OH - Pike County: 8 people from one family dead as police hunt for killer(s) #2

[Everyday Grace]

If its the cartel they dont usually bring in assassins do they?, is it not usually just a case of telling a few of their foot soldiers what to do, even the poor growers the cartels have working for them would more than likely do the deed if told to.
But wiping out a family is certainly something the cartels would do, even over something simple, although would they go out of their way to get the victim at the seperate residence?.

There are specialists who have the right backgrounds and training.

Farmers and sicarios (assassins) are not usually one and the same, although it is possible for farmers to be foot soldiers under specific leadership.

If this was a cartel hit, they would bring in the right talent for the job. Said talent would not have been tending plants.

Would they go out of their way to get one? I would say yes, since the goal appears to have been to get as many as possible.

 

[Everyday Grace]

looks like truck from image in post #55

Indeed it is. I think I may have seen that truck somewhere on FB.

Is it an S-10?

 

[ScotsPaddy]

Dont the cartels usually make a point of letting people know it was them that did the killings?. I still dont think professionals, as in hired in pros.

 

[lonesomepaws]

Thanks! The narrative of the crime scenes wasn't matching the Pic! I had the wrong place

In your pic- the trailer of Frankie and Hannah is just a bit more to the left of whats on the screen.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

http://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/watch-live-investigators-give-updates-on-pike-co-homicides
A “pre-planned execution” left eight family members dead.
DeWine said he believed more than one shooter was responsible for the deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family. “It was a sophisticated operation, and those that carried it out were doing everything they could to hinder their arrest and prosecution,” DeWine said.

Authorities are always very careful in wording to not frighten the public, so in using those terms, it's worse than what they're saying. That's how I see it, this Sheriff is a no nonsense type of leader and isn't trying to scare the community, but he's being real with them. This is the second incident since Jan in two area counties, and he seems the type of Sheriff who carries the weight of the community.

I hate that this turned out to be the case. So senseless to murder people over pot. I have never even seen a marijuana cigarette in my entire life so pot is still foreign to me but from reading about it for years, I do not think it is that harmful although illegal in most states. In fact I am glad that many states are approving it for medical reasons.

Imo, it has to be someone who has their own pot operation and they felt the victims involved were crowding their space. Was this about a turf war? Possibly.

I first had thought this may have ties to the Mexican cartel but changed my mind because they usually wipeout entire families including any children who are there, no matter the age of the children. I am back to thinking now it may have been done by a Mexican drug gang in that area who has their own pot production now that I have read they have invaded Ohio in rural areas.

I believe the suspects are several maybe even 6-7. I also believe this was a carefully planned out execution. Most likely this happened all at the same time at the different homes in question by different members of the drug gang. I don't think one set of murderers went to one home and then to another. I believe they were all killed around the same time by different murderers who invaded each home. The execution style murders does sound very much like what the Mexican drug gangs do. The way they were all murdered just didn't seem like a personal murder of some kind but ones that were carried out sterilely and methodically without any emotions. They were there to eradicate the entire family and that is exactly what they did. If it does have Mexican drug gang involvement then they could be in Mexico by now or at least in another state.

I think with the Sheriff releasing this information it is very significant to the possible motive. He would have kept this to himself for now so as to not disparage the family members who have been killed. If he didn't think it needed to be known in order to help solve the case he wouldn't have said anything because none of them are alive to be prosecuted and he knows that. . Now that it is out in the open he is hoping those who may be informants or ordinary people who know something about who their enemies could be concerning the pot production they had going on will come forward. IMO

I pray for justice for all of these victims.

 

[ClaireNC]

Do we have a case map? I believe these are the coordinates 39.014878, -83.269829 for this property:

Source of photo: http://www.wlwt.com/news/39163384

Here it is on the map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...3762,140m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

 

[Canaille]

Indeed it is. I think I may have seen that truck somewhere on FB.

Is it an S-10?

Rims look different and it looks like a Toyota.

 

[angelainwi]

One of the people arrested in the "operation clean sweep" cannabis crackdown is a friend of the family, FWIW.

What about the family member who found the bodies first?

 

[CvilleHelp]

Indeed it is. I think I may have seen that truck somewhere on FB.

Is it an S-10?

A Tacoma I believe

 

[grillzgirl]

Rims look different and it looks like a Toyota.

I agree. It's a Toyota.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

What about the family member who found the bodies first?

Ah, remind me that person's name? I'm sure it's in an acceptable MMS somewhere.

Edit: Found her. She's friends with one of the guys who was arrested, and friends with the brother of another person who was arrested. In a small town environment though, that's not surprising or suggestive of much.

 

[Dr. Know?]

Thought it was CH's vehicle he had for sale on fb but his isn't an extended cab. Same color.

 

[JaimeInLA]

It looks like CH's truck that was for sale.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=787737008024382&set=gm.1119954911377020&type=3&theater

That's a different truck. CH's is lifted, and has gold rims with red centers. It does not have any visors over the exterior top of the passenger windows. The truck that was towed by police does have visors, and has silver rims. It is also not as lifted. They also have different graphics on the side.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Apr 24 2016, 8:15 pm ET

Piketon Massacre: Marijuana 'Grow Operations' Found at Scenes of Family Executions

by Elisha Fieldstadt

Marijuana "grow operations" were found at three of four scenes where eight members of an Ohio family were found murdered "execution style," authorities said Sunday.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the Friday killings of the eight victims — all members of the Rhoden family of Piketon — were a "pre-planned execution."

"It was a sophisticated operation. And those who carried it out were trying to do everything that they could do to hinder the investigation and their prosecution," DeWine said, as authorities scoured the town of Piketon for a suspect or suspects.

He said few details about the search would be shared so that the investigation would not be hindered. He would not say whether a suspect or suspects had been identified...

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...ations-found-scenes-family-executions-n561351

 

[lonesomepaws]

Do we have a case map? I believe these are the coordinates 39.014878, -83.269829 for this property:

Source of photo: http://www.wlwt.com/news/39163384



Here it is on the map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/3...3762,140m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

I believe this is Dana's house- not Kenneth's. She had just bought the house as I saw where she had painted it. I could not find it in the public records under her name however.

 

[Toralei]

Ah, remind me that person's name? I'm sure it's in an acceptable MMS somewhere.

Female. Bobbie I think. (Hope it's ok to post) She found Gary and Chris Rhoden Sr. while doing her chores.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[MirnaMinkoff]

I'd say the deal was the family allowed some cartel associates to use their property to set up growing operations, and in return got some money or part of the profits. These families didn't have the funds or the know how to set up professional level grow operations. The is a definite cartel presence in the region. The cartels realized it was easier to grow it in rural regions to supply Cleveland, Columbus and other northern markets that it was to smuggle it over the border and drive it thousands of miles. At first some of the mexican nationals were busted with large scale operations, in the region and pike co. specifically. I think they realized it was better to use local residents as a front for operations in order not to attract undue LE attention.

I doubt this family realized the type of people they were dealing with in this operation or they overestimated their ability to deal with them. Weed growing is dangerous and has its perils, but it's a whole other level to be involved with groups associated with cartels. Some rednecks shooting off their mouths, making threats, or deciding they were going to keep product/money could easily get the whole family killed. The cartels and professional large scale illegal pot operations are the friendly weed growers of yore.

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

Female. Bobbie I think. (Hope it's ok to post) She found Gary and Chris Rhoden Sr. while doing her chores.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Found her. She's friends with one of the guys who was arrested, and friends with the brother of another person who was arrested. In a small town environment though, that's not surprising or suggestive of much.

 

[KKearns]

Anyone have any idea of how much land they owned?

 

[K.L.Puyallup]

I'd say the deal was the family allowed some cartel associates to use their property to set up growing operations, and in return got some money or part of the profits. These families didn't have the funds or the know how to set up professional level grow operations. The is a definite cartel presence in the region. The cartels realized it was easier to grow it in rural regions to supply Cleveland, Columbus and other northern markets that it was to smuggle it over the border and drive it thousands of miles. At first some of the mexican nationals were busted with large scale operations, in the region and pike co. specifically. I think they realized it was better to use local residents as a front for operations in order not to attract undue LE attention.

I doubt this family realized the type of people they were dealing with in this operation or they overestimated their ability to deal with them. Weed growing is dangerous and has its perils, but it's a whole other level to be involved with groups associated with cartels. Some rednecks shooting off their mouths, making threats, or deciding they were going to keep product/money could easily get the whole family killed. The cartels and professional large scale illegal pot operations are the friendly weed growers of yore.

I can get on board with this theory. Given that Pike County had a huge crackdown on cannabis last month, and a couple of the people arrested were either friends of, or familiar with the family, the weed might have come from the Rhoden family. When cops arrest someone for cannabis, the big question is "where did you get this from?" Police want the dealer much more than they want the user. Maybe the cartel was nervous that one of those kids arrested would rat out the Rhoden family, and that the Rhoden family, in turn, would rat out the cartel operation.
Or maybe the Rhoden family already did rat out the cartel, or just have plans to.