WAVERLY, Ohio — Angela Wagner was back in court in Pike County on Friday and has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder along with 12 other charges.
The guilty verdicts come after the 50-year-old — who faced eight counts of murder — filed a motion to be released from jail to have a dental filling.
During the hearing, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, as well as three counts of aggravated burglary with a firearm specifications, three counts of tampering with evidence, forgery, unlawful possession of a dangerous ordinance, unauthorized use of property, wire tapping, obstructing justice, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, a host of other charges were dismissed, including eight charges of murder. The deal was agreed for 30 years in prison in exchange for her pleas, and Wagner must testify against her son and husband.
Wagner, her two sons, Jake, and George, along with her husband Billy, all faced eight counts of murder. The family was arrested in November 2018 after investigators said they killed eight members of another family over what has been described as a custody dispute.
Killed were Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; her ex-husband, Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; their sons, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20; their daughter, Hanna Rhoden, 19, the mother of Jake Wagner’s daughter; Frankie’s fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20; Kenneth Rhoden, 44, a brother to Chris Sr; and Gary Rhoden, 38, a cousin to Kenneth and Chris Sr.
Earlier this year, Wagner’s youngest son, Jake, who is touted as being the mastermind behind the slayings of his daughter’s family pleaded guilty as charged in exchange for a plea deal. In the deal, the death penalty was removed for Jake and his family members.
The first trial set in the case begins in the spring with Wagner’s son, George. So far, George and his father are the only two not to take plea deals.
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