UNSOLVED Oh - Pike County: 8 People From One Family Dead As Police Hunt For Killer(s) #33

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All the other top cases on that list have been solved, except for this one. No suspect has ever been arrested. About the closest authorities have come was Dana’s younger brother, James Manley. The Wagner family, who were friends with the Rhodens and related via Hannah May Rhoden (she had a child with one of the Wagners), were questioned by authorities enough that their lawyer began to refer to the inquiries as harassment, but that’s the extent of that angle of the investigation.

Eight unsolved murders in Pike County, Ohio
 

Thank you Mitten! This is an excellent article! I'm not finished, but there's a lot in it.

Whoever did it is everyone’s guess. Joe wondered aloud about it being a hit by the Mexican cartels, a theory that’s been suggested by everyone from AG DeWine to the local media, even amateur online detectives. The area, all the way up to Dayton, is a well-trodden drug corridor. State authorities recently announced the Sinaloa Cartel had a fentanyl scheme in the city of Middletown, and the Cincinnati Enquirer recently won a Pulitzer for chronicling the community’s heroin epidemic. Leonard and James weren’t shy about mentioning the absconded Wagner family. Andrea told me, cryptically, “look who’s running the town,” before recommending I watch the documentary Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio. It takes place in Chillicothe, about an hour and change from where we were.

BBM

Kudos to a fellow Ozarker writer who understands this community and knows how to talk to people.
 
Hypothetically, What if these murders were committed by drug crazed men for no reason other then they heard the R's had money stashed in one of the homes. Looking at police records, media, etc. it's obvious that there are a lot of strung out gang members in that area. Must see video below.
Sheriff: Several arrested in Pike Co. drug trafficking ring ran by inmate inside Ohio prison


A good theory.

When considering all the different scenarios I keep coming back to the fact that the children were left unharmed.

Out of all the theories and scenarios that have been discussed, which involves cold blooded killers who would ensure that the babies weren’t harmed?
 
A good theory.

When considering all the different scenarios I keep coming back to the fact that the children were left unharmed.

Out of all the theories and scenarios that have been discussed, which involves cold blooded killers who would ensure that the babies weren’t harmed?

How would they be connected to the W family? It's a theory worth considering, but the W's have to be linked somehow.
 
A good theory.

When considering all the different scenarios I keep coming back to the fact that the children were left unharmed.

Out of all the theories and scenarios that have been discussed, which involves cold blooded killers who would ensure that the babies weren’t harmed?
Perhaps a warped and twisted father thinking that makes it all better?
 
You have to keep a open mind, refresh me on the W’s did this and are guilty.

The W's are the only people who LE has "laser focus". JW has motive and opportunity. Not saying it wouldn't fit with links to criminal groups currently in prison, it may still. Some of the W's business activities could have been a part of some local ring.

ETA: While I'll be the first to admit LE is not handling this case well and earn a lot of suspicion for the way they do things and keep so much from the public, I don't think they would go so far out on a limb with the W family if there wasn't some reason to think they were connected to the murders.
 
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Thank you Mitten! This is an excellent article! I'm not finished, but there's a lot in it.



BBM

Kudos to a fellow Ozarker writer who understands this community and knows how to talk to people.
We got some new photos in that article as well:) I don’t care what anyone says, Leonard pulls at my heart strings every time. Yes I think he’s smarter than he lets on (as most people usually are), but I also just see a man who’s loving and reminds me of my grandfather. He’s suffered a great loss, one that most of us could never begin to understand.

These types of articles are the ones I actually prefer because they help the reader understand the culture and there’s so much emotion and depth present within the words.
 
The W's are the only people who LE has "laser focus". JW has motive and opportunity. Not saying it wouldn't fit with links to criminal groups currently in prison, it may still. Some of the W's business activities could have been a part of some local ring.

ETA: While I'll be the first to admit LE is not handling this case well and earn a lot of suspicion for the way they do things and keep so much from the public, I don't think they would go so far out on a limb with the W family if there wasn't some reason to think they were connected to the murders.
There’s most definitely motive, just on the surface that we, the public see. I dont personally believe custody was the only motive. I think, IMO, that was a contribution to the various motives.

GW3 & CR1 has business dealings together.
JW & HMR had a child together. HMR walked away from that relationship and moved on with her life. MAYBE she did hook up with JW in July of 2015 or maybe she didn’t. I personally don’t believe she did. EARLY scrolls through her social media proved that HMR had no doubt who the father of K was. And then those posts were hidden from public view, once her page became memorialized. Of course, I can’t link it, but I know what I saw and read with my own eyes. I actually still have it saved to my phone. So, knowing what I read and comparing it to JW’s statements about K possibly being his, I personally believe those statements were said by JW with the purpose to mislead LE & the public from looking at the W’s initially. After all, the person who could discount JW’s claims about K being his could no longer speak for herself.

I suppose I think the motive is a combination of bad business between the families (w/ the W’s having outside links), a bad breakup between the kids, custody, control, power, etc.

JMO
 
We got some new photos in that article as well:) I don’t care what anyone says, Leonard pulls at my heart strings every time. Yes I think he’s smarter than he lets on (as most people usually are), but I also just see a man who’s loving and reminds me of my grandfather. He’s suffered a great loss, one that most of us could never begin to understand.

These types of articles are the ones I actually prefer because they help the reader understand the culture and there’s so much emotion and depth present within the words.

Yes, Leonard seems to be doing the best he can right now. Like the others, he's had to deal with so much pain and stress, while being there for his surviving family members. Also interesting the author got to talk briefly to JM. I also liked his conversation with Hannah Gilley's mom. These people have been through so much and still have a lot of stress, pain and probably some fear in their lives. I found her remark interesting about looking at who is running the town. Who is running the town? Piketon seems to have a small-time mayor. He doesn't seem like a bigwig, organized crime type of guy. Is someone else calling the shots locally?

ETA: There wasn't much new info revealed or at least not much that could reveal the killers or the nature of the current LE investigation. But I do hope those who talked to the reporter/writer are not in danger for having done so. I'm amazed they got any of them to talk at all.
 
Yes, Leonard seems to be doing the best he can right now. Like the others, he's had to deal with so much pain and stress, while being there for his surviving family members. Also interesting the author got to talk briefly to JM. I also liked his conversation with Hannah Gilley's mom. These people have been through so much and still have a lot of stress, pain and probably some fear in their lives. I found her remark interesting about looking at who is running the town. Who is running the town? Piketon seems to have a small-time mayor. He doesn't seem like a bigwig, organized crime type of guy. Is someone else calling the shots locally?

ETA: There wasn't much new info revealed or at least not much that could reveal the killers or the nature of the current LE investigation. But I do hope those who talked to the reporter/writer are not in danger for having done so. I'm amazed they got any of them to talk at all.

Leonard and James weren’t shy about mentioning the absconded Wagner family. Andrea told me, cryptically, “look who’s running the town,” before recommending I watch the documentary Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio. It takes place in Chillicothe, about an hour and change from where we were.

“Who cares if they’re missing, they’re prostitutes,” she said, mocking the power structure.”

IMO, I lean towards AC referring to a longstanding family with power.
 
Leonard and James weren’t shy about mentioning the absconded Wagner family. Andrea told me, cryptically, “look who’s running the town,” before recommending I watch the documentary Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio. It takes place in Chillicothe, about an hour and change from where we were.

“Who cares if they’re missing, they’re prostitutes,” she said, mocking the power structure.”

IMO, I lean towards AC referring to a longstanding family with power.

Yup. Family, business leaders, political leaders. Could even be more than 1 family or some combination of the ones I just mentioned. Sounds like she is also favoring a "Boss Hogg" theory, which, given the locale, circumstances and local history, has always been the most likely scenario.

Also, remember the Websleuths member here who is former LE mentioned the missing Chillicothe women and drug activity as possibly being linked to the Rhoden murders. That was his answer when I asked very early on after the murders.

ETA: Just as a reminder, he doesn't live anywhere near Ohio, not involved in any way, just offering his professional outside opinion after doing his own research.
 
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Yup. Family, business leaders, political leaders. Could even be more than 1 family or some combination of the ones I just mentioned. Sounds like she is also favoring a "Boss Hogg" theory, which, given the locale, circumstances and local history, has always been the most likely scenario.

Also, remember the Websleuths member here who is former LE mentioned the missing Chillicothe women and drug activity as possibly being linked to the Rhoden murders. That was his answer when I asked very early on after the murders.
I truly believe that the man with initials JK mentioned as a suspect in the Hayslip murder is worth looking at. He’s got quite a rap sheet, yet he’s still walking free. IMO-someone only literally gets away with murder with some inside help. Something isn’t right in Pike County. JMO

ETA-IMO, I think it’s a strong possibility that all of these people are intertwined.
 
I truly believe that the man with initials JK mentioned as a suspect in the Hayslip murder is worth looking at. He’s got quite a rap sheet, yet he’s still walking free. IMO-someone only literally gets away with murder with some inside help. Something isn’t right in Pike County. JMO

Is he a powerful person who could be running the town? Corruption may be at the upper levels. You can arrest and jail all the ne'er do wells at the bottom, but as long as corrupt people remain in power, they'll always find new killers to do their dirty work.
 
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