Because attacking the witness is all they have.
They planned these murders for months but he didnt have the guts to inform LE. He didnt save his family from themselves. I couldnt live with myself knowing what he knew and did nothing to stop it. He may or may not have voted no but a saint he is not, IMO.
This is where all those random bits of testimony come together. Recall Tabatha, when George was taking her away from the family (whether to see a doctor or to get away, period) and they're stopped at the end of the driveway--and he goes back home. Tabatha gets no treatment. Status quo re-established. She told him she wanted her own home, not a big ask for a new wife and mother. And weirdly enough, I think George "loved" her as much as he could love anyone beyond his family of origin. And still he didn't help or save her.
That's how a lot of the evidence will be interpreted and put in context at closing. Homeschooling is normal. Insisting that undereducated ma/grandma does the homeschooling, not advisable and a bit off. A sort of red flag for abuse. Having a custody clause with "right of first refusal" back to the other parent--normal and pretty common (meaning that if the parent with custody that week needs a sitter, the other parent has first refusal). Having a custody order forbidding babysitters other than the parents or the grandmothers--not normal. (What about aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings? And why is a teenage babysitter trusted by the motheraa problem once the kiddo is a toddler?). Co-mingling financials like insurance, cell phones, car titles, etc. is very common. Having that arrangement co-exist with controlling adult married children's sex lives is pretty much unheard of, bizarre, cult-like.
It's not going to be each of these points taken separately. It's going to be the totality of it once Angela and Jake testify to how the family operates. If the jury understands that all George had to do to be found guilty on most charges is buy equipment, including vehicles, participate in disabling cameras and jamming signals, and be a lookout while carrying a weapon (which Jake has already testified to), he's going down for 8 counts of aggravated murder and conspiracy. If he was in one of the buildings carrying a weapon, that's aggravated burglary with a weapons charge.
One thing the state has done well is to paint George with the same domestic abuser brush as they do Jake. He beat Tabatha with a belt, hit her in the face, and stood by while his mother tried to kill her. Then they concocted false charges to muddy her reputation and make them seem the victims, all the while trying to get her to move back. We see the Wagners assuming full control of Tabatha's son, down to not allowing her visitation. We see in the calendars Angela documenting things Hanna does that Angela sees as bad parenting or child abuse even thought there is shared custody to bolster her custody case to take Sophia 100% time. The prosecution has linked these two women, paralleling the linking they did themselves in their discussions on Facebook, Tabatha warning Hanna not to sign any papers. Juries don't "unhear" things. Tabatha told the defense that she didn't go to Alaska because she didn't want to be shot. Hanna tells TC's mother "they'll have to kill mer first. Hanna ends up shot, along with her whole family. Our own WS visceral reaction is thank God TC did not take her son with her. Tie Tabatha and Hanna and you've tied George and Jake to what their mother's sick needs.
And that's before the state links the casings from the crime scenes, the firing pin, and the guns together. George will be found guilty. And all these small "gotcha" moments will not be remembered the way the jury remembers how Jake positioned dead mothers so that newborns and small babies could nurse. It's not this pile of evidence; it's how that pile of stuff is part of a larger, understandable and monstrous story. Just my opinion.
Edited to add: The last couple of days have shown us, and the jury, how not smart the Wagners are, keeping all of this stuff that ties them to the murders. This trial is the latest "not smart" maneuver; if George really didn't shoot anyone, he should have taken a plea. He might have gotten life with a chance of parole after 30 or 40. He's young enough that he might see daylight again. But no--big man who wanted to attack LE and the governor thinks he can get away with multiple murder. And with this trial, there is always the chance that Jake the liar gets caught in a lie and whoops! the death penalty is back on the table. The whole thing is not smart. Like George.
