OH - Pike County: 8 people from one family dead as police hunt for killer(s) #3

[AmyPond]

cujenn81

Good job putting all that info together. I have to keep going back on these 3 Threads of info. By the time I get back I have to read another 3 pages that I've missed. Thank you

Dang...only 3 pages? When I went to bad last night I stopped at page 50 of the last thread. Came on today and that one was closed (after 70+ pages) and this one already had 20+ pages! I decided to just skip the tail end of #3. I don't have that much time...ha!

But they said none of the victims shot themselves and the killer was loose. Of course, some of that could change at this point.

At this point, I am not taking what LE has said as gospel at all. Not that I don't trust LE to do their jobs. But I don't necessarily trust them to tell us things that are 100% factual. At least based on the last (weird) press conference.

If there was some kind of "shoot-out" at one of the crime scenes...would LE tell us that? Or would they keep that to themselves at this point?

 

[birpu]

Rural southern Ohio seems to have a deep recent history of involvement with drugs. I have been googling around and there is a bit more than speculation to suggest a Mexican cartel connection in the general area. What has been noted in this case certainly looks like small potatoes by comparison to some earlier operations with confirmed Mexican connections.

And we know that there has been a serious rural market for Oxy and other opioids, recently supplanted by heroin (possibly as a result of a state-led shut-down of rural "pill mills" several years ago).

What I don't know is how many layers exist between a Mexican operation and producers locally. I do believe in the likelihood of an ongoing tension between the folks who produce and the folks who distribute. And when there are big-money illegal operations turf is very important. Hard telling exactly what kind of violation this family committed with some piece of an operation--taking too big a cut, not paying for protection, attempting to go it alone, or just losing money via something else (like gambling on *advertiser censored*-fighting or derbies) and not being able to repay, but as Michael Corleone said, this looks to me more like business than personal.

This is part of an earlier post I put up. I think it addresses a bit of what you are wondering. This report by the Justice Dept is an excellent look at what's going on in Appalachia if anybody wants to read it. And I agree it was business...:

"Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the principal wholesale drug distributors in the Appalachia HIDTA region; African American, Caucasian, and Mexican DTOs and criminal groups as well as street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) distribute a variety of drugs at the retail level and midlevel throughout the region."

https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs32/32761/drugover.htm


" Kentucky's eradicated marijuana crop for 1999 yielded plants valued at $787,088,000..... Tennessee's eradicated marijuana crop for 1999 yielded plants valued at $628,226,000..... West Virginia's eradicated marijuana crop for 1999 yielded plants valued at $70,728,000"

https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/hidta2001/appl-fs.html

 

[Margo/Mom]

Or a turf war between the lower rungs and those on the next stair upwards.

 

[ScotsPaddy]

There was a comment i read recently where the poster said to check the father and his friends, not meaning Chris Snr, maybe his father?, for the life of me i cant remember where i read it as i had several pages open at the time.

 

[cady]

Cartel Schmartel....JMO

 

[JoHyphen]

I can't figure out why all of these people had to die. That is what is clinging in my brain. If it was to keep a secret, how would anyone know who had said what to whom? Doing this couldn't guarantee that. I would think a threat against the family would have more effect. I don't see how one person or even two could have done this. There were three people killed in two of the locations, correct? That takes alot of strength and control to take down three people in whatever way they did.

I guess the biggest thing to me is the so many people, in different locations and why this was necessary?

 

[KKearns]

Dang...only 3 pages? When I went to bad last night I stopped at page 50 of the last thread. Came on today and that one was closed (after 70+ pages) and this one already had 20+ pages! I decided to just skip the tail end of #3. I don't have that much time...ha!



At this point, I am not taking what LE has said as gospel at all. Not that I don't trust LE to do their jobs. But I don't necessarily trust them to tell us things that are 100% factual. At least based on the last (weird) press conference.

If there was some kind of "shoot-out" at one of the crime scenes...would LE tell us that? Or would they keep that to themselves at this point?

Exactly.. Everything LE is saying right now has to be confirmed for me. This goes beyond holding back info and spin. I don't understand it at all.

 

[cady]

There was a comment i read recently where the poster said to check the father and his friends, not meaning Chris Snr, maybe his father?, for the life of me i cant remember where i read it as i had several pages open at the time.

I suggested reading Clarence Rhoden obituary 2008.......googled it and it is still online, no one seemed to have curiosity piqued, except me.....so maybe no big deal. JMO

 

[KKearns]

I can't figure out why all of these people had to die. That is what is clinging in my brain. If it was to keep a secret, how would anyone know who had said what to whom? Doing this couldn't guarantee that. I would think a threat against the family would have more effect. I don't see how one person or even two could have done this. There were three people killed in two of the locations, correct? That takes alot of strength and control to take down three people in whatever way they did.

I guess the biggest thing to me is the so many people, in different locations and why this was necessary?

Now absent of the "most asleep single bullet to the head while sleeping" which can be quiet.. I think it has to be a lot more than one.

 

[JaimeInLA]

I suggested reading Clarence Rhoden obituary 2008.......googled it and it is still online, no one seemed to have curiosity piqued, except me.....so maybe no big deal. JMO

I had also suggested looking into Clarence's wives. One has an arrest for drug running from KY to Detroit.

 

[carbuff]

I thought I'd share my comprehensive notes with y'all... hoping maybe they'll be helpful to some of you.

4 Properties:
4077 Union Hill Road
4199 Union Hill Road
3122 Union Hill Road
Left Fork Road

4077 Union Hill Road is within walking distance of 4199.
3122 Union Hill Road is 1970 feet away from 4077.
Left Fork Road is approximately 8.2 miles from 4077 Union Hill Road (a 17 min drive without traffic).

Distance TO/FROM nearby cities from 4199 Union Hill Road:
Piketon = 17.5 miles (20 minutes)
Peebles = 9.7 miles (13 minutes)
Lucasville = 27.8 miles (29 minutes)
Chillicothe = 38.5 miles (46 minutes)
McDermott = 32.1 miles (37 minutes)

Piketon, OH – population estimated at 2,000; located 90 miles east of Cincinnati
Pike County, OH – roughly 30,000 residents

VICTIMS

Hanna Rhoden (19) – daughter to Chris Sr. & Dana Rhoden; found in Dana’s house with Dana and Chris Jr.; worked as a nurse assistant at a Skilled Nursing Facility in Lucasville since January but recently took maternity leave; has a 2 year old daughter who was with another family member at the time of her murder; shot in bed next to her 4-day-old daughter

Hannah Gilley (20) – engaged to Frankie Rhoden; found at home with Frankie, their surviving 6-month-old child, and Frankie’s surviving 3-year-old son from a previous relationship; lists herself as self-employed on Facebook; attended Northwest High School in McDermott, OH

Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden (20) – son to Chris Sr. & Dana Rhoden; found at home with fiancé Hannah Gilley, their surviving 6-month-old child, and his 3-year-old son from a previous relationship; competed in both in-state and out-of-state demolition derby competitions; worked at a sawmill and attended Piketon High School

Dana Manley Rhoden (37) – married Chris Sr. on October 27, 1994 in Adams County and divorced in 2007 citing irreconcilable differences; shared custody of their three children (Frankie, Hanna, & Chris Jr.); court records indicate Hanna and Chris Jr. lived at Dana’s residence; worked at a nursing home in Peebles, OH since October of last year

Gary Rhoden (38) – cousin of Chris Sr.

Chris Rhoden Sr. (40) – ex-husband to Dana; per court records, Frankie lived at his residence after the divorce; worked at Big Bear Resort in Lucasville, OH

Kenneth Rhoden (44) – brother to Chris Rhoden Sr.; has two children with an ex-wife who he married in Waverly, OH on May 17, 1991 and divorced in 2006, citing incompatibility; his two children are now 19 & 23 years of age; previously employed at Crownover Lumber Company in Peebles, OH

Chris Rhoden Jr. (16) – son to Chris Sr. & Dana Rhoden

First 911 Call
Caller: Bobbi Jo Manley @ 7:49 am on Friday, April 22, 2016
Reported finding Chris and Gary Rhoden deceased at 4077 Union Hill Road
Key statements:
“There’s blood all over the house”
“my brother-in-law is in the bedroom…”
“There’s blood all over the front room”
“Both of them in there look like they’re dead”
“I think they’re both dead, looks like someone’s beat the [expletive] out of ‘em”
“The door was locked when we got here but I know where the key was at”
“I went in and they were laying on the floor”

BOBBI JO’S DAD, LEONARD MANLEY, TOLD REPORTERS:
“Well, my daughter feeds them animals out there every morning, Bobbi Jo the one that made the 911 call. She got the key to the place. She went in found my grandson and his girlfriend dead. Went down found my son in law and his cousin dead. Then she come out and got me and I went out there and my boy went to my daughter’s house and they found them. My daughter, her daughter, and her son.”


CRIME SCENE INFO
One incident report regarding one of the killings said the crime scene showed no signs of forced entry.

Roosters - Ohio AG Mike DeWine confirmed roosters were found in separate cages at one of the homes and suggested someone in the family may have been running a cockfighting enterprise

Marijuana - Grow operations have been found at three separate residences; LE estimate street value of plants to be $500,000; during an interview with Cincinnati radio station 700WL, DeWine described the grow sites as some of the biggest operations he’s seen in the state; Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk told The Columbus Dispatch that operations included an indoor grow-house that sheltered hundreds of plants

(Per the Humane Society of the United States, cockfighting and associated gambling is frequently connected to illegal drug activity.)

HISTORY OF NEARBY DRUG ACTIVITY

February 2016 - A 37 lb. box of marijuana was discovered by postal worker at the Piketon Post Office. The discovery led to an investigation that unearthed a “scatter” lab that was being used to produce large quantities of hash oil at an unknown property located on Beaver Run Road.

2012 – AG DeWine issued press release announcing LE had discovered “a major marijuana grow site” in Pike County with suspected ties to a Mexican drug cartel. During the discovery, 1200 plants were destroyed by investigators and two abandoned campsites were located, which they believe had belonged to Mexican nationals.

CURRENT KNOWN THEORIES BEING INVESTIGATED BY LE
Include: Mexican cartel, gang activity, family disputes, revenge killing
They believe they are looking for multiple shooters due to the number of crime scenes

CONFIRMED INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED BY LE

Isaiah Jones - detained at gunpoint during a traffic stop and questioned for six hours
Rusty Mongold - detained and questioned about a threat he posted on Facebook prior to the murders


OTHER STUFF

Per Leonard Manley (Dana’s father), the family had 2 fierce pit bull dogs, what he referred to as a “wolf dog,” and multiple hound dogs. He said the dogs were “nowhere to be found” when Bobbi Jo arrived at a residence and discovered the bodies.

Dana Rhoden was one hour late for work on Thursday, April 21; she also worked a double-shift to help out due to a co-worker being unable to work; she worked from 8 am to 11 pm.

NEW INFO

*61 additional pieces of evidence sent to BCI crime lab for DNA, ballistics, latent print, and trace analysis; this brings the total evidence to 79 (the 18 previously reported pieces are considered “high-priority”)

*Additional search warrants were issued on 4/25/16

*LE has received 300+ tips

*215 different LEO have contributed to the investigation

PRELIM AUTOPSY REPORTS

confirmed cause of death for all 8 victims is homicide via gunshot wound

all shots were fatal with wounds to the body including the head, torso, and extremities

some victims also suffered soft tissue bruising (per hopkinsmedicine.org, soft tissue bruising is: “A contusion (bruise) is an injury to the soft tissue often produced by a blunt force, such as a kick, fall, or blow. The result will be pain, swelling, and discoloration because of bleeding into the tissue.)”

Victim #1 – Single Gunshot Wound
Victim #2 – 2 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #3 – 3 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #4 – 3 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #5 – 4 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #6 – 5 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #7 – 5 Gunshot Wounds
Victim #8 – 9 Gunshot Wounds
*Total of 32 gunshot wounds between the 8 victims.

(The relationship between the # of gunshot wounds/victim has not been released and this list is in no particular order.)

Thank you so very much.

Mods, could we include a link to this post in the thread's first post?

 

[Toralei]

I just want to say I am irritated with the language in the press conferences. A "sophisticated execution style" killing does not mean up to 9 gunshot wounds. This wasn't a clean estéril hit executed by hired ****s , this was a bloodbath. Given the statements today about bruises on some of the victims I don't know what to believe.
So were there two hundred or two thousand marijuana plants seized? Are 200 plants enough to be considered a sophisticated operation? Does anyone know if the time of death on any of the victims has been established? What I mean is do we know who was shot first and how many wounds that person sustained who was the last to die and what injuries they sustained etc.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[Paulas88]

Is there a press conference today?

 

[Cryptic]

You may be underestimating the level of criminal sophistication of hillbilllies...but let me clarify my comment.

I could be, but then it is hard to demonstrate a negative (show that locals could not have done it).

Though it is possible that backwoods crime clan carried out, or arranged the attacks, one needs to admit that such groups dont have a history of committing crimes of this magnitude in recent generations. Likewise, I can only re-call one vaguelly similar incident regarding a biker gang committing a crime of this magnitude (French Canadian (?) faction duped and then executed 7 or 8 other Hells Angels). This was about 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, the murder of family along with the primary target(s), over kill violence etc. is standard operating procedure for the Cartel.

 

[Adt1984]

I know several other murders have been mentioned that have occurred around the same area, however, the only one I feel may have a connection is the mother/daughter killed in Minford.. for 2 reasons- they were killed overnight and the mother was shot execution style while in bed with no signs of forced entry and because at least 1 of the 8 victims does have a tie to Minford. JMO.

 

[JaimeInLA]

So.... You know the 2 kids who were involved in the FB threat? Their names have been mentioned in mainstream media. (http://www.wtsp.com/news/crime/is-drug-cartel-behind-execution-style-murder-of-ohio-family/154062881)

One of them (IJ) seems like a pretty sincere, good kid based on his FB posts.

The other one, who is named in that article, has some very interesting FB posts. Including a new one about how he just visited his new baby daughter. NEW. BABY. DAUGHTER.

Just when I think I know who did this, I fall into a FB hole and now my head is spinning again.

 

[gngr~snap]

"DeWine's office said more than 150 pieces of evidence in the case have been sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Authorities also have conducted a number of searches of property. DeWine's office declined to release the exact number of searches and the locations."

http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/04/coroner_pike_county_family.html

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[birpu]

From that Justice Dept report (this refers to the Tennessee portion of Appalachia, but you could probably apply the same to other grow areas):

"Most of the marijuana produced by smaller Caucasian criminal groups and independent growers in the region is abused within the region, and most of the marijuana produced by large Caucasian DTOs is transported to markets outside the area, including drug markets in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Law enforcement officials in Tennessee report that Mexican DTOs and criminal groups also cultivate cannabis at outdoor grow sites in the state; however, the distribution areas for marijuana produced by Mexican DTOs and criminal groups in the region are an intelligence gap. Additionally, large quantities of Mexican marijuana are available in the region."


https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs32/32761/drugover.htm

I would say the Rhodens probably fall into the small to large Caucasian DTO group (what a weird way to describe it!).

 

[Everyday Grace]

I had also suggested looking into Clarence's wives. One has an arrest for drug running from KY to Detroit.

As far as I can determine, he was only married once and his widow is still living.

There is only one name on his tombstone in the photo on Hanna's FB. The second tombstone is a son (brother to Chris Sr. and Kenneth) who died in his teens.

Cousin Gary's mother has a verifiable conviction for growing weed.

 

[KKearns]

Well I was irritated with the words used in the pressers early on and took some flack for it. What everyone is seeing and being upset about is the same thing I was saying in thread one. I've been involved with too many pressers.. My BS meter keeps rising.

It is almost like this is a total different crime now.