OH - Pike County: 8 people from one family dead as police hunt for killer(s) #16

[K.L.Puyallup]

Please be nice..I want to jump in this discussion ,yet I have a difficult time explaining my point because of my lack of
writing skills.However, I am going to make an arrempt to identify the killer and you are not going to like my conclusion.
During my years when I was working as a homicide investigator with the Atlanta Police Department,,I had to deal
with twodifferent serial killers.I'll be back.Got company..

That's a helluva cliffhanger, new guy!
Hey, any chance you'd consider getting verified by admins as an expert?
The internet has made me cynical, and I'm sure your input would be worth 100x more to most members, if you were verified as a former homicide detective.

 

[Stippling]

I'm not meaning to be rude, but when we see the little tents, or barrels, it is usually to house game . Not the hens, the . Game will fight more-so than other breeds of roosters. They have to tether them to the tents/huts or cage them in w/chicken wire. They are the only breed that I am aware of that are used in rooster fighting. It is not illegal to breed them, own them, eat them (they aren't very large), iirc you'd have to have almost three game hen eggs to make one small to regular sized hen egg. Their main purpose for most people around here is to make money from breeding them, gambling on them, and/or fighting them. I'm not accusing the Rhodens of fighting them b/c we have zero proof that they were. The only illegal thing we have proof of was the pot.

EXACTLY. My point is these huts or fowl housing facilities or whatever you wish to call them were visible from the road and had even been moved to the open and closer to the road since the 2015 Google Earth imagery. It appears that no local or state law enforcement in their comings and goings ever bothered to stop and follow up or even suggest an investigation was in order for local or regional cockfighting activity even though the evidence at the Rhoden complex is now characterized as being "consistent" with that. My question is when did it become so important? When the AG is already polling for his 2018 race for Gov? http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2015/10/10.23.2015-dewine-polling.html

It is also very telling to me that when the Ohio legislature considered a bill to make cockfighting a felony this year, one of the groups that lobbied against the proposal was the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association which argued that while some penalty increase is probably justified, the offense should remain a misdemeanor. http://qfm96.com/news/061160-bill-tightens-penalties-on-animal-fighting/#sthash.k1YaCiKt.dpuf

I'm all for protecting animals. It's the politicians that furrow my brow.

 

[CSIDreamer]

EXACTLY. My point is these huts or fowl housing facilities or whatever you wish to call them were visible from the road and had even been moved to the open and closer to the road since the 2015 Google Earth imagery. It appears that no local or state law enforcement in their comings and goings ever bothered to stop and follow up or even suggest an investigation was in order for local or regional cockfighting activity even though the evidence at the Rhoden complex is now characterized as being "consistent" with that. My question is when did it become so important? When the AG is already polling for his 2018 race for Gov? http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2015/10/10.23.2015-dewine-polling.html

It is also very telling to me that when the Ohio legislature considered a bill to make cockfighting a felony this year, one of the groups that lobbied against the proposal was the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association which arguied that while some penalty increase is probably justified, the offense should remain a misdemeanor. http://qfm96.com/news/061160-bill-tightens-penalties-on-animal-fighting/#sthash.k1YaCiKt.dpuf

I'm all for protecting animals. It's the politicians that furrow my brow.

Stop and follow up?

 

[Dudly]

I'm not meaning to be rude, but when we see the little tents, or barrels, it is usually to house game . Not the hens, the . Game will fight more-so than other breeds of roosters. They have to tether them to the tents/huts or cage them in w/chicken wire. They are the only breed that I am aware of that are used in rooster fighting. It is not illegal to breed them, own them, eat them (they aren't very large), iirc you'd have to have almost three game hen eggs to make one small to regular sized hen egg. Their main purpose for most people around here is to make money from breeding them, gambling on them, and/or fighting them. I'm not accusing the Rhodens of fighting them b/c we have zero proof that they were. The only illegal thing we have proof of was the pot.

??? What has your reply to do with my comment? I was talking about my area and people have chickens for eggs. Nothing was mentioned about game or fighting or Rhodens....

 

[Betty P]

From Dayton Daily News.
This is all there is. Very brief.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told a charter school administrator in Dayton he plans to run for Ohio governor in 2018.
Asked by this news organization to confirm he told Summit Academy Charter Schools CEO Barbara Danforth he was running for governor, DeWine said, “Well, I told her that confidentially. But, I did indeed. Yes, I did.”
More details coming.

Sounds plausible. Gov. Kasich and other Ohio pols raise a great deal of campaign money from Ohio's charter school industry, so that's probably why DeWine informed her of his decision.

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/when_it_comes_to_facing_down_o.html

 

[Mmaaix]

EXACTLY. My point is these huts or fowl housing facilities or whatever you wish to call them were visible from the road and had even been moved to the open and closer to the road since the 2015 Google Earth imagery. It appears that no local or state law enforcement in their comings and goings ever bothered to stop and follow up or even suggest an investigation was in order for local or regional cockfighting activity even though the evidence at the Rhoden complex is now characterized as being "consistent" with that. My question is when did it become so important? When the AG is already polling for his 2018 race for Gov? http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2015/10/10.23.2015-dewine-polling.html

It is also very telling to me that when the Ohio legislature considered a bill to make cockfighting a felony this year, one of the groups that lobbied against the proposal was the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association which argued that while some penalty increase is probably justified, the offense should remain a misdemeanor. http://qfm96.com/news/061160-bill-tightens-penalties-on-animal-fighting/#sthash.k1YaCiKt.dpuf

I'm all for protecting animals. It's the politicians that furrow my brow.

I personally think they were just raising and breeding them to sale, as FR was also looking to buy game quail on a local yard sale page.

 

[Ann99]

Thinking out loud.

Raising /Roosters is not illegal in Ohio. Neither is selling.
Fighting is illegal, although considered by law inforcement low on the list.
Point is, we see Rhodens were raising quite a number of Roosters, but we see no evidence
of selling them- both legal. We have no visible evidence or rumor of fighting them on the properties.
So what was happening to these Roosters?
Here is another example of something that doesn't follow thru to make complete sense.
There is some element here that is hidden.

The weed operation, characterized as larger in scope, more sophisticated than for personal use, is similar.
Growing weed....then what? No visible evidence of the follow thru that is fairly large in labor and time -
To tend, harvest, move or transport the end product. Where did it go? How? Who?
Again, another business operation that has most of the 'operation' hidden - missing elements.

The cars, (other than Derby, and a little selling by Dana) could be outlined similarly.

This all is speculation and long distance observation, but it makes me see that so much is missing from the puzzle.

Another big piece missing from all of the above would be the other people potentially involved in
assisting or participating in these activities.
I don't think they would be upstanding, law abiding.

Last piece of big puzzle is the money. Where was it kept?
Did all brothers keep a share, did CR keep it all and dole it out....
Where is it now?

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

FR's likes on facebook include Cockfights Magazine and Fighting For Sale.

 

[Ray Pate]

Ok,sorry about the disruption ..The first serial killer can be read about by checking Google .."Atlanta Missing and
Murdered. Children,""..The second was,"Mary Shotwell Little And Diane Shields,"
I want to congratulate all websleuth bloggers that I have been following .(all two hundred or so) Your experiences
and knowledge of Pike. County served,up to this point, to verify my suspicions..Your descriptions of the area,
Your description of the area lifestyle and attitudes of people in that area made for very pleasant reading..I am going
to sound like a novice to you, but don't be fooled..The rule dictates that when you talk to a serial killer or listen
to him, do not concentrate on what he says, but what he does not say. The deep seated killer impulses are hidden
to a point, but when he talks his sub-conscious thoughts reveal some ideas he did not intend to appear.
Does the L.E. have the same conclusion I have? You bet....if I presented a quizz on the I.D. of the serial killer,
would you reach the same conclusion that I have? My assumption, here goes. Home town boy, hates Pike
County lifestyles as such,has a family ,,,straight-laced to a fault.,motives,, eliminating citizens who corrupt
his environment ..(future of his family).. Born in the county,Raised in the county,. Knows about everybody in
the county and is known by a majority of the citizens..Nice guy,Calculating,no remorse and evil...
One last note,forget everything,roosters,cars,family disputes,this is a case where the killer has a feeling
that it is his responsibility to clean up this Pike County mess. If his wife would talk, she would verify my
assumptions J.M.0. Stay tuned.
Children

 

[Stippling]

Stop and follow up?

How can what they see on the day they visit be "consistent" with cockfighting, yet the same evidence had been there for months if not years, and it failed to attract (or there is no record of it attracting) any local law enforcement interest at all. Or perhaps an undercover operation was already in progress and it was just closely held.

 

[tlcya]

Hi guys.

I have removed a post at the posting member's request. So if you responded to that post be aware your response was also removed.

Like any good family full of diverse people with varied skills and life experience, we sometimes see things differently. That is the beauty of such a site, where we can all get those differing perspectives.

We also get a bit frustrated when there is no new news and we begin to chase our tails and those of our fellows.

It's all good. At the end of the day we eventually find our way back to the common ground we all share.

 

[Ann99]

Thank you Ray Pate.
What you say is interesting, and we may have that person on our radar. We just can't discuss him here.
However... We just can't forget about Roosters, weed, cars, family disputes. It is all we have at this time...
Please continue with your thoughts.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

Ok,sorry about the disruption ..The first serial killer can be read about by checking Google .."Atlanta Missing and
Murdered. Children,""..The second was,"Mary Shotwell Little And Diane Shields,"
I want to congratulate all websleuth bloggers that I have been following .(all two hundred or so) Your experiences
and knowledge of Pike. County served,up to this point, to verify my suspicions..Your descriptions of the area,
Your description of the area lifestyle and attitudes of people in that area made for very pleasant reading..I am going
to sound like a novice to you, but don't be fooled..The rule dictates that when you talk to a serial killer or listen
to him, do not concentrate on what he says, but what he does not say. The deep seated killer impulses are hidden
to a point, but when he talks his sub-conscious thoughts reveal some ideas he did not intend to appear.
Does the L.E. have the same conclusion I have? You bet....if I presented a quizz on the I.D. of the serial killer,
would you reach the same conclusion that I have? My assumption, here goes. Home town boy, hates Pike
County lifestyles as such,has a family ,,,straight-laced to a fault.,motives,, eliminating citizens who corrupt
his environment ..(future of his family).. Born in the county,Raised in the county,. Knows about everybody in
the county and is known by a majority of the citizens..Nice guy,Calculating,no remorse and evil...
One last note,forget everything,roosters,cars,family disputes,this is a case where the killer has a feeling
that it is his responsibility to clean up this Pike County mess. If his wife would talk, she would verify my
assumptions J.M.0. Stay tuned.
Children

Ray, the person you have pegged as the killer is obvious. I get the feeling that you suspected he was the killer, then created the "profile of the killer" around him. It seems that you've created a "why" for him, but I don't see a "how." I actually can't really think of a way that he could have pulled this off.
Again I ask that if you are a professional homicide investigator, could you please verify yourself with the admins as such? It's not a necessity and I can't compel you to do it. But my baloney radar is going off something fierce. For my own benefit, I'd like to be able to take you a bit more seriously

 

[Ann99]

FR's likes on facebook include Cockfights Magazine and Fighting For Sale.

Maybe he was raising the Roosters.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

Maybe he was raising the Roosters.

Possible! I don't know any more than what facebook and internet digging has shown me. I don't know one way or the other what the Rhodens' involvement in the cockfighting industry was. But they were involved in some way, even if just as breeders.

 

[Adt1984]

A few have asked why some of the posts discussing their activities are relevant. Well I feel mine was relevant because a few people said LE was trying to make the Rhodens look bad. I said I don't agree with that.. LE has told us FACTS not opinion. It is a fact that they were into drugs... Selling and using drugs doesn't paint people in the best light. That's not LEs fault. It's not their job to make people look good in the media by withholding information that's probably relevant to the investigation. JMO.

 

[sumzero]

I find it odd to classify the recollections of the man who found the body of one of the murder victims as "rumors." Rumors to me are typically misinformed tales that get butchered through the grapevine.
Donald Stone is the man who found the body, and he gave a direct account of what he saw. "Rumor" doesn't seem like the right word.

I checked a couple of articles where DS is quoted about the money. In one, he simply says there were some bills near the foot of the bed, IIRC. In another, IIRC, the bills were near KR's feet. Could KR simply have fell asleep with some cash sitting on his bed, kicked it a little bit as he slept? I mean, this is a camper of sorts, right? Not the most spacious in terms of counter space or storage space? Just wondering, I guess.

 

[Betty P]

Possible! I don't know any more than what facebook and internet digging has shown me. I don't know one way or the other what the Rhodens' involvement in the cockfighting industry was. But they were involved in some way, even if just as breeders.

Is there really that much money in cockfighting to motivate 2 or more people to wipe out 8 family members in one night? Is KR once again the outlier here? He didn't have any of the cockfighting accoutrement at his home, didn't appear to be involved in the hobby. Why would killers go so far out of their way to find him several miles away from the other family members and kill him? Just asking for the sake of discussion.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

I checked a couple of articles where DS is quoted about the money. In one, he simply says there were some bills near the foot of the bed, IIRC. In another, IIRC, the bills were near KR's feet. Could KR simply have fell asleep with some cash sitting on his bed, kicked it a little bit as he slept? I mean, this is a camper of sorts, right? Not the most spacious in terms of counter space or storage space? Just wondering, I guess.

Yes, the actual video interviews I've seen don't mention an amount. I'd hate to think that a news provider would outright make up the $1,000 number, but it is the daily mail. You might be right.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

Is there really that much money in cockfighting to motivate 2 or more people to wipe out 8 family members in one night? Is KR once again the outlier here? He didn't have any of the cockfighting accoutrement at his home, didn't appear to be involved in the hobby. Why would killers go so far out of their way to find him several miles away from the other family members and kill him? Just asking for the sake of discussion.

I don't think they would. I don't think these murders had anything to do with cockfighting, personally.