Truth Be Revealed

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Welcome to the piked to Massacre a production of iHeartRadio and Katie 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 Roden 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

and what lies ahead next week's episode, Burning Questions. I'm Courtney Armstrong, a television producer at Katie Studios with Stephanie Ledecker and Jeff Shane. When we left off last week, it was June twenty six, twenty nineteen, and Frederica Wagner was in the defendant's chair in a Pike County courtroom. She was facing charges of obstruction of justice and perjury and connection with the Roden murders. Here's Frederica's niece, Derey,

defending her aunt's claims. 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 and sixteen, fifteen days after the day of the homicides. So that's proven. We know that there's like receipts, right, yep, got receipt Scott. 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 him off the internet. Whenever you go on the Internet, a bunch of places come up. Usually Amazon is 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 State are a much bigger deal than

deray things. Well, obviously, when you have a situation like this and someone involved with the people that are charged makes a purchase of two bulletproof fast, 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. And it's relevant and also too, I think it would be fair to say that the prosecution probably wanted this put on it, these charges put on her to have a little bit of leverage with her too. 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 boy, she should certainly seems like she's pretty sharp. But it's a rather big event. In most people's lives, if they purchased bulletproof vest online or anyway you purchased them, that you would think that you would remember where you purchased them from. So yeah, it doesn't make her look good at all. Ultimately, Frederico 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 Frederico 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 she could 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 Frederico Wagner doesn't foresee that happening. Here. She is speaking to

the press after the hearing. Trust in 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. Frederico 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 turned themselves in for anything. I mean she 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 Joe Nukam, and Billy Wagner's mother, Frederica were both

charged with obstruction of justice and perjury. Nucombe was also charged with forgery. All six of them pled not guilty, and our justice system presumes innocence until guilt is proven. But one thing that doesn't help Frederica Wagner's case is a revelation by the prosecution at a pre trial hearing for her son Billy in twenty twenty, The States submitted evidence showing that the night before Frederica testified before the grand jury in twenty eighteen, she had searched the Internet

for information about penalties for perjury. Here's our anonymous Wagner family relative. She shared her thoughts with Jeff. 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. Yet I believe that she definitely. Uh. I don't believe she try to stop it, you know, I don't believe that she. I believe it's anything she probably definitely she would have encouraged it and her story should

do what he did. Others like Roden family friend Stefane, thinks that Frederico 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 businesswoman. She's probably shrewd. She's the head the monarch, you know, so the monarch is usually the one that 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 Frederico Wagner up ends convened 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 could look at those people and say, those people look like a family who could swatter 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 Roden 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. To really understand this case and where it stands in 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 written 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 exact 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 are accused of using to execute the Rodents. As we covered in the last episode, a homemade silencer was discovered at a farm once owned by Jake and George Wagner, but Deray thinks the connection is tenuous at best. I read deck 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 was brilliant. They're professional. These people are not professional killers. Mike Gallant 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 Wagner's 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, and it's a movie about vigilante justice.

But I would certainly cry at least because apparently in this case, the allegation is silencers were used, and they were used in that movie as well, So it would be one piece of evidence that they could add on to other evidence. It would be a piece of evidence if admitted that they could talk about in closing arguments. So, while not determinative in any way, shape or form, it is evidence that could be helpful to the state. There's a mountain of other evidence the prosecution plans on using.

One that stands out is 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 of motive if they're keeping all these things and screenshots, and it seems that they were kind of obsessed with his desire to get custody and control. That would be circumstantial, but 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 you're

dropping pebbles into a pond. Every little pebble makes a ripple, and you know, you build on those things and at the end of the day, at the prosecution does it right. Every little bit helps with respect to building a case. The discovery documents also include information about a person that some speculate could be an informant. Jodie 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. The 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 intimately 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 Frederico Wagner's home. It occurred with the other accused family members and allegedly include to talk of quote taking revenge on a special agent then Attorney General Mike Dawine, and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader. The revenge was allegedly planned if her family was arrested.

Jodie 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 secularly, you're talking about taking hits out on the chief law

enforcer in Pike County and the chief law enforce for the state of Ohio. But that's an interesting point that it doesn't really compute that if they were like ninjas and they could do this of elaborate crime, why would they be so sloppy then to have these conversations with other people. When I see confidential informant in this sentence meant a part of he goes. I wonder if one of the Wagoners has rolled over and is helping this investigation 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. Like many of us, you might think identity theft will never happen to you, but consider this. There's a new identity

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Identity theft protection starts here. You will fail, so what everybody does, but your jim your watch, your yoga pants. They pretend you won't. So when you miss a day, eat the pancakes, give up on a workout, you failed. Seriously,

what the hell we're body? We've been a part of that too, but not anymore at Body or rejecting perfection and embracing reality, not in a Pizza Monday kind of way, in a loving your whole life kind of way, in a this workout is fun and it's okay if I take a week off kind of way, in an I'm eating healthy and it's okay if I indulge kind of way, in a I like myself. No matter what kind of way. Yeah, you will fail, we all will. But we're not going to let that be the end and see that we're

already making progress. So let's keep going. We are Body. Start your free trial at Body dot com. That's Bodi dot com. Only on CNN. See It Loud The History of Black Television of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black culture has on all culture. See It Loud explores the best history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy drama, Unscared, Did Variety, and sci fi, premiering Sunday

to Lie nine at nine pm. He'll forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday. Wow. Thanks Grandpa, but he'll never forget how you invested in his future with the un stapp. Wow, thanks, Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, give them a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and family friends to contribute to your child's future with the un stapp. Unst is an investment account for kids that makes it easy to gift funds that can be used for college tuition, their first home,

and more. Just by sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download the uns stapp and use the code I Heart fifty at sign up to receive a fifty dollar bonus when you fund your account. That's code I Heart fifty when you sign up at une st dot zo for fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at uns dot coo. The discovery documents also have two thousand,

nine hundred and eighteen pages related to DNA evidence. Mike Allen spoke to us about the role 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. Because DNA evidence, if extracted proper and analyze properly, it's pretty much lights out if they did it correctly. So I think that's problematic for the defense.

Here's Stephanie, followed by Jeff. In addition, the report also lists one thousand, one hundred 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 on bond. In response, the prosecution laid out some of the evidence they have against George Wagner, basically as an

argument to keep George behind bars. One of the lead detectives on the case testified that he and his team have real ballistic evidence connecting firearms used in the homicides with guns believed to be owned by the Wagners, including a twenty two caliber long rifle, a forty caliber handgun,

and a thirty caliber gun. Prosecutors also pointed to evidence that shoeprints from the exact same shoes purchased at Walmart by the Wagners to allegedly frame Dana Rodin's brother, you remember, James Manley, were found in dried blood at two of the crime scenes, and yet this in fact receipts for those exact same shoes. There are a very specific Walmart athletic shoe were found during a search of the Wagner

property in twenty sixteen. There are also over eight thousand recorded statements from interviews with George Wagner who claimed there really was no issue regarding custody between Jake Wagner and Hannah Rowdin over their daughter Sophia, and that we know is just not true. Right, So, with all of this the Wagners still continue to declare their innocence. Is it really possible that they did? In facts have nothing to

do with it. Well. Recently, one of the Wagner's lawyers made statements to the US saying that a loose custody arrangement between Jake Wagner and Hannah further 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 was never formalized, so it's not

permissible in court. I spoke with Deray about her second cousin, Jake Wagner, to see if we could get any more information on the custody arrangement between him and Hannah Rodan, do you know anything about like they were trying to get custody of Sophia before the murders. I don't know anything about that, Okay, Yeah, I was just curious, Yeah, because you hear a lot about that. Yeah, I never heard, you know, I talked to my aunt a lot 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 are 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 disclose 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. Now get this. The screenshot was found on the Wagner family computer seized during the investigation, and again allegedly the Wagner's got it by hacking into Hannah wrote In's Facebook account, the message is nothing short of chilling. It reads and I quote, I won't sign papers. Ever, it won't happen.

They'll have to kill me first. 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, and Tabby did in 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 mighty gave virtul him, but I'm his real mother because I take care of em,

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 Wagner's. 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 you 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 understanding and all of the swords. Do not listen to them because they will strew 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 de Ray 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. Well, 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 influences testimony from prison. Prosecutors also claim that Angela Wagner called her mother Rita Newcome. She's the

one that's accused of forging those custody documents. She called her several times and basically asked her not to testify against the family, and also told her how to explain away the custody documents that she's accused of forging. 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 taped, Prosecutors can use those conversations if the person is talking about strategy, make some kind of admission, intimidates witnesses, the recording doesn't lie, and that could end up to be some pretty strong evidence against her at the end of the day. 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. Mike Allen told us that George had a different reason. His stated reason was that he 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 end up? How strong is the state's case against Billy, Angela Jake and George Wagner. 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 indict a ham sandwich is true. But smart prosecutors don't indict cases that they don't think they can win beyond a reasonable doubt. And I think Mike Dwine, who was in the driver's seat in this thing, there's no way he would have indicted this if he didn't think he could prove it, or ultimately someone could prove it. At the end of the day, let's stop here for a quick commercial break. We'll be back in a moment. You will fail, So what everybody does, but your jim,

your watch, your yoga pants, they pretend you won't. So when you miss a day, eat the pancakes, give up on a workout. You failed. Seriously, what the hell We're Body. We've been a part of that too, but not anymore at Body or rejecting perfection and embracing reality, not in a Pizza Monday kind of way, in a loving your whole life kind of way. In this workout is fun and it's okay if I take a week off kind of way, in an I'm eating healthy and it's okay if I indulge kind of way, in a I like myself.

No matter what kind of way. Yeah, you will fail, we all will. But we're not going to let that be the end. Now. See that we're already making progress. So let's keep going. We are Body. Start your free trial at Body dot com. That's Bodi dot com, Only on CNN. See It Loud The History of Black Television of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black culture has on

all culture. See It Loud explores the best history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety, and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July nine at nine pm, He'll forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa. But he'll never forget how you invested in his future. What the unst app Wow, thanks Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, give them a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and

family friends to contribute to your child's future. What the unst app uns is an investment account for kids that makes it easy to gift funds that can be used for college tuition, their first home, and more. Just by sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download the unstaff and use the code I Heart fifty at sign up to receive a fifty dollars bonus when you

fund your account. That's code I Heart fifty when you sign up at uneest dot coo for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at UNEs dot coo. Curiosity Stream is the streaming service for people who want to know more more about our world and beyond. Curiosity Stream has the best collection of documentary films and TV shows and now check out Curiosity's new series The Real Wild West. Rowan Stone magazine says, it's the history of the West.

They usually don't teach you the mythology of the West left out a lot of the people. The American West is far more different, far more diverse. He would say, they've never seen a black cowboy. Well, we've been there, we've been doing it. I never really learned about these Hispanic Mexican aspect of the story. This is the history book, But did you know about these other facts? Watch The Real Wild West now on Curiosity Stream. Just go to curiosity stream dot com to sign up or download the

app now. With new titles dropping every week, you'll never run out of things to watch, and with monthly, annual, and bundled pricing plans, it's easy to find one that works for you and your budget. Go to curiosity stream dot com to satisfy your curiosity and sign up today. 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 of the murder scenes are now advancing the theory killings could be related to a drug cartel. The Rodents had a pretty sizable crop of marijuana plants on their property, so you know, there were indications that they were involved in some drug deals and drug trade with marijuana. We

explored the rumors of smalltown revenge. There had been reports of scuple 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 Nolan I 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 plotted massacre at the center of this case, or members the Wagner family whom we believe the avalanche will show, conspired together to kill these ape 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 is that 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 custody 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 was going to kill her. But

there are some who are simply torn. Ers were arrested, You had your fifty fifty. You had people that said, yes, I knew that they did that, and then you've got people that say, 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 Pikedon area believe there is no doubt that

the Wagoners plotted this horrific killing spree. People wanted to paint the sort of few between the Rodents and Wagoners, 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 Wagoners 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, a grandmother and nurse living in her brand new home. Chris Rodin, forty year old, loving father and grandfather. Dana and Chris's oldest son, twenty year old Frankie Roden, Frankie's fiance, twenty year old Hannah Gilly, who was in bed with their six month old baby, Frankie Roden's three year old son, both of whom were spared. Hannahme Roden, nineteen year old mother to two year old Sophia and her five day

old newborn Kylie, also spared. Dana and Chris's youngest child, sixteen year old Chris Junior, who had just gotten his driver's license, Chris Senior's older brother, forty four year old Kenneth Roden, father of three, and his cousin, thirty eight year old Gary Roden, who was staying with Chris Senior that night. It is horrible to this day and Dana and her family will never never get to celebrate birthdays, you know, and have parties and get togethers and barbecues

and stuff like that. It's 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 road in 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. Sofia 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 road and 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 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 going away. My family was a part of this horrible, I mean just absolutely awful act. You know that they destroying this other family completely. They have changed the 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 we still have love for them. I do feel so terrible for the Dents, and I've always wanted to be able to express how sorry I am. And just because we still love Angela and Jake doesn't mean that

we aren't sorry for what take done. I get with trials for Billy, Angela, Jake, and George Wagner potentially just months away, the residents of the Piketon 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 gonna be broken hearts. I honestly think that that the wagoners. It's going to a mistrial. It's searched for the truth, and you know 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 piked and Massacre. We look forward to answering our questions and upcoming episodes. Piked and Massacre is

executive produced by Stephanie Lydecker and me Courtney Armstrong. Editing and sound designed by executive producer Jared Aston. Additional producing by Jeff Shane and Andrew Becker. The pikedon Massacre is a production of iHeartRadio and Katie Studios. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Since her role as White House correspondent, Caitlyn Collins has never been afraid to dicty.

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