OH - Pike Co - 8 in Rhoden Family Murdered - 4 Wagner Family Members Arrested #88

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1709635614247678307

Canepa not opposed to renew motion after jury selection starts if there are problems ... but standard has not been met yet.

Stephens rebuttal: Passage of time is not a factor like Canepa says it should be. And size of county for Pike is much different than Enron case in US Supreme Court precedent.
 
Pike Co. massacre hearing today in case against George "Billy" Wagner - oral arguments set on defense request to move venue out of county because of publicity surrounding trial of son George last fall.

Just brought Billy Wagner in - so about to get started. Again, visiting judge R. Alan Corbin is presiding since current Pike Co. judge is Rob Junk, the former prosecutor who helped convict George Wagner IV

Judge Corbin says probably not issuing decision from bench - wants to issue a written decision that should come very timely.

Now have a trial date of May 6 as well per the judge and defense lawyer Marc Collins.

Tentatively scheduled for 8 weeks - the trial for Wagner's son George IV took nearly 12.

Kaitlyn Stephens handling argument for defense: Says this is the rare limited case that meets U.S. Supreme Court exception to move before voire dire is tried. Says presumed prejudice can be found

Stephens: Needs to look not just at quantity of pretrial publicity but quality. Says everything out so far blatantly prejudicial - talking about prosecutors saying "we've got one more to go" and calling Billy Wagner "an evil monster”

Now moving on to size of community argument - only 17,000 registered voters in Pike Co. Says Columbus Crew stadium is bigger than that.

Only 300 responded to summons for jury duty v. 1000 sent out for the Wagner trial. Stephens motions to the media in the courtroom and refers to the media room packed downstairs.

Closes by saying US Supreme Court case is much more recent (2010) v. what the prosecution cites from 1972

Now special prosecutor Angela Canepa points out that US court case was the Enron case, and presumed prejudice was not found.

Canepa: Many of the comments defense referred to were made 6 years ago ... and crimes occurred seven years ago. Also says Billy's defense lawyers routinely talk to the press.

Only tapped about 1 percent of registered voters in last trial per Canepa. Also points out neither Jake or Angela Wagner's testimony was televised or streamed live.

Canepa: the court can take mitigating steps to handle the concern ... also pointed out voire dire took 12 days v. just a few hours or days for George IV.

Court stops for a second for nationwide alert. Then Canepa points out that court able to seat a jury in previous trial.

Canepa: Lots of pretrial publicity does not necessarily mean prejudice by potential jurors.

Canepa not opposed to renew motion after jury selection starts if there are problems ... but standard has not been met yet.

Stephens rebuttal: Passage of time is not a factor like Canepa says it should be. And size of county for Pike is much different than Enron case in US Supreme Court precedent.

Also states even without TV coverage, Jake and Angela testimony still reported out from courtroom. Also, there has now been a trial and comparing to this situation.

Marc Collins defends his statements to the media in previous hearings as procedural and not fact based.

Judge Corbin says he heard a few more issues in court - and will issue a written statement soon. And we're done.

 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1709648395025977675

A trial for the final defendant in the 2016 #PikeCountyMassacre case will be May 6, 2024. The venue for the case against #BillyWagner is not yet known, as a court today heard arguments for and against moving the trial out of Pike County. 1/9

The judge in the case, R. Alan Corbin, said he'd issue a written decision on Wagner's change of venue request "in timely fashion." Corbin said: "I will give this No. 1 priority." 2/9

Corbin announced the trial date from the bench in the Pike County Common Pleas Courthouse in Waverly, Ohio, after meeting with attorneys for both sides in chambers. Corbin said he'd hold eight weeks for the trial, noting that might be longer than needed. 3/9

Wagner's trial should be moved because of "presumed prejudice," defense attorney Kaitlyn Stephens said at the hearing. Pretrial publicity and continued media attention to Wagner's case make seating undecided jurors -- from the county's small jury pool -- difficult, she said. 4/9

Prosecuting attorney Angela Canepa said the passage of time will dampen potential jurors' memory of news coverage. Co-defendant George Wagner IV, son to Billy, was found guilty in November 2022, and Billy's wife and younger son entered guilty pleas in 2021. 5/9

Canepa also said she believes she can seat an unbiased jury in Pike County, despite having summoned 1,000 local citizens and putting 330 through the jury selection process in the Wagner IV trial. "We only went through 1% of the registered voters," she said. 6/9

Six Rhoden supporters appeared in the courtroom for today's hearing. Among them were Geneva Rhoden, Tony Rhoden and Wilma McCoy -- mother, brother and sister to victims Chris and Kenneth Rhoden. 7/9

Other victims in the 2016 shooting rampage were a cousin to the brothers, Gary Rhoden; Chris Rhoden's wife, Dana Manley Rhoden, and their three children, Frankie, Hanna and Chris Jr.; and Frankie's future wife, Hannah Hazel Gilley. 8/9

Above, Billy Wagner rises between attorneys Mark Collins, left, and Thomas Hayes, right, as he prepares to exit the courtroom. (Photo by @ldufour @enquirer.) Watch http://enquirer.com for an update when Corbin rules on the change of venue request. 9/9

 
arielilane said:
Pike Co. massacre hearing today in case against George "Billy" Wagner - oral arguments set on defense request to move venue out of county because of publicity surrounding trial of son George last fall.

Just brought Billy Wagner in - so about to get started. Again, visiting judge R. Alan Corbin is presiding since current Pike Co. judge is Rob Junk, the former prosecutor who helped convict George Wagner IV

Judge Corbin says probably not issuing decision from bench - wants to issue a written decision that should come very timely.

Now have a trial date of May 6 as well per the judge and defense lawyer Marc Collins.

Tentatively scheduled for 8 weeks - the trial for Wagner's son George IV took nearly 12.

Kaitlyn Stephens handling argument for defense: Says this is the rare limited case that meets U.S. Supreme Court exception to move before voire dire is tried. Says presumed prejudice can be found

Stephens: Needs to look not just at quantity of pretrial publicity but quality. Says everything out so far blatantly prejudicial - talking about prosecutors saying "we've got one more to go" and calling Billy Wagner "an evil monster”

Now moving on to size of community argument - only 17,000 registered voters in Pike Co. Says Columbus Crew stadium is bigger than that.

Only 300 responded to summons for jury duty v. 1000 sent out for the Wagner trial. Stephens motions to the media in the courtroom and refers to the media room packed downstairs.

Closes by saying US Supreme Court case is much more recent (2010) v. what the prosecution cites from 1972

Now special prosecutor Angela Canepa points out that US court case was the Enron case, and presumed prejudice was not found.

Canepa: Many of the comments defense referred to were made 6 years ago ... and crimes occurred seven years ago. Also says Billy's defense lawyers routinely talk to the press.

Only tapped about 1 percent of registered voters in last trial per Canepa. Also points out neither Jake or Angela Wagner's testimony was televised or streamed live.

Canepa: the court can take mitigating steps to handle the concern ... also pointed out voire dire took 12 days v. just a few hours or days for George IV.

Court stops for a second for nationwide alert. Then Canepa points out that court able to seat a jury in previous trial.

Canepa: Lots of pretrial publicity does not necessarily mean prejudice by potential jurors.

Canepa not opposed to renew motion after jury selection starts if there are problems ... but standard has not been met yet.

Stephens rebuttal: Passage of time is not a factor like Canepa says it should be. And size of county for Pike is much different than Enron case in US Supreme Court precedent.

Also states even without TV coverage, Jake and Angela testimony still reported out from courtroom. Also, there has now been a trial and comparing to this situation.

Marc Collins defends his statements to the media in previous hearings as procedural and not fact based.

Judge Corbin says he heard a few more issues in court - and will issue a written statement soon. And we're done.

Click to expand...
I was so glad to see Special Prosecutor Angie Canepa back again in prime form!
She was calmly composed, confident and made very solid points without being overly dramatic in the Courtroom.

She is a seasoned Prosecutor and I have a lot of faith in her.

JMO

#JusticeForTheRhodens
 
Last edited:
www.wcpo.com

Pike County murder trial: Billy Wagner's trial date set, scheduled for roughly eight weeks

Billy Wagner, like his wife, Angela, and two sons, Jake and George, is accused of taking part in what's been called one of the biggest murder cases in Ohio's history.
www.wcpo.com www.wcpo.com

Last updated 3:50 PM, Oct 04, 2023

WAVERLY, Ohio — The date the murder trial for the patriarch of the Wagner family will begin was announced in court Wednesday during a hearing.

The trial of George "Billy" Wagner III is scheduled to begin May 6, 2024 and should last roughly eight weeks. [...]

[...] Currently, Billy still faces the death penalty. His wife, Angela and son, Jake have both entered plea bargains with the prosecution that would lift those specifications in exchange for their testimony in trial; the same deal was struck for George's trial.
 
IMO, this case WILL be tried right there in Pike County, as it should be. So Big, Bad Billy better start s-ucking it up and realize his days are numbered just like his 2 boys. All MOO. I hope they each live long lives so they have to think about just how bad they effed up each and every second of their miserable lives. :mad:
 
Thanks for all the updates! I was too busy to watch yesterday, but will check out the video.

I agree with the others - AC is doing a very good job, as always. She's making fair, compelling arguments to avoid change of venue for now. I like her suggestion that they should revisit the issue when they are close to trial and notice any problems.

I hope Billy wises up before long and takes the generous plea deal that the prosecution team offered. It would be nice for him to spare the surviving Rhoden and Gilley family members the ordeal of another long, emotionally draining trial.

I'm still very glad that Ohio AG Dave Yost was wrong in his belief that there wasn't enough evidence to convict the Wagners for the murders. Good thing the prosecution team kept it all moving forward.
 
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