Jake Wagner, guilty of murdering 8 people in Pike County, receives the possibility of parole

WAVERLY, Ohio — In a Pike County courtroom Friday, Judge Jonathan Hein decided to avoid the prosecution’s plea deal with Edward “Jake” Wagner and instead give him a chance at parole. .

Jake pleaded guilty in 2018 to the murder of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families in Pike County. The murders, which occurred on April 22, 2016, claimed the lives of Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, Dana Rhoden, 37, Hannah “Hazel” Gilley, 20, Christopher Rhoden, 16. Rhoden Jr., 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 37-year-old Gary Rhoden, 19-year-old Hanna May Rhoden and 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden.

The plea deal Jake signed with prosecutors was for eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Instead, Hein sentenced him to eight life sentences with the possibility of parole after 32 years.

Edward “Jake” Wagner, his mother, Angela, and grandmother, Rita Newcomb, were sentenced Friday for their roles in the 2016 murders of eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families in Pike County.

Newcomb was sentenced to five years of probation; Angela Wagner was sentenced to 30 years in prison, of which she has already served six. That sentence was in line with the plea deal she reached with prosecutors.

However, when it came Jake’s turn to be sentenced, Hein shocked the courtroom.

“How do I resolve what seems to me to be a kind of gender bias?” Hein said.

He noted that Angela received a “good deal” for her cooperation with the prosecution, while Jake, who also cooperated and testified during his brother George’s trial, was due to receive the same sentence as George.

“How do I resolve the good deal your mother got, especially since she could have stopped the whole thing in its tracks?” Hein said.

Before the sentences were announced, Hein gave the Rhoden and Gilley families the opportunity to address Angela, Jake and Newcomb; After that, each defendant was allowed to make a statement.

You can see the family’s statements in their entirety in the following video:

Members of the Rhoden and Gilley families address Jake and Angela Wagner

Andrea Shoemaker, Hannah Hazel Gilley’s mother, spoke first, often screaming in anger.

“You are the most evil mother, to help plan, carry out and take the lives of three young mothers,” Shoemaker told Angela. “My daughter was only 20 years old and do you want 30 years behind bars? She was 20 years old. She didn’t even try alcohol. She spent six months with her son.”

He told Jake and Angela that he wanted everyone to suffer and that he hates them.

She briefly addressed Newcomb and told him that she felt sorry for the woman but was grateful that she had been the first to confess to the crimes and express feelings of guilt.

“My heart breaks for having such a mean, controlling daughter,” Shoemaker told Newcomb.

Other statements from the family were read by prosecutor Ángela Canepa. The last person to speak, Lisa Wiesel, niece of Chris Sr. and Kenneth, said she did so on behalf of the rest of the Rhoden family.

He said the family did not agree with the sudden sentencing before Billy Wagner’s trial.

“We do not agree with making hasty decisions to end this once and for all,” he said. “The Wagner family are master manipulators. They are a true danger to society and this crime should not be taken lightly or risked… We can only pray that the actions in this court today do not dismantle the justice that has not yet been served ”

Then, turning to Jake, he said that the sentencing would be the last time he would give him any thought.

“You’ve said time and time again that we’ll always be family,” she told Jake. “No, we won’t. I won’t think about you anymore after today. When those doors close behind you, you’ll be an afterthought to our family forever.”

During their statements in court, Newcomb and Angela expressed their regret.

Newcomb simply stood for a moment, said a single tearful apology, and sat back down.

Angela regretted the murders and said she is no longer the woman she was in 2016.

“I didn’t consider the consequences those actions would cause,” Angela said.

You can see Angela’s full statement in the following video:

Angela Wagner speaks in court during her sentencing for the Pike County murders

When it was Jake’s turn to speak, he asked permission to turn and address members of the Rhoden and Gilley families face to face.

“I have a lot to say, but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to see the victim’s family because they’re the ones I really want to talk to,” he said.

Jake stood and turned, facing the courtroom gallery.

“I’ve had friendships or relationships with many of you,” he said. “I have met many of you, and I know very well that because of the way my crimes, what I have done to you and your family, there is no apology I can give today, no explanation, nothing I can do to help you to ease the pain you have, the loss, the anger, the hate. Nothing can save that.

From there, he spoke for more than 10 minutes, primarily about his faith, his strengthened relationship with God, and how the victims’ families can heal through their faith. At times he specifically addressed Shoemaker, who he said had shown the greatest hatred toward him, telling him that hatred would not heal his heart.

As Jake spoke, most of the members of the Rhoden and Gilley families stood up and left the courtroom.

Despite this, he continued to speak, mainly about his faith, but also told a story of how he had helped another inmate he had met, who had plans to murder the mother of his child after his release, and brought him to prison. faith. also.

“I’m not miserable,” Jake said. “I do not live in misery. I have experienced your loss. I have experienced your pain.”

Hearing him say that, more family members walked out of the courtroom.

Jake ended his speech by telling the victim’s family that he still prays for them and will continue to do so.

“Don’t do it,” someone in the gallery said.

You can see Jake’s full statement in the video below:

Jake Wagner speaks in court during his sentencing for the Pike County murders

Prosecutors filed a request on Dec. 10 and again on Dec. 30 asking the Ohio Supreme Court to try to disqualify Judge Jonathan Hein from Pike County cases, as prosecutors protested his sentencing scheduling. Hein.

Both requests were denied, clearing the way for the sentencing to continue as scheduled.

Hein announced in the courtroom during a Nov. 20 hearing. that he planned to overturn the death penalty in Billy’s case before the trial began and officially sentence other members of the Wagner family.

Both Jake and Angela made complicated agreements with the state in 2021 and have not yet been sentenced, as those agreements were contingent on testifying during any trial related to the murders, including Billy’s.

In Angela’s deal, prosecutors agreed to drop eight counts of aggravated murder in exchange for pleading guilty and recommended that she serve 30 years in prison without early release.

Jake’s guilty plea is more complicated: He pleaded guilty to 18 charges, including aggravated murder. Prosecutors agreed to rule out the possibility of imposing the death penalty on all members of the Wagner family in exchange for Jake’s testimony at any trial. He could still receive up to eight consecutive life sentences for the murders.

Now that the death penalty is no longer on the table for Billy and the prosecution’s key witnesses are scheduled to be sentenced, it’s unclear whether Jake or Angela will still have to testify at Billy’s trial.

Newcomb, Angela’s mother, was charged with obstruction of justice and forgery in 2018 and He also reached a plea deal in 2019.

To further complicate the case, Hein also decided to rule in favor of the defense attorney’s requests. moving Billy’s upcoming trial out of Pike County. On November 25, Hein ruled that there was too much public and media interest in the case to empanel an impartial jury.

“The court finds that the intense scope of media coverage in this case – and other closely related cases – was so pervasive that bias is presumed,” Hein’s decision reads. “Pike County’s small population and intense media coverage lead the court to conclude that no juror could honestly answer that they have no prior knowledge of the horrendous factors in this case.”

As of now, it has yet to be announced where exactly Billy will face trial.

You can read the latest on the Pike County murder case, including the trial of George Wagner IV, here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries