OH - Pike Co - 8 in Rhoden Family Murdered Over Custody Issue - 4 Wagner Family Members Arrested #84

[rescuemom]

He has recall from being coached. He's had to do it his whole life.

 

[Cool Cats]

And now he says he was a spy for BCI?

Yup. Helping BCI yet BCI arrested him on 22 charges and his mom and brother for "no reason" say he is involved. I'm waiting for the mom and brother's testimony to be addressed.

 

[arielilane]

15 minute break. Return @3:15 pm ET.

 

[CIA Team Member]

Parker has opened the door for Proscution to ask hard questions about all of the planning, etc.
Especially the night of the murders.

Is the prosecution allowed to ask George about ANYTHING they want?

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/jamespilcher

Back in court for afternoon with George Wagner IV taking the stand in his own defense in the Pike Co murder trial.

He says he never tricked Tabby into anything during divorce. Says Tabby wanted their son to stay with him because she couldn't take care of him properly

George says his friends the Rhotens in Virginia - the father said George should get away from the way of life father Billy Wagner was living. Also said he gave up his partying ways when his son was born

Talking now about his deer hunting (calls himself a deer addict who lives breathes dreams about deer). Asked about how he hunted - and then a bench conference

George went out in woods as much as he could - and that led to fights with his mother when he would go out for 2 weeks with the Rhotens. Says he would hunt from 2 hours before sunup until 2 hours after sundown. Accused of leaving work for his brother to do

Says he stopped stealing etc. with his father in about 2014. He was hauling cattle at the time. "I was tired of looking over my shoulder" says other drivers were being hurt or losing jobs for being stolen from

George testifies his brother Jake and Hanna were like daylight and dark. Says Hanna missed out on her teenage years by getting with Jake, who he says is religious fanatic who got it from his mother

Says Angela once said he should sign over custody of his son to her because he was a bad influence on him. Says the family doesn't get along at all.

What do you know about the goosebox - George says me and my brother built it. Took 2-3 hours to build it as present for his grandfather's birthday as requested by father Billy. He hauled it out in his own truck.

What do you know about the goosebox - George says me and my brother built it. Took 2-3 hours to build it as present for his grandfather's birthday as requested by father Billy. He hauled it out in his own truck.

Describes how the family got the goose box (breeding house) into the lake - early Feb 2016 - which is months before the murders. Says it was anchored with two chunks of steel out of trailer at grandmothers.

Says he didn't know anything about the concrete buckets and didn't know the contents (they contained the cut up murder weapons.

Says he liked guns, got a different one weekly. Buy or trade. Getting into the gun list - which he called the gun wish list on the bugged conversations in the truck cab.

Says he didn't like the Cummins diesel tattoo he had - said the smoke looked like bubbles. Says father volunteered to pay for it being covered up. July 2016. Says artist very few things could cover it up - drew an 8 ball - says it was artist idea. He added skull and dice

Says artist called it a gambling themed tattoo - and why there was dice and cards. It was artist's idea George says.

Now getting into murders - asked about Billy's relationship with Chris Rhoden Sr. - close friends. Says dad was trying to help Chris growing marijuana

Says he was there for all of Chris Sr 4th of July parties and went hunting with Frankie in KY with Gary Rhoden. Says he considered Frankie one of his best friends even though they stopped hanging out as much after having kids

KEY STUFF: George denies being involved in the murders, planning for them, says he was asleep the night of murders. Says they moved to Alaska to get his niece away from things said about family on social media

Says he thought BCI was looking at family because Manleys were pointing at Jake because Jake had angered them at some point. Says hearing about murders "more heartbreaking more trauma than ever been through in my life"

Recalls being interrogated by BCI at Montana border. Says it was surprising because they said they would talk to them when they would get back.

Says he still didn't know that any of his family were involved in any of the murders. Says he was very upset with BCI and upset afterward.

He couldn't believe it when confronted with evidence including shell casing from his dad's gone. He was hyped up on caffeine as well including pills, Monster drinks etc. He had been driving 2-3 days when stopped in border.

Says BCI asked him to spy on his brother. Said he agreed. Then he asked his brother if he had anything to do with it once they got home. Jake denied having anything to do with it.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/CFranciscoWCPO

George said he never tricked Tabitha to get custody of their son. He said in the beginning she wanted him to care for the child.

He said Jake was a religious fanatic while he believes there's a God but he doesn't interfere in our lives. He said Jake learned his ways from their mother.

George described Jake as selfish, greedy, a little jealous. He said, "I would described my mother as overopinionated, thinks she's better than every body and manipulative, really.”

George on his dad: my father was a good person. he was just really irritable and would have outbursts

George described building a goose house on his grandparents' lake with his family. Under that is where Jake said they hid the murder weapons.

George said he's never seen the concrete buckets full of gun parts and ammo recovered from the water. He knew nothing about them or the contents.

Now, he is describing covering a tattoo he got as a teen. He said people picked on it. It was the C from the Cummins diesel logo. He said he covered it up with this:

He is now talking about this tattoo that prosecutors tried to tell jurors was done to commemorate the murders. He said it was just a way to cover up a tattoo he disliked that he got when he was a kid. He didn't even come up with it. The tattoo artist testified the same.

George is now testifying that he knew nothing about plans to kill the Rhodens. He knew nothing about the murders and if he did, he would find a way to stop it.

In the following days, he said he stuck around the house but had to go back to work for Bernie and eventually got back to his work schedule.

He said he noticed his brother smile and smirk during his testimony. He said he'd "never seen him act like that in his life." He said Jake never showed any emotion. He didn't like people to touch him.

When agents stopped the family in Montana, he said the BCI agents asked him to spy on his brother. He said he agreed because he "had no reason not to believe" the BCI.

 

[Antimony]

Not deer hunting Parker, deer poaching.

How do we know it is poaching?

 

[Betty P]

Wait! WHAT? Did he never ask himself why 3 year old would be having anxiety attacks?

Maybe your crazy family, George? Maybe all that yelling? Maybe your crazy mother?

How many signs did he need to get out and get his son out from under that roof? Seriously! One red flag after another but he didn’t have the money to leave? I’m not buying what he’s selling here!

He was just like the rest of his family. It was all normal to him, until he needed to find a way to beat a murder rap.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/Angenette5

Lunch break over. GW4 says he didn’t trick Tabi into doing anything and that she wanted Bulvine to stay with him.

 

[justtrish]

I had no idea so many people flee Ohio for Alaska.

 

[Betty P]

How do we know it is poaching?

Hunting out of season and using illegal means, like spotlighting. Chris N and others have already testified to this.

 

[dgfred]

And now he says he was a spy for BCI?

If that is not true it might do him in right there.

 

[Chelly]

He was asked by BCI to spy on his brother? Is he telling jury he is a secret agent?

 

[justtrish]

Ya'll all this talk of girls that were not girlfriends.. Not full time girlfriends.. wouldn't call them girlfriends, just girls he hung out with sometimes.

I recall Beth saying who he was out with Billy seeing at night. Guess he isn't one for calling it what it is like Beth was.

 

[Pru2U]

He was just like the rest of his family. It was all normal to him, until he needed to find a way to beat a murder rap.

I'm not kidding, this is big stuff! If he had such a hard life & wanted out from under his mother's rules, crazy religious talk, bad mouthing him, etc., WHY was he letting her raise his son?

 

[Betty P]

When agents stopped the family in Montana, he said the BCI agents asked him to spy on his brother. He said he agreed because he "had no reason not to believe" the BCI.

Wow. IDK, they may have asked him to do that as a way to gain his trust so they could get more info from him, but I seriously doubt they thought he wasn't also involved in the murders.

This will make a really bizarre movie. Actually, it will have to be a mini-series, like on Netflix or something.

 

[FrankieT]

Wow, I'm late to the tattoo testimony. He hated the original one because he was made fun of for it looking like bubbles but it was ok to get one that looked like bragging about a murder. I know, I know, it was about gambling... One would think if you hated the bubbles one so much there would be some thought as to what the cover tat looks like.

 

[Pru2U]

Wow. IDK, they may have asked him to do that as a way to gain his trust so they could get more info from him, but I seriously doubt they thought he wasn't also involved in the murders.

This will make a really bizarre movie. Actually, it will have to be a mini-series, like on Netflix or something.

It's been said a few times BCI thought it was Jake & George. It wasn't until Jake confessed they found out about Billy's physical involvement.

 

[Myland]

Says they all got dressed and went to KY a few days later for Gary's funeral. I wonder if he noticed Billy had bruises all over his face? Palmer isn't asking

Jmo it a skin issue he has the bruise in pictures two years later also

 

[justtrish]

Wow. IDK, they may have asked him to do that as a way to gain his trust so they could get more info from him, but I seriously doubt they thought he wasn't also involved in the murders.

This will make a really bizarre movie. Actually, it will have to be a mini-series, like on Netflix or something.

There are so many things so far in his testimony that aren't jiving.

The defense opening and the way they made a big deal about his interrogation at the border made it sound like BCI threatened George or was trying to say if you aren't with us you are against us. They completely suggesting some unethical behavior on the part of BCI. Now we hear a different story than what has been alleged to this point.

Saying we think your family did xyz. You say you know nothing about it. So if that is true, basically George is riding around with mass murderers and he doesn't know it. They say you are a witness or a suspect, meaning if you aren't with them, then you have a front row seat to this. They didn't suggest they would throw him under the bus with his family if he didn't talk. They were likely stating facts.. if you were not involved, then you are a witness. Doesn't sound like George felt threatened at all by BCI.

Then the way he was trying to suggest the reason for the ER visit was in case they gave him too much to calm him down because he gets anxiety. Okay so you wanted to find a nice way to suggest BCI drugged your child without being on the stand under oath and saying you think BCI drugged your child.