Bobby Jo Manley stopped by her ex brother in law, Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s trailer everyday to feed the dogs and the chickens. After Christopher and Dana’s divorce too, she kept coming and feeding the pets.
On April 22nd, 2016, Bobby arrived at the house, but notices the dogs outside, normally they would be in the trailer. She found the door of the house was locked, which was strange because Christopher would always open the door first thing for her to just walk in. She had a spare key, she opened the door and walked inside. In the living room, she found blood and drag mark, she followed the mark and found Christopher’s and his cousin, Gary Rhoden’s body in the bedroom. She called 9-1-1.
After the call, Bobby went to one of Christopher and Dana’s son, Frankie Rhoden, who lived with her fiancé, Hannah Gilly and their six-month old son, Ruger. Frankie had a another 3 year old child, Brentley Rhoden from previous relationship, who also live there.
Bobby knocked on Frankie’s door, but 3 year old Brentley open the door who seemed confused and said that, it looks like his dad has turned into a zombie. Bobby walked into the bedroom find out the body of her nephew and his fiancée Hannah, with blood soaking sheets and the floor. Their six month old son, Ruger was sitting next to his parents dead body, covered in bloods and patting his father’s chest. Both the kids were unharmed.
Bobby and Dana had a brother, James who went to Dana’s trailer who was also just a short walk away. He went inside to find his sister Dana dead along with Dana’s and Christopher’s daughter, Hanna(19) and another son, Christopher Rhoden Jr.(16). All three of them lying lifeless on the bed. Hanna’s four day old daughter, Kylie was also in the house, unharmed.
The news of seven members of the Rhoden family being killed spread across all the news channels.
A couple of hours later, another cousin of Christopher Sr., Donald Stone, found Christopher Sr.’s brother, Kenneth Rhoden dead inside his trailer about 15 minutes away. Donald Stone then called 911 and reported the murder.
The three kids, Brentley, Ruger and Kylie were taken out of the area and put into temporary protective custody.
Hanna Rhoden also had another daughter, Sophia, who was almost 3 years old. Sophie was with her father, Jake Wagner. Jake was Hanna’s ex boyfriend.
Years went by with no formal arrests or major leads in the case. As police released conducted their preliminary investigation, details about a marijuana growing operation and cockfighting led the public to speculate about a possible cartel connection.
Family and community members grew weary about the length of the investigation, often making public pleas for information leading to the killers.
However, this theory was dismissed as the murders were highly targeted and personal, sparing young children. The investigation also noted that the family dogs didn’t bark during the killings, suggesting the perpetrators were likely known to the Rhoden’s. This detail further supported the theory that the murders were carried out by someone close to the family, rather than unknown individuals or a drug cartel.
During the whole investigation, hundreds of tips were reported, and detectives had executed dozens of search warrants. One day, the detectives went to search in a 27 acres farm which was located at 260 Peterson Road, Peebles, Ohio. Few tips told them that this was an important place to look out. The farms had a new owner, but was previously owned by Jake Wagner, Hanna’s ex boyfriend.
Detectives started watching all the Wagner’s family, after they found that Jake has a daughter with Hanna and they had an ugly battle over the custody of their daughter.
Wagners’ were one of the richest families in the area. They were wealthy, powerful and everyone in the Pike county knew them.
After the murders, the Wagner family relocated to Alaska, where they believed they could find some peace and privacy away from the intense media attention and legal troubles in Ohio.
In November 2018, George “Billy” Wagner, his wife Angela, and their two sons, George IV and Jake was arrested and charged with murder and 20 other charges.
Angela’s mother is Rita Newcomb, and Billy’s mother Federicka Wagner, were also arrested and accused for covering up the murders.
Since the detectives had known about the custody battle over Sophia, they had uncovered enough evidence to show that the plans to kill the Rhoden’s had been in motion for a while.
Jake and Hanna relationship began when Hanna was just 13 years old. When Hanna was 16, she gave birth to their daughter, Sophia, on November 18, 2013.
While Hanna was pregnant, Jake become obsessed with the idea of custody and wanted Sophia all to himself, when she was born. He even started controlling Hanna, like where she went, who she met, what she wore, and what she ate. This was too much for Hanna, so she broke up and moved in with her mother, Dana.
Jake Wagner was deeply involved in custody disputes regarding his daughter, Sophia. The Wagner family pressured Hanna to relinquish custody, which she vehemently resisted, stating in a Facebook message that “they will have to kill me first” if they wanted her to give up her child.
When Jake found out Hanna was pregnant with her second baby, Kylie, despite her not being his baby, Jake demanded Hanna put his surname on Kylie’s birth certificate. Kylie’s father was Charlie Gilley. Charlie was the brother of Hannah Gilley, who is Frankie’s fiancée. Frankie is Hanna’s brother. Even after the DNA test proved that Kylie was not his child, he still wanted his last name on Kylie.
During the investigation, investigators found hundreds of shell casings, including .22 caliber long rifle casings, on the Wagner property. Forensic analysis revealed that some of these casings matched those collected from the crime scenes. Police also found a gun receipt for a Beretta 92FS.
CCTV footage showed Angela buying two pairs of shoes at Walmart on April 7, 2016, just two weeks before the murders. The shoes matched the tread prints found at the crime scene. Police found gun parts in buckets filled with concrete from a lake.
Jake married a woman, Elizabeth Armer, in Alaska. Elizabeth testified that Jake was controlling and invasive during their marriage. She stated that he requested access to her personal information, including bank account details and social media passwords. Jake also made her cut off contact with her family and required her to sign a contract stipulating that she would not seek custody of Sophia in the event of a divorce.
The turning point came when Angela Wagner accused her of inappropriate behavior towards Jake’s daughter, Sophia. Following this accusation, Jake threatened her life, stating that if she had done what Angela claimed, he would kill her and her family.
Tabitha Claytor, the ex-wife of George Wagner IV, described her marriage to George as oppressive, with strict control over her actions and limited access to her phone. She recounted an incident in November 2014 where a fight over household chores escalated into physical violence, with George hitting her with a belt and slapping her.
Tabitha testified that Angela Wagner imposed strict rules in the household, including restrictions on breastfeeding and sleeping arrangements with her child. After a violent altercation, Tabitha fled into the woods to escape and called her mother for help but was intercepted by George and Jake before she could leave. Initially, Tabitha and her son didn’t have contact, but eventually, they agreed to a 50-50 custody arrangement. However, Tabitha claimed that George frequently violated this agreement and did not inform her when he moved to Alaska with their son in 2017.
The Wagners left their home around 10 PM on April 21. They were armed and had prepared for the attack by studying the Rhoden family’s routines. The first victim was Christopher Rhoden Sr., who was shot in his home. Evidence suggests that he was awake when attacked, as he was found with multiple gunshot wounds. Following Christopher Sr., the Wagners moved to attack his son, Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, who was shot in a separate home where he lived with his fiancée, Hannah Gilley, who was also murdered. Then, the Wagners walked down the path to kill Dana Rhoden and her children. Dana was shot in her bed. Hanna was also shot while in bed. Christopher Rhoden Jr. was killed shortly after his mother. The last victims were Kenneth Rhoden (Christopher Sr.’s brother) and Gary Rhoden (a cousin), both of whom were found in different locations. Kenneth was shot just once, while Gary suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
A total of approximately 32 shots were fired during the killings, indicating a brutal and calculated attack.
The Wagner family members—Jake Wagner, his mother Angela Wagner, and his brother George Wagner IV—were indicted on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and other related offenses.
Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to 18 counts, including aggravated murder. In exchange for his cooperation with authorities and testimony against his family members, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the death penalty for all involved. Angela Wagner also entered a plea deal, pleading guilty to her role in planning the murders.
On January 3, 2025, Jake Wagner was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 32 years. This sentence was surprising as he had initially agreed to serve eight consecutive life sentences without parole. The judge considered his cooperation with authorities when determining the sentence.
Angela Wagner received a 30-year prison sentence as part of her plea agreement for her involvement in the planning of the murders. She was credited for six years already served.
George Wagner IV was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole in June 2022 after opting for a trial rather than cooperating with authorities.
Angela’s mother, Rita Newcomb, was also implicated and received five years of probation for lying to investigators during the case.
George “Billy” Wagner III is the last of four family members facing charges in the case. He recently agreed to move his trial out of Pike County, a small rural community intimately familiar with the case.
