WAVERLY, Ohio — One day after the Scioto Valley Guardian revealed that all three convicted members of the Wagner family were being held in undisclosed prisons outside Ohio, one of them reappeared.
Angela Jo Wagner, who pleaded guilty for her role in the 2016 Pike County massacre that left eight members of the Rhoden family dead, was transported Tuesday to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, where she is being held pending a resentencing hearing that has not been scheduled.
Where she came from remains a mystery.
The Guardian reported Monday that Wagner, her son Edward “Jake” Wagner and her son George Wagner IV had all been quietly moved out of Ohio after their sentencings, and that not even family members knew their whereabouts. State officials declined to comment, citing safety reasons.
By Tuesday, Angela Wagner was back — though officials have not said from where she was transported or how long she will remain in Highland County.
Her return to a county jail rather than a state prison reflects her unusual legal limbo: technically, she is no longer a sentenced prisoner. The state’s 4th District Court of Appeals ruled June 26 that her sentence and that of Jake Wagner must be thrown out, finding the trial court “abused its discretion” by sentencing the pair before they finished cooperating with prosecutors. Both are required under their 2021 plea agreements to testify against the family patriarch, George “Billy” Wagner III, the last defendant awaiting trial.
With her 30-year sentence vacated, Wagner is now, on paper, back in the custody of the Pike County Sheriff — an office that does not operate a jail of its own, which is why she is being housed in neighboring Highland County.
One thing is certain: how long she stays there is anyone’s guess. Visiting Judge Jonathan Hein, whose January 2025 sentencing decisions triggered the appeals court’s reversal, has not set a new sentencing hearing. Under the appellate ruling, resentencing should not occur until she and Jake Wagner complete their testimonial obligations — meaning both may remain in custody without a sentence until after Billy Wagner’s trial, which could begin as early as October.
Jake Wagner’s whereabouts are not yet known.
The Pike County massacre remains Ohio’s deadliest and most expensive homicide case. Seven members of the Rhoden family and Hannah Gilley were found shot to death in April 2016, most execution-style as they slept, at four properties along Union Hill Road. Prosecutors said the killings were driven by a custody dispute over the daughter of Jake Wagner and victim Hanna May Rhoden.
