Ohio AG: Alaska family is 'specific focus' in Rhoden massacre

Chris Graves | Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Wednesday that an Ohio family who recently moved to Alaska is a "specific focus" in the Rhoden family massacre last year in Pike County.

DeWine, however, declined to characterize Wagner family members as either suspects or persons of interest in the April 22, 2016 slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family.

DeWine's comments come just two days after his office issued a press release asking for the public's help in sharing information anyone may have about George "Billy" Wagner, 46; his wife, Angela, 46; and their two sons, George Wagner IV, 25, and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 24. The Wagner family lived at a Peebles farm that authorities searched last month. The family sold the farm this spring. They moved into a rental home in Kenai, Alaska last week, a neighbor said.

"This is a very specific request. We want to focus public attention, recollections or memories people may have on these four specific people," DeWine said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

That information, he said, might include the "buying or selling of guns or ammunition or vehicles."

Angela Wagner and Jake Wagner in interviews with the Enquirer earlier this month and last year have repeatedly and vehemently denied involvement in the deaths of Christopher Rhoden, Sr., 40; his ex-wife, Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; their children, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20, Hanna Rhoden, 19, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; his brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38. Also killed in the massacre that took place in four separate trailers, was Frankie Rhoden's finance, Hannah Gilley, 20. Each was shot to death.

The Wagners declined to comment this week on the advice of their lawyer.

The plea for information has generated a "substantial number of tips," to Ohio and Alaska authorities. But Attorney General spokesman Dan Tierney declined to elaborate on the nature of those calls or give a precise number.

DeWine said an arrest in the case is not imminent but did say investigators are getting closer to solving the most complex investigation in Ohio history.

Jake Wagner was the longtime boyfriend of Hanna Rhoden. The two shared custody of their daughter, Sophia, who is now three. Billy Wagner and Chris Rhoden, Sr, were close friends, according to family members.

Angela Wagner said in an email interview with The Enquirer earlier this month that the swirl of suspicion around her family has deeply hurt the family.

"What has happened to us in the last few weeks has been devastating and will follow us for the rest of our lives," she wrote. "Hanna was loved by all of us. She was like a daughter to me then and now.

"Her loss still hurts to this day especially when we see her every day in Sophia," Angela Wagner said.

DeWine acknowledged that the decision to issue the release with photos is uncharacteristic. Tierney would not say the database from which investigators found the family's photographs, but added that police have access to Department of Motor Vehicles and passport photos.

"But this is not a normal investigation," he said.

When asked what he would tell people who may now see the Wagner as suspects, he said: "I would say everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. There are no charges and no indictments in this case."

Anyone with information about the killings is asked to call the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 1-855-224-6446 or the Pike County Sheriff's Office at 740-947-2111. A $11,365 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.



