100 restaurants in the Midwest
Fredericka Wagner, mother of George “Billy” Wagner Sr., wants to be removed from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Rhoden family in connection with the Pike County massacre, according to our media partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.
Fredericka’s attorneys claim she didn’t know about the family’s plan to kill the Rhoden and Gilley family members and did not help cover it up.
Fredericka once faced criminal charges tied to the murders, where eight members of the Rhoden family were killed “execution-style” while asleep in their beds, but those were later dropped.
Four members of the Wagner family, George “Billy” Wagner Sr., his wife Angela and sons George and Edward “Jake” Wagner, were arrested in 2018 and charged with the murders.
Tony Rhoden, a surviving brother of two of the Rhodens who were killed, sued the Wagners for wrongful death and stop them from making money off the case, the station reported.
Those who were found dead in their four homes or nearby on April 22, 2016, include Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, Dana Rhoden, 37, Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, 20, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20, Gary Rhoden, 37, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, and Kenneth Rhoden, 44.
A Pike County jury found George Wagner IV guilty in November 2022 on 22 charges, including multiple murder charges, after deliberating for just over seven hours. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
>> Jury finds George Wagner IV guilty on all charges
>> George Wagner IV gets life without parole for 2016 killings
Angela and Jake Wagner have both pleaded guilty to the murders and in exchange for the removal of the death penalty from the case. As part of their plea deal, Angela and Jake testified in George’s trial and must testify at the trial of George “Billy” Wagner Sr.
>> Jake Wagner pleads guilty to 8 counts of murder
>> Angela Wagner pleads guilty to conspiracy in Pike County killings
This trial is not set to begin until 2024.
©2023 Cox Media Group
