Angela Wagner

Angela Wagner was born in 1970 and lived for many years in Pike County, Ohio. She married George "Billy" Wagner III, and together they raised two sons, George Wagner IV and Edward "Jake" Wagner. The family operated farms and businesses in southern Ohio and maintained close personal and financial relationships.

By the mid-2010s, tensions had developed between the Wagner and Rhoden families over custody of Jake Wagner's young daughter with Hanna Rhoden. Prosecutors later argued that Angela became an active participant in discussions aimed at ensuring the Wagner family retained permanent control of the child.

During the early hours of April 22, 2016, eight members of the Rhoden family were murdered at four separate locations across Pike County. The victims were Christopher Rhoden Sr., Dana Rhoden, Christopher Rhoden Jr., Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, Hanna May Rhoden, Gary Rhoden, Kenneth Rhoden and Hannah Hazel Gilley.

According to prosecutors, Angela Wagner played a significant role in planning the coordinated attacks. Although she was not alleged to have personally shot the victims, she helped organize the conspiracy, gathered intelligence about the Rhoden family and assisted with preparations before and after the murders.

Evidence presented during later court proceedings established that the Wagner family spent months planning the attacks and intended to eliminate members of the Rhoden family to resolve the ongoing custody dispute. Young children present inside several homes were deliberately left unharmed.

Angela Wagner's role centred on planning, preparation and assisting the wider conspiracy rather than acting as one of the principal shooters. Prosecutors established that the Wagner family conducted surveillance of the victims, prepared firearms fitted with homemade suppressors, coordinated movements between multiple crime scenes and attempted to conceal evidence after the murders.

Following the killings, family members altered vehicles, disposed of evidence and later relocated to Alaska before eventually returning to Ohio. Angela also participated in efforts to maintain the family's cover story during the years following the murders.

The Pike County massacre triggered one of the largest homicide investigations in Ohio history. Investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the FBI and numerous local agencies spent more than two years gathering forensic, digital and testimonial evidence.

On November 13, 2018, Angela Wagner, her husband George Wagner III and sons George Wagner IV and Edward "Jake" Wagner were arrested and charged in connection with the murders.

In April 2021, Angela entered into a negotiated plea agreement with prosecutors. As part of the agreement, she agreed to provide complete and truthful testimony against her husband and eldest son during their murder trials.

Rather than proceeding to trial, Angela Wagner pleaded guilty in April 2021 to conspiracy, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, forgery, unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance and other felony offences. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed the eight aggravated murder charges and agreed not to seek the death penalty.

During the subsequent trials of George Wagner IV and George Wagner III, Angela testified extensively about the planning of the murders, the Wagner family's motives and each family member's role in the conspiracy. Her testimony became one of the prosecution's most significant pieces of evidence alongside that of her son, Jake Wagner.

In September 2021, Angela was sentenced to 30 years in prison in accordance with her plea agreement. She will become eligible for judicial release only after serving the minimum term required under the agreement.

Angela Wagner's decision to cooperate fundamentally changed the prosecution of the Pike County massacre. Together with Jake Wagner's guilty plea, her testimony provided jurors with an insider's account of how the Wagner family planned and carried out the murders. Prosecutors nevertheless supported many aspects of her testimony with extensive forensic, digital and physical evidence gathered during the investigation.

The Pike County investigation remains one of the largest criminal investigations in Ohio history. Angela's plea agreement allowed prosecutors to avoid multiple capital murder trials while securing testimony that contributed directly to the convictions of George Wagner IV in 2022 and George Wagner III in 2025.

• Ohio Attorney General's Office
• Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation
• Pike County Sheriff's Office
• Ohio court records
• Associated Press
• CBS News
• NBC News
• Court TV
• WCPO 9 Cincinnati