WAVERLY, Ohio — The star prosecution witness in the trial of the man accused in the brutal slayings of eight members of a southern Ohio family admitted Friday that he has lapses in his memory, outlined two times he suffered head injuries as a child and admitted he's lied repeatedly.
Edward "Jake" Wagner, 29, described his memory as a "jigsaw puzzle with extra pieces," testified Friday.
“Sometimes I remember things that didn’t happen that way,” Wagner said during his fourth and final day of testimony in the murder and conspiracy trial against his older brother, George Wagner IV, 31.
Wagner IV is accused, along with his brother and their parents, Angela and George Wagner III in the deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County, Ohio. Jake Wagner pleaded guilty in the case in April 2021 in exchange for testifying against his family members.
“How long have you had this problem?” asked John Parker, Wagner' IV's lawyer.
“A long time,” Jake Wagner said.
Parker: “Do you get confused sometimes?”
Wagner: “Yes.”
The exchange was among several between Parker and Wagner during which Wagner offered new information or slightly different details that he provided during previous testimony under questioning by Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa. Wagner's four-day testimony was the most anticipated of the trial, which is enters its ninth week Monday.
In questioning from Parker, Wagner said suffered two head injuries when he was a boy working on the family's farms. In one, he said a 7-foot long steel pole toppled over and smacked him in the temple. He said he vomited for a week, couldn't eat and had difficulty walking. His father, whom he said didn't believe in doctors, told him he suffered a concussion. His mother said it was heat stroke. He was not treated for the injury, he said.
In an earlier injury, he said he suffered a gash to his forehead when as he tried to wrestle a tractor tire while riding on a four-wheeler. His father took him to the hospital, where doctors had a difficult time stitching the wound, Wagner said.
Wagner: 'I had to talk him into it'
Earlier in the week, an emotionless Wagner testified how he shot and killed five of the eight victims in the spree that has become Ohio's most complex and costly criminal investigation. He said the idea to kill his former girlfriend and mother of his then toddler daughter, because and the family were convinced she was at risk of being molested — even though there was no proof she had been.
Under questioning from Parker, Wagner — for the first time — testified that neither his brother nor his mother thought killing members of the Rhoden family was a good idea.
"I had to talk mom and George into it," Wagner testified Thursday. "George didn't like the idea whatsoever."
And, Wagner testified, his brother was not supposed to go with his father and himself that night and only did so to protect him:
"He was thinking dad was trying to set me up," Wagner testified.
"George went with you to protect you from your father?" Parker asked.
"Yes," Jake Wagner responded.
Wagner also said that his brother, who was supposed to kill family patriarch Chris Rhoden, Sr., could not; so he fired the first two bullets at Rhoden. one of which struck him in the torso.
Wagner also said that en route to the Rhoden land on Union Hill Road, his father pulled over, got out of the pick-up truck bought specifically to be used that night and asked he and his brother, who were hiding in the back of the truck's bed, if they wanted to go through with the plan.
Jake Wagner testified he said yes.
Earlier in the week, Wagner testified that he was close to his brother, loved his brother and during his plea agreement asked if he could have one "last family moment" with his brother, mother, father, daughter and nephew.
Prosecutors did not allow that meeting and Wagner said the last time he saw his daughter was the day of the family's arrests on Nov. 13, 2018.
Parker: Liar gets 'best plea deal ever'
Late Thursday and into Friday, Parker repeatedly called Wagner a liar in an effort to attack his credibility. Parker's cross-examination of Wagner was the most animated and dramatic to date.
Parker asked Wagner if he knew he "got the best plea deal" ever. But before Wagner could respond all three prosecutors objected. Parker withdrew the question.
But Parker continued to hammer at Wagner's believability through his testimony.
“You’re a stone-cold killer, aren’t you?” Parker asked as he was wrapping up his questioning of Wagner.
“I was,” Wagner replied.
“You killed eight people!”
“I did,” Jake Wagner said.
“You’re lying all the time, aren’t you?” Parker asked.
“I did,” Jake Wagner replied in the past tense.
“You are!” John Parker shouted. “You sold your testimony to the state of Ohio to save your life?”
"I provided truthful testimony," Wagner replied.
"You sold that, didn't you? You didn't throw yourself on the mercy of the court with death specifications?" Parker asked.
“That’s one way of looking at it.” Jake Wagner replied.
At the end of the testimony, Pike County Common Pleas Judge Randy Deering asked prosecutors and defense attorneys if they had any further questions for Wagner, who remained shackled at the waist and ankles during his testimony.
With a sweeping motion of his hand, a disgusted Parker said:
“Take him away, judge"
After jurors were led out, Richard Nash, one of Wagner IV's defense lawyers, asked Deering to drop the death penalty specifications against their client since his brother concluded his testimony.
Canepa countered, saying while Wagner was released as a witness, the decision to drop the death penalty will be made at a future date and not in public.
The trial continues Monday.
Questions for students:
Why do you think I chose to use quotations the way I did in the story? Was it effective? Why or why not? Explain you answer.
Jake Wagner "opted-out" of having his testimony broadcast via video and/or audio. This also meant that the still photographer in the courtroom could not photograph him testifying, which was the key moment in the trial. Do you think I should have done more to paint a word-picture of him testifying in an effort to count that? And if so, using what we have learned about observation, what might you have been looking for if you were the reporter covering this trial. Explain your answer.
I believe you chose to use the quotes the way you did because you wanted to show readers how Wagner was responding and to paint a picture of what the courtroom was like. I noticed that Wagner had very short responses as if he were being scolded by an adult as well.
By using quotes in this way the court seemed to come to life, many people have watched trials or have seen photos from trials before, but I feel its the words that make the true impact.
The quotes seem to be used as headings. There is no better way tto transition into a new thing the individual said than to use the actual quote.
Marking his expressions in some way and how he reacted phsically to the questions may provide a better insight into the person on the stnd.
Why do you think I chose to use quotations the way I did in the story? Was it effective? Why or why not? Explain you answer.
I think you chose to use quotations the way you did because the testimony was one of the most dramatic to date, so it probably had a lot of important dialogue. I bet using quotes the way you did was easier and more interesting than paraphrasing what Wagner and the defense said. I thought this was effective because I felt like I was reading a book. Reading quotes like a conversation is a lot more entertaining than reading bland facts that paraphrase what was said.
Why do you think I chose to use quotations the way I did in the story? Was it effective? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
I think you structured the quotes the way you did so we would be able to read the whole conversation in one spot rather than having transitions between each quote. I love this structure when it comes to stories like these. It keeps the pace going and the reader interested and following along with what is going on.