Johnny B Bad
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DeWine said the Wagner family studied the Rhoden family members and plotted their deaths over the course of several months.
"We believe that the Wagners conspired together to develop an elaborate plan to kill the eight victims under the cover of darkness, and then carefully cover their tracks," DeWine said.
The indictments allege that the suspects purchased ammunition, a magazine clip, brass catcher(s) and a bug detector in preparation for the crimes.
The indictments accuse the Wagners of tampering with phones, cameras, a silencer, shell casings and parts of a home security system.
DeWine said the Wagners shot and killed the eight Rhodens in the dead of night. He said most of the Rhodens were killed as they slept.
"The evidence will show the suspects spent months planning the crimes. They studied the victims' habits and routines. They knew the layouts of their homes. They knew where they slept," DeWine said.
The Wagners have been on the radar of federal authorities since the summer of 2017, but investigators had always stopped short of calling them suspects. They were longtime friends with the Rhodens -- who lived in nearby Peebles, Ohio, at the time of the killings -- before they moved to Alaska.
Edward "Jake" Wagner was the ex-boyfriend of Hannah Rhoden -- one of the eight dead -- and the father of her 2-year-old child. The pair were in a custody dispute at the time of the killings.
DeWine said that custody dispute is at the center of the case.
"Because this is an open prosecution, we won't be able to say much about motive. But you'll see from the indictment that custody of that young child plays a role in this case," DeWine said.
Edward "Jake" Wagner is also charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having sexual contact with Hanna May Rhoden when she was 15 years old and he was 20 years old.
Shortly after the massacre, there was considerable talk of drugs as the reason for what happened.
DeWine conceded there was "an undercurrent of drugs," but that there was no evidence of a drug-related motives to the crimes.
DeWine added that the Wagner family acted quickly and mercilessly, covering up its tracks by tampering with the victims' phones and surveillance video.
The victims were executed very carefully, DeWine said, stating that the cover-up made the Wagners hard to track.
But investigators said the suspects left traces. The final bit of physical evidence surfaced two weeks ago. Authorities did not disclose what that was.
DeWine said two other people were arrested on suspicion of attempting to cover up the crimes.
Rita Newcomb, 65, the mother of Angela Wagner, and Fredericka Wagner, 76, the mother of George Wagner, were arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities, DeWine said.
Both face charges of obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators over the course of the investigation. Newcomb is also charged with forgery.
Authorities: Custody dispute played role in slaying of 8
"We believe that the Wagners conspired together to develop an elaborate plan to kill the eight victims under the cover of darkness, and then carefully cover their tracks," DeWine said.
The indictments allege that the suspects purchased ammunition, a magazine clip, brass catcher(s) and a bug detector in preparation for the crimes.
The indictments accuse the Wagners of tampering with phones, cameras, a silencer, shell casings and parts of a home security system.
DeWine said the Wagners shot and killed the eight Rhodens in the dead of night. He said most of the Rhodens were killed as they slept.
"The evidence will show the suspects spent months planning the crimes. They studied the victims' habits and routines. They knew the layouts of their homes. They knew where they slept," DeWine said.
The Wagners have been on the radar of federal authorities since the summer of 2017, but investigators had always stopped short of calling them suspects. They were longtime friends with the Rhodens -- who lived in nearby Peebles, Ohio, at the time of the killings -- before they moved to Alaska.
Edward "Jake" Wagner was the ex-boyfriend of Hannah Rhoden -- one of the eight dead -- and the father of her 2-year-old child. The pair were in a custody dispute at the time of the killings.
DeWine said that custody dispute is at the center of the case.
"Because this is an open prosecution, we won't be able to say much about motive. But you'll see from the indictment that custody of that young child plays a role in this case," DeWine said.
Edward "Jake" Wagner is also charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having sexual contact with Hanna May Rhoden when she was 15 years old and he was 20 years old.
Shortly after the massacre, there was considerable talk of drugs as the reason for what happened.
DeWine conceded there was "an undercurrent of drugs," but that there was no evidence of a drug-related motives to the crimes.
DeWine added that the Wagner family acted quickly and mercilessly, covering up its tracks by tampering with the victims' phones and surveillance video.
The victims were executed very carefully, DeWine said, stating that the cover-up made the Wagners hard to track.
But investigators said the suspects left traces. The final bit of physical evidence surfaced two weeks ago. Authorities did not disclose what that was.
DeWine said two other people were arrested on suspicion of attempting to cover up the crimes.
Rita Newcomb, 65, the mother of Angela Wagner, and Fredericka Wagner, 76, the mother of George Wagner, were arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities, DeWine said.
Both face charges of obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators over the course of the investigation. Newcomb is also charged with forgery.
Authorities: Custody dispute played role in slaying of 8
