PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — The death penalty is again an option for prosecutors in the upcoming trial of Billy Wagner, the final remaining defendant in the 2016 Pike County massacre, following a ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeals.
The appeals court reversed a lower court decision that had removed capital punishment from the case in late 2024. The visiting judge overseeing the trial had dropped the death penalty in an effort to expedite proceedings, a move prosecutors quickly appealed.
Billy Wagner’s trial has remained on hold while the appeal was pending. No new trial date has been set, and a new venue has yet to be determined after the same appeals court previously upheld the decision to move the trial out of Pike County.
Wagner is accused, along with members of his family, of orchestrating the execution-style killings of seven members of the Rhoden family and Hannah Gilley in April 2016, one of the most notorious criminal cases in Ohio history.
Wagner’s wife, Angela, and his son, Jake, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the killings in exchange for agreements that spared them from the death penalty. Both were expected to be sentenced this week, but their sentencings have now been postponed indefinitely.
Another son, George Wagner IV, was convicted on all counts related to the murders in November 2022 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
With the appellate ruling, Billy Wagner now faces the possibility of capital punishment as the fourth and final defendant connected to the killings.