The long-anticipated first trial in Ohio's most complex and costly criminal case was delayed Monday due to the illness of a key lawyer in the case, authorities said.
Opening statements were set to begin Tuesday in the mass-murder trial of George Wagner IV, 30, in the 2016 shooting deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family in rural Pike County. Wagner faces eight counts of aggravated murder in the slayings. He has pleaded not guilty.
Pike County Common Pleas Judge Randy Deering granted a request to delay proceedings until Sept. 12 “due to the illness of a person involved in the trial.” Defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed to the delay, according to the court docket.
Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa, who has been involved in the case since 2016 and argued the majority of the motions, is ill, said two people familiar with the request. Canepa is expected to deliver opening statements and continue to be the lead prosecutor when the trial resumes.
A jury of nine women and three men, as well as six alternates, spent last week visiting nearly a dozen locations that prosecutors allege are in the key in the case, including the properties that once housed the three trailers and campers in which the victims were slain. Jurors, taken together by school bus, also visited two farms that were the scenes of multiple evidence searches over the six-year investigation.
Wagner, his younger brother, Edward "Jake" Wagner; and their parents, George "Billy" Wagner, 51, and Angela Wagner, 51, were all charged in the deaths of Christopher “Chris” Rhoden Sr., 40; Chris Rhoden’s former wife, Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; their children, Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20, Hanna May Rhoden, 19, and Christopher “Chris” Rhoden Jr., 16; Frankie’s fiancee, Hannah Hazel Gilley, 20; Christopher Sr.’s brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and their cousin Gary Rhoden, 38.
Prosecutors say the motive was a custody dispute between Jake Wagner and Hanna Rhoden, who share a daughter. George Wagner's defense lawyers are expected to argue that their client did not shoot anyone and thus should not be convicted.
Jake Wagner and his mother pleaded guilty in 2021 in plea deals that require them testify against Wagner and his father, who is expected to go to trial later this year. Billy Wagner has pleaded not guilty.
The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks. Prosecutors said they have 250 witnesses, however not all of them will be called to testify.
Read an overview of the crime and the case here.
Follow @chrisgraves on Twitter for updates.
Questions to students:
This post uses anonymous sources, which you will not be allowed to do. Can you find that reference above? Why did I have to use unnamed sources in this story? You are my editor: What questions would you ask me before using this information? Would you have allowed the use — explain why or why not.
As you can see, as coverage continues the level of detail lessens. Why do you think reporters begin to compact information as they continue to write about a case?
1. This post uses anonymous sources, which you will not be allowed to do. Can you find that reference above? Why did I have to use unnamed sources in this story? You are my editor: What questions would you ask me before using this information? Would you have allowed the use — explain why or why not.
Prosecutors and jurors are left anonymous since this case is so high-profile. It makes sense that some of the sources are unnamed to prevent bias from creeping into a story. If I was an editor, I would speak to you about the people you talked to and maybe even follow up with them myself if I had the time. I would probably allow…
1. This post uses anonymous sources, which you will not be allowed to do. Can you find that reference above? Why did I have to use unnamed sources in this story? You are my editor: What questions would you ask me before using this information? Would you have allowed the use — explain why or why not.
-Prosecuters are left unnamed in the blog, since this is such an important and big case. I figure they are left unidentified because there cannot be leaks or bias seen in stories or from prosecutors. I would make sure you know these facts are true and tested through a few people, that you got this information legit. I think I would because of…
1. This post uses an anonymous source. When you mention the Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa, who is ill and the reason why the trial is being pushed, you say "two people familiar with the request." The first question I would ask as an editor would be "who are the two individuals?" I would want to know so that the article has accuracy and truthfulness and so that I am able to contact the two sources if needed to confirm the information stated in the article. The only answer I can think of to why the sources weren't identified is because they didn't want their name shared to the public for whatever reason that may be. As an editor I think…
This post uses anonymous sources, which you will not be allowed to do. Can you find that reference above? Why did I have to use unnamed sources in this story? You are my editor: What questions would you ask me before using this information? Would you have allowed the use — explain why or why not.
I think the reference to the anonymous sources is: "Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa, who has been involved in the case since 2016 and argued the majority of the motions, is ill, said two people familiar with the request." Another reference might be: "The long-anticipated first trial in Ohio's most complex and costly criminal case was delayed Monday due to the illness of a key…
You used the term "two people familiar request" instead of naming the individuals involved. If I were the editor of this article, I would ask what credentials and familiarity the individuals had with the request.
A reporter may condense things more in later articles in order to save room for the new information readers clicked on the article to see.