The much anticipated trial of George Washington Wagner IV, 30, in the 2016 octuple homicide of members of the Rhoden family in Pike County, Ohio, begins Monday.
Many things can happen during the first week — including defense lawyers filing additional motions for the judge to consider — but, here is what is likely:
Seating of the jury/voir dire: Lawyers will question a pool of about 70 Pike County residents to determine if they will be seated as jurors. Previously, about 450-500 Pike County residents completed a long questionnaire and were questioned by lawyers, so the process should go fairly quickly. The jurors already answered questions about their views on the death penalty, as well. That is necessary in this case as the eight aggravated murder charges carry the potential for the death penalty.
How will the jury get picked? Defense and prosecuting lawyers can remove a potential juror (called striking) for cause, meaning that one side believes there is an arguable reason that person should not serve on the jury. In this case, the defense and prosecution also each get six peremptory challenges and one for each alternate juror, as outlined by Ohio rules of criminal procedure and ruled on by Judge Randy Deering during a motion hearing in June. Such challenges let lawyers remove a potential juror without having to give a reason. Usually, there is some indication a person will not be favorable to one of the sides. Once 12 jurors (and likely four to six alternate jurors in this case) are agreed upon, the jury is considered "empaneled" and the trial moves forward.
Of note: No cameras will be allowed during the jury selection and seating of the jury, given the judge's order related to media decorum.
Jury road trip/s (called jury view): The Court may take jurors by bus or van from the courthouse to visit the crime scenes, the former farmhouse of the Wagner family in Peebles, Ohio, as well the nearly 2,000-acre horse ranch/farm that is the home of George Wagner's grandmother, Fredericka Wagner, which was the scene of multiple police searches. Deering approved in May the prosecution's request for visits to nine properties as well as to the Pike County Sheriff's Office impound lot, where three trailers and a camper where the Rhodens were killed and a pick-up truck, have been stored for years. In jury views, both defense and prosecution lawyers have input on exactly what the jury will see and not see.
See the motion here:
Of note: Fredericka Wagner's farm is particularly important because it is the site where officials are believed to have found the weapons they allege were used in the killings. In 2021, George Wagner's brother, Jake, lead officials to three guns — a Walther .22-caliber handgun, an SKS semi-automatic rifle that fires 7.62x39 mm rounds and a Glock .40-caliber handgun. According to discovery documents filed in court, it appears officials may have found those weapons hidden in concrete buckets. They also found a knife in concrete. However, there has never been any indication any of the victims were stabbed.
See the discovery list, which was filed in court in June:
Opening statements, which reporters usually cover as a news event, are not expected to begin until Tuesday, Sept. 6. However, timing in trials can be very fluid, so reporters and photographers need to be flexible.
Of note:
Judge Deering has ordered media not to show, nor name jurors in this case and restricted video coverage of the initial jury questioning in his media order, so it remains unknown if he will put restrictions on the media/public when jurors visit properties.
Court records are your friends, especially in a case like this because of the gag order. There are more than 100 motions filed in this case. Lawyers often provide details in these documents about evidence and strategy. It is ALWAYS worth reading them as well as the court docket. In some states, documents are available online; in many, however, you must visit the courthouse and make a copy or call the court clerk and request a copy. It's always a good idea to check back often and also pay particular attention to when records are unsealed. *Students, we will delve into Nebraska law and how to get court documents locally later in the semester.
Questions for students:
You are asked by your editor to determine why jurors will visit certain addresses outlined in the jury view motion above. What steps might you take to report the relevance of the properties listed?
Court terminology can be confusing and sometimes hard to read: What question/s do you have after reading this post?
- I would take care in knowing why these places are significant and pointing out that significance of each place. I would look at/make a known timeline of events that explains the locations within the case. I would read up on anything about the case in court records or any other files and articles I can find.
- Is the judge placing a gag order for the safety of the juror and to keep case proceedings 'under wraps', or what other reasons are there?
To report the relevance of the properties listed, I would first go through the court records and various motions (though ideally, I would be up to speed on those). Using inferential logic, things that aren't explicitly stated in a court motion can be related to another, for example, the belief that the weapons were found at Fredericka Wagner's ranch, even though it is not explicitly said. If I were not able to find the information in court records, I would try to contact the police officers involved in the investigation or other journalists/figures who are involved and knowledgeable about the case.
The thing that is most distracting to me when reading the court documents is the various rules and laws…
You are asked by your editor to determine why jurors will visit certain addresses outlined in the jury view motion above. What steps might you take to report the relevance of the properties listed?
To determine why jurors will visit certain addresses in the jury view motion, I would probably read through the court records, since these would include information about evidence and strategy. Learning about the evidence in the case might help me understand why it's relevant for jurors to see certain properties. For example, if I learned in the court records that a gun was used to kill someone and then hidden at one of the addresses my editor mentioned, that would tell me why that address was…