CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — George “Billy” Wagner III, the alleged patriarch in one of Ohio’s most notorious homicide cases, was transferred to the Pickaway County Jail last month as he awaits trial for his role in the 2016 massacre of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County.
Wagner, who has been in custody since 2018, had previously been held in the Butler County Jail. According to recent records, he was transferred on September 13, 2024, though authorities have not disclosed the reason for the move. Wagner, along with his wife and two sons, is accused of orchestrating and carrying out the murders of the Rhoden family in what has been described as Ohio’s worst mass homicide. His trial is set for 2025.
Wagner’s defense team has made two unsuccessful attempts to move the trial out of Pike County, most recently filing a motion in hopes of changing the venue. However, court documents show that on September 6, 2024, a notice of intent to dismiss the motion was filed, suggesting that the trial will remain in Pike County.
Wagner is expected to return to Pike County on October 7, 2024, for a pretrial conference.
The 2016 massacre, which took place in Pike County, saw eight members of the Rhoden family, including a 16-year-old, shot and killed in four different homes. The case became the largest investigation in Ohio’s history, with four members of the Wagner family arrested in 2018.
Billy Wagner’s son, George Wagner IV, was convicted for his role in the murders and is currently appealing his conviction. Another son, Edward “Jake” Wagner, pleaded guilty to all eight murders and admitted to shooting five of the victims.
The upcoming trial of Billy Wagner marks another chapter in the long and painful saga of one of Ohio’s most heinous crimes.