Truth Be Revealed

Welcome to the Pikedon Massacre, a production of iHeartRadio and Katie's Studios, Episode eight, Truth Be Revealed. Over the course of seven episodes, we have examined the details of the murders of eight members of the Rodent family, the investigation that was launched in their wake, and what led up to the arrests of six members of the Wagner family. Now we're going to look at where the case stands

First, the prosecutors falsely believed the bulletproof best were purchased before the road and homicides. Both sides know that it is not true. They were in fact purchased on May the seventh, twenty sixteen, fifteen days after the date of the road homicides.

So that's proven. We know that there's like receipts, right.

Yep, got receipts. We have everything.

Second, she guessed and thought that she bought them from Amazon. Now why they made a big deal about what what origin?

They came off the internet? She ordered them off the internet.

Whenever you go on the Internet, a bunch of places come up. Usually Amazon's the first thing that comes up. She did that a lot, but they made a big deal about it. So they went back through her books and they found out that she did buy them, but it wasn't from Amazon, it was eBay.

But criminal defense attorney Mike Allen told Jeff that Frederica's statements are a much bigger deal than deraythe.

Well, obviously, when you have a situation like this and someone involved with the people that are charged makes a purchase of two bulletproof vests, whether it's from eBay or Amazon, it's something that the prosecution would be interested in. And you know, she apparently was before the grand jury when she misrepresented, if you will, where she bought these things from.

Do you think that her explanation of just saying, oh, I don't remember, I got it confused as an attorney, do you think that makes someone look more guilty?

Yeah, it does, especially something like this. And I know she's elderly, but she certainly seems like she's pretty sharp. But it's a rather big event. In most people's lives, if they purchase bulletproof vests online or any you purchased them, you would think that you would remember where you purchased them from. So yeah, it doesn't make her look good at all.

Ultimately, Frederica Wagner's lawyer filed receipts that proved she made the purchases fifteen days after the slayings. This led the defense team to turn over potential evidence as required to the prosecution, too late to meet the criteria for a speedy trial. They dismissed the charges against Frederica Wagner, while reserving the right to charge her again. Mike Allen broke down what all this means.

With respect to the Ohio Speedy Trial Statute. It's generally you have to bring a felony case within two hundred and seventy days from the indictment. I think the prosecution was running out of time, so strategically, I think they decided to dismiss it with the option and the right to refile it again if that becomes necessary.

So so you can get charged with the same crimes again.

Oh yeah, they were dismissed without prejudice, which means that the state can refile them at a later date.

But it seems that Frederica Wagner doesn't foresee that happening. Here. She is speaking to the press after the.

Hearing, Trusting the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, Acknowledge him and he will direct your path. And as my attorney will tell you, it was dismissed.

Because I was innocent.

They had no evidence against me. I never lied about anything.

Frederica Wagner's freedom validates what Deray has believed all along.

She has never in her life done anything wrong.

She's not capable of it.

And you know, if she thought that her kids would have done something bad, she would have recommended.

That they turn themselves in for anything.

I mean, she loves. She lives by what she says she lives by, which is what well. She gives all the glory to God.

Angela, Billy Jake, and George Wagner were charged with aggravated murder. Angela Wagner's mother, Rita jo Nucom and Billy Wagner's mother, Frederica were both charged with obstruction of justice and perjury. Newcomb was also charged with forgery. All six of them pled not guilty, and our justice system presumes innocence until

Do you think that his mom, Billy's mom, Frederica, do you think she had any involvement?

I believe that. I believe she could have yeah, I believe that she definitely, Uh, I don't believe she tried to stop it, you know, I don't believe that she. I believe that anything. She probably definely she would have encouraged it and her storry to do.

What he did.

Others like Rodent family friend Stephanne thinks that Frederica wasn't just involved in the murders, but could possibly have orchestrated the whole thing.

I don't take her for a dumb woman at all. She's a business woman. She's probably shrewd. She's the head the monarch, you know, so the monarch is usually the one that has their thumb on everybody. She wanted to control over everything, seems to me.

Like to investigative journalist Jodi Barr, the alleged involvement of Frederica Wagner up ends conventions of who actually could be capable of being involved in murder.

I think this case, if it ended today as it is alleged, I don't think there is anybody on this planet that can look at those people and say, those people look like a family who could slaughter eight human beings. If you ever thought you knew what a mass murderer looked like, I think this case in Pike County is showing you you have no idea.

So here we are four years later. Two of the six defendants are free and four others are in prison facing death penalty charges, accused of killing eight members of the Rodent family. Here's Stephanie, followed by Jeff.

As it stands now, the trials for Billy, Angela, Jake, and George Wagner are slated to begin in the next few months. Now I really understand this case and where it stands and what's to come, we'll have to examine some of the most important points. In the five thousand pages of discovery documents that list the prosecution's evidence, there are more than three hundred and thirty two thousand files of evidence in this case.

One of the exhibits in the prosecution's arsenal is related to Billy Wagner in his copy of the nineteen ninety nine movie The Boondock Saints. The film is about two brothers in Boston who exacted a form of vigilanty justice by murdering mobsters and other criminals. It's extremely violent and over the top, but the big takeaway for this case is that the brothers in the film use silencers on their guns, a method that members of the Wagner family

I read that and I had to laugh. I had to laugh so hard. Okay, so you have to remember that this was a very organized, brilliantly done execution. This is something that you wouldn't learn.

On a DVD.

Somebody with military background, Navy seals. I mean, whoever did it was brilliant.

They're professional.

These people are not professional killers.

Mike Allen told Jeff that the DVD could be a building block in the state's case.

You can't watch a movie and learn how to wipe out an entire family. That seems like a stretch. What is your take on that.

Yeah, I don't think they could introduce it for the proposition that that's how the Wagners learned how to do that. I think if the state introduced it or attempted to get it introduced, it would just be kind of peripheral to like Hey, you know somebody in that family watched that movie or ordered that movie or bought that movie,

There's a mountain of other evidence. The prosecution plans on using one that stands out as an Excel spreadsheet that contains five hundred and nineteen entries of messages about child custody. I spoke with my Gallon about it. Another piece of evidence that's been talked about are these Excel spreadsheets. Apparently they had hundreds of entries of cataloging the messages about child custody and Facebook screenshots. Regarding it, what does that tell.

You, Well, it tells me that could be part of the motive in this case, and it's pretty strong evidence motive if they're keeping all these things in screenshots, and it seems that they were kind of obsessed with his desire to get custody and control. That would be circumstantial, but in circumstantial evidence sometimes can be very strong evidence. Just because evidence is circumstantial doesn't mean that it's not good evidence and strong evidence. But you know, it's like

The discovery documents also include information about a person that some speculator could be an informant Jody Barr told us about trying to track down this source. The name of the informant has not been published, which is why it's bleeped in his interview.

Only thing I know is that was a name given very early on who I was told did business with Chris Rodin. I was never able to even find that this person exists.

I guess they did. This person really does exist. But when I was given a list of names.

Of people who could have potentially either been involved in this knew about this This is one person I tried to track down and find over in Sciota County, which is just across the line from Pike, and I was never able to find this person.

But I was told that this person knew Chris Senior.

It's me as far as you know, they were together a lot, and they were in some business ventures together. But again I was never able to find this person or to verify anything that was ever told me about them.

Prosecutors for the case claim another confidential informant told them of a specific meeting at Frederica Wagner's home. It occurred with the other accused family members and allegedly included talk of quote taking revenge on a special agent then Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader. The revengel was allegedly planned if her family was arrested. Jody Barr dissected these claims with Jeff.

It just seems so careless that the people accused of this would be bringing outsiders into a home, although we don't know who the confidential informant is, but that they would risk getting caught if they were so skillful in pulling this off that they would bring outsiders in to have discussions like this where they're number one admitting it essentially, But secondly, you're talking about taking hits out on the chief law enforcer in Pike County and the chief law

But that's an interesting point that it doesn't really compute that if they were like Ninja's and they could do this elaborate crime, why would they be so sloppy then to have these conversations with other people.

When I see confidential informant in this sentence, man, a part of me goes, I wonder if one of the Wagners has rolled over and is helping this investigations still something I know there have been some plea deals already made here, some charges dismissed.

But you've got to wonder who.

Is this informant, because if it's a member of the Wagner family, and I think that's a twist no one saw coming.

Let's stop here for a quick commercial break. We'll be back in a moment. The discovery documents also have twenty nine and eighteen pages related to DNA evidence. Mike Allen spoke to us about the role of DNA could play in the case.

I can tell you from dealing with DNA evidence, both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney, that's not good news for the defense. If they've got almost three thousand pages of DNA evidence, evidence that would have been sent to the lab and comes back, they've got to have something. I mean, I would be shocked if they didn't have some credible DNA evidence against at least one of these defendants, probably more of them. That's bad news for the defense. There's just no way of getting around it.

Here's Stephanie, followed by Jeff.

In addition, the report also lists and seventy crime scene photos, cyber forensic reports of the Wagners, their cell phones and their computers, and hundreds of pages citing reference to the recovery of firearms and ballistic testing. In fact, at the pre trial hearing for George Wagner just a few weeks ago, we got a glimpse into some of the evidence they have. So this hearing was for emotion. The defense was making to get George Wagner, the eldest son, released from prison

Right. So with all of this, the Wagners still continued to declare their innocence. Is it really possible that they did, in fact have nothing to do with it? Well, recently one of the Wagner's lawyers made statements to the press saying that a loose custody arrangement between Jake Wagner and Hannah fur their daughter Sophia, was being formalized by another attorney in Ohio at the time of the killings, but due to the fact that Hannah was murdered, the agreement

I don't know anything about that.

Okay, Yeah, I was just curious, Yeah, because you hear a lot of that.

Yeah, I never heard, you know, I talked to my antalot that was never mentioned.

So do you think that that is fabricated as well?

If I'm hearing you right, I don't believe that it has anything.

To do with it.

I don't believe there was a custody battle. I think that's another made up lie.

What makes you say that because.

I never heard anything about it. I mean, somebody did it, but we don't know who, and we're for sure it wasn't the Wagner family.

It's a tragedy, and most.

Of the people that I talked to, they're all thinking it's drug related, something that had to do with drug trafficking. We don't know. It's who knows.

It's a mystery.

We found it strange for a woman who covers her family's case closely not to know anything about the custody issues that other family relatives disclosed to us before.

Even stranger is something else that was presented at George Wagner's most recent pre trial hearing. Again he's the eldest son. Prosecutors pointed to a screenshot of a message from Hannah Rodin to one of her friends. In this message, she's discussing the Wagner's attempt to force her to sign forged custody documents. The ones that we've talked about in previous episodes.

It does seem clear that the Wagners were sort of obsessed with custody and control of Sophia, and in speaking with people close to the family, this actually wasn't the first time custody became an issue. Christina Howard's sister, Tabby, was married to George Wagner for several years. The two had a son together, but eventually split up.

According to Christina, following their divorce, the Wagner family tried to force Tabby into handing over custody of their son. This is Christina's recollection of events. She spoke to Jeff about it.

Somehow or another angela like manipulated her with different papers to sign and stuff, and they had Tabby finding over the rights and custody to George. You know, they had money for expensive lawyer. Tabby didn't, and so they had custody plumb up until you know, they got caught and stuff for the crimes.

Do you think that she was obsessed with having custody of all of her grandkids?

Oh?

Yeah, definitely.

Why do you say that?

Tabby Like whenever she would try to reach out to George, like, hey, can I come visit my son, and Angela would get on there and be like, oh, he's not your son anymore. Would tell Tabby like, oh, you might have gave birth to him, but I'm his real mother because I take care of him, and all these just nasty things.

And Christina told us that in the aftermath of Tabby and George's custody battle, Hannah rode In contacted Tabby for advice and how to deal with their own custody issues with the Wagoners.

I knew that Hannah was struggling to keep custody of Sophia because she went to her and my sister were pretty close, and you know, Tabby straight up told her like a if they present me with papers, do not sign them. Give them to a lawyer first.

Let the lawyer read it.

Over and proceed from there, because they will try to steal custody of Sophia, even if they're trying to act like they're understated, and all of the swords. Do not listen to them because they will scree you over.

Christina's account of George Wagner and Tabby's dispute, in addition to everything we've heard about Jake Wagner and Hannah Rodin, clearly lays out a pattern of deceit and control when it comes to custody. But when Jeff asked Deray about George and Tabby's custody battle, she soundly refuted Christina's claims.

I want your side of this. People say that, like George had a custody situation where he tried to get custody of his son Jake, maybe a similar situation. People are saying that, like Angela was just obsessed with getting the kids and wanted all the control of the children.

Yeah.

I don't believe that. I don't believe that.

I know she loved him, but I don't believe.

She was obsessed.

I think she was a normal grandmother and then she was an excellent role model.

While we don't know all the details of George Wagner and Tabby's custody case. There is evidence that the Wagners did deceive Hannah Rodin by trying to convince her to sign fake custody documents. Here's Stephanie, followed by Jeff.

It seems being locked up in prison hasn't even stopped the Wagners for one second from trying to manipulate those closest to them. As we discussed earlier in September of twenty nineteen, Angela Wagner tried to discuss case strategy even influenced testimony from prison. Prosecutors also claim that Angela Wagner called her mother Rita Neukom she's the one that's accused

As a punishment, a judge suspended Angela Wagner's in jail phone and mail privileges. Mike Allen told us that this is just another blow for the defense.

Any criminal defense attorney that is doing their job, and I'm sure every one of these criminal defense attorneys are doing their job. They tell their client from day one, do not, under any circumstances discuss the case on the phone, because you can guarantee that the conversations are being taked.

George Wagner has also raised eyebrows for an odd request he made after five months in prison. He has to be transferred from general population to solitary confinement. Usually, solitary confinement is given to a prisoner who either is a threat to other prisoners or who may be in danger in the general population. My gallon told is that George a different reason.

His stated reason was that you wanted to be able to study the Bible in peace. That's a little unusual when inmates ask for solitary a lot of times, although they may not say it, they're asking for that because they've been threatened, and you know, they want to make sure that they're as safe as they can be in jail. But when I read that, I kind of wondered, is that the real reason? I mean, you know, you just have to wonder what the motivation is.

So how does all this evidence add up? How strong is the state's case against Billy, Angela Jake and George Wagner.

Now I'm a criminal defense attorney. I used to be a prosecutor, and as a criminal defense attorney, you know, you never say never as far as you know your chances in front of a jury. Having said that, the evidence sure seems strong, and we don't know all the evidence. All we know is what's public. So the old adage that a prosecutor could die ham Sandwich is true. But smart prosecutors don't indict cases that they don't think they

At the end of the day, let's stop here for a quick commercial break. We'll be back in a moment. We've been covering this case for over two years, and in that time we've examined, not only the details of the eight murders themselves, but the multiple theories that have surrounded them. We looked into the speculation of a drug connection.

Discoveries the murder scenes are now advancing the theory the killings could be related to a drug cartel.

The Rodents had a pretty sizeable crop of marijuana plants on their property, so you know, there were indications that they were involved in some drug deals, in drug trade with marijuana.

We explored the rumors of small town revenge.

There had been reports of scuffles with other people in public.

In his message and he's talking about I'm going to break his fucking legs and curb stop his ass.

We also investigated a series of eerily similar killings.

We have had a double homicide, four children left alive.

This is very similar to the Rodent case.

And we had heard that there were other people who were shot Noel the night execution style in their homes. And when you're looking at the Rodent case and then you see these other cases in a county that small, you start asking yourself.

What the hell is going on.

It doesn't make sense that this is happening there unless there is some sort of common denominator.

But in the end, it was some of the people who were closest to the Rodents that were arrested for orchestrating the brutal, cold blooded massacre.

At the center of this case were members of the Wagner family, whom we believe the event will show conspired together to kill these eight.

As we struggled to make sense of the crimes, we've listened to the impassioned arguments of family members who insist that their relatives are innocent.

Our family joke because there's no way that Betty Crocker and the Dobe boys could ever go to an extreme of murder.

Somebody did it, but it wasn't.

Now we've heard first person accounts from relatives that support the primary motive in this case.

Hannah and Jake with the little girl. There was a company battle and Hannah wasn't allowing Jake to see her, and it just set him off to the point where Jake he had made the comments you know that he were going to kill her.

But there are some who are simply torn.

When the Wagoners were arrested, you had your fifty to fifty.

You had people that said, yes, I knew that they did and then you've got people that day.

There's no way those people did that.

I don't think anybody would believe that, you know, a family could have put together such a tactical hit on another family that they had created life with.

It's still too difficult to accept and too hard to believe.

Many in the piked In area believe there is no doubt that the Wagners plotted this horrific killing.

Spray people wanted to paint the sort of few between the Rodents and Wagners and something like the hatfields of McCoys.

Doesn't make sense to me if they are innocent, because who else would do that.

Whether the Wagners are innocent or guilty, doesn't change the fact that the lives of eight members of a revered local family, the Rodents, were taken on April twenty second, twenty sixteen. Dana Roden, thirty seven year old mother, grandmother and nurse living in her brand new home. Chris Rodin, forty year old, loving father and grandfather. Dana and Chris's

It is horrible to this day in Dana and her her family will never never get to celebrate birthdays, you know, and have parties and get together some barbecues and stuff like that.

It's terrible.

It just really hurts my heart.

In all this, it's sometimes easy to forget those whose lives were spared that faithful night, but who lost everything in the process, the Rodent children.

It's two families really have been destroyed. And at the center of that tragedy is, you know, are these kids whose families are torn apart and lost.

Sophia is the one that is losing the most at this point in her life because She's lost her mom's side of the family, she's lost her father's side of the family, and she is in child protective custody where no one knows where she is.

She has lost on both sides. She's lost both of her families.

Because it's supposed to be happy for her, this is her childhood.

The tragic legacy of the Rodent murders continues to loom over the town of Pyton, Ohio.

You know, whatever happened that morning on Union Hill Road, you know it impacted a lot more than just those eight people who were killed. I mean, you've got their family members, and you've got people in that area are going to remember this forever.

This has never gone away.

My family was a part of this horrible, I mean just absolutely awful act. You know that they destroyed this other family completely. They have changed his family's life for the rest of their life. So but then you know, I'm like, well, you know ours has changed as well. You know, we get tortured daily with the thought of how our family could have done something like this, and

With trials for Billy, Angela, Jake, and George Wagner potentially just months away, the residents of the Pikeson area sit in anticipation, awaiting an end to the most gruesome chapter in the town's history and a conclusion to Ohio's most notorious murder case.

I've been in the system for over fifty years, and that is extremely rare that you got for people, for defendants facing the death penalty.

What will happen is anyone's guests if.

They walk out of that courtroom without any convictions. I just can't imagine how the rodents go on in the public too. I mean, how do you go on not knowing for sure exactly who did this?

Oh, it's going to be broken hearted, It's going to be broken hearts. I honestly think that that's the Wagoners.

It's going to a mistrial.

It's a search for the truth and that old proverb from Shakespeare the truth will out in the end. I believe that as it applies to this case, the mystery will be solved the truth will eventually and inevitably be discovered, and it looks like that's the way they're heading. I, like everybody else, want to know.

I want to know how the story is.

Reach out to us on our social media outlets with questions. We're on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at pikedon Massacre. We look forward to answering our questions and upcoming episodes. Pipedon Massacre is executive produced by Stephanie Leidecker and me Courtney Armstrong. Editing and sound designed by executive producer Jared Aston. Additional producing by Jeff Shaine and Andrew Becker. The piked In