WEBVTT - Jake Wagner On the Stand 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:05.320 Billy said, well, you know, if you kill her, you're 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:08.840 gonna have to kill Chris and Frankie because they will 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:10.720 know you get it and they will come after you. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.319 Jake testified George was in a firing position. Jake said 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:18.480 he told him to shoot, but he didn't. Jake takes 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:22.320 the rifle from George, and then when Chris shows up 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.040 in the doorway, he shoots him. What really stood out 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.720 to me, it's just the way he talked about killing 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:38.680 people like it was no big deal. This is the 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:44.120 Pike and Massacre Returned to Pike County season four, episode eighteen. 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:49.400 Jake Wagner on the stand. I'm Courtney Armstrong, a television 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:53.200 producer at Katie's Studios with Stephanie Lydecker and Jeff Shane. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.000 It's important to note that George Wagner the fourth pleaded 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.120 not guilty to all charges. His father, Billy Wagner, whose 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.840 trial is upcoming, also pleaded not guilty to all charges. 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:08.319 At the beginning of the eighth week of testimony, I 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:11.320 traveled to Ohio to be in the courtroom when jurors 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.560 heard from the man who seems to be at the 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:20.600 center of this trial, Jake Wagner. In April of twenty 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:23.360 twenty one, on the five year anniversary of the murders, 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.959 Jake played guilty to eight counts of aggravated murder and 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:31.000 agreed to testify against his own family, including his older 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:36.600 brother George. In exchange, the prosecution removed the death penalty 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:40.600 as a possible punishment for all. Wagner's judge, Randy Deering, 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:44.360 allowed Jake Wagner to opt out from having his testimony recorded. 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.319 That's why we will not hear Jake Wagner's voice in 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:54.760 this episode. Still, his testimony is chilling, dramatic testimony in 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.480 Pike County Today, brother versus brother. Today, Jake Wagner took 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.040 the stand against George Wagner the fourth. When Jake Wagner 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:04.680 entered the courtroom, both his hands and feet were shackled 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:08.440 with long chain manacles. He wore thick black glasses and 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.840 a prison issued tan jumpsuit. His hair was slicked back 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.119 and in a ponytail. I was not surprised to see 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:16.880 him in jail clothes. You know, A lot of the 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:19.720 reporters had been speculating that, oh, maybe they'll put him 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.360 in street clothes, And I just thought to myself. I've 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:26.680 never seen an inmate testify. Was put in street clothes. 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:30.560 I mean, the prosecution wanted these people to be seen 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:34.120 at least Jake and Angela as criminals. Now twenty nine 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.600 years old, Jake Wagner has been in the Franklin County 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.080 jail for nearly four years. The only noticeable change in 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:43.760 his appearance as he looked stronger. He looked fitter than 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.960 the thin, gangly man he was before his arrest. He 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:51.280 looks like a different person. Now you see Jake as 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.480 a teenager, and suddenly you got a con sitting there 0:02:54.520 --> 0:02:56.880 at that big table there in a courthouse. It's an 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:02.120 understatement to say Jake Wagner's testimony has been highly anticipated. Unsurprisingly, 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:06.000 the courtroom was packed. This is me speaking with Stephanie 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:10.400 from Ohio. Was anybody on the Wagner side that you 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.280 could identify or was it still a total no show 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:19.560 for George. There wasn't a seat to be had completely filled, 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:23.520 including extra seats that were put into the aisles, so 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:25.919 that was just getting in. So it felt unlike any 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.080 other day in the trial so far. It was a 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:33.120 real buzz. There appeared to be no one there for George. Wagner. 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.840 A lot of the people outside of the media and 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:40.160 victims family members were family members of the attorneys on 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.000 the prosecution and defense sides. That's interesting because you never 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:47.560 would really think that that's who would come, but this 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.240 is their big moment, So for family members of the lawyers, 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:55.200 that does make sense. After Jake took the stand, he 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:57.760 looked directly at his brother George from across the room 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:00.640 and smiled for a brief moment when they made eye 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:04.280 contact the first time in years, before George looked away. 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.760 Here's reporter a Jeanette Levy, who was in the courtroom. 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.119 I was sitting right behind George, and George made eye 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.480 contact with him, but I don't think it was for 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:16.680 very long. Was pretty short lived. And Jake just kind of, 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.520 you know, he kept looking around a little bit like 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.160 he was very It was almost kind of like this 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:24.839 alert look. He kept turning his head, looking back and forth, 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:30.800 and you know, then things started. The questioning started. Prosecutor 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.920 Angiekineppa started by asking Jake if it was difficult to 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:37.560 testify against his own family. He said it was very difficult. 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:40.240 When he was asked, would you love nothing more for 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:42.800 your brother, your mother, and your father to be able 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.560 to go home, and he said yes. The only other 0:04:46.600 --> 0:04:49.359 emotion Jake appeared to show that morning was when he 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.960 mouthed quote, I am sorry in the direction of the 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:56.640 road and family sitting in the courtroom. Then he calmly 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:01.440 and with little emotion, walked Jerrs through the killings. During 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.960 more than six hours of detailed testimony, Jake Wagner explained 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:07.320 why he wanted to kill Hannah Rodin, the mother of 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:12.719 his child. With Jake Wagner, what's fascinating about him is 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:16.960 that he's kind of the doorway into what can be 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:20.600 described only as a horror show. It's not just the 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.480 night of the home songs. It's everything waiting out to it. 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:27.560 It's life. But these people led in the years preceding. 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:32.440 Jake Wagner detailed how his family's criminal activity began long 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:36.200 before they were arrested for the Rodin, Manly and Gilly murders. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:41.359 Prosecutor and JIW. Kneppa asked Jake Wagner about the various 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:45.960 homes and vehicles his family owned. We found out from 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:49.400 Jake Wagner's testimony today that he, his brother, and his 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:53.480 father would commit crimes together, including multiple arsons to collect 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:58.200 insurance money and stealing high priced item from businesses. Jake 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.880 admitted that his parents set fire to their own home 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.440 on Bethel Hill Road to collect the insurance benefits. He 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:08.120 also testified that the Wagner's torch multiple vehicles for the 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.720 same reason. Jake said they would steal everything from fuel 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:15.160 to building materials to livestock, also that he learned to 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.279 pick a lock at a very young age. Here again 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:21.880 is long crime reporter and Jeanette Levy. She's followed by 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:28.520 forensic investigator Joseph Scott Morgan. They were taught these things 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:31.320 so that they could get away with crimes, and not 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:34.600 necessarily so they could be like good human beings. I mean, 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.240 they were raised to be criminals. It's quite sad when 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:40.000 you listen to them talk about how their dad would 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.000 sit them down with like a lock pick set when 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:45.599 they were seven nine years old something like that, and 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:50.160 teach them how to pick locks and weird games about oh, 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.320 if you were out and about and you spot a cop, 0:06:52.360 --> 0:06:56.839 you get a dollar. When you hear about the way 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:01.359 that Jake grew up, where he was essentially cycled into 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:05.480 a life of crime, Billy described it as he was 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:10.480 teaching his boy survival skills, you know, how to essentially 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:12.320 steal a car or hot wire car in case he 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.560 ever got quote unquote kidnapped. And I'm thinking, you know, 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.640 I don't know if any parent out there that sits 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.640 around and thinks, well, let me tell my child how 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.000 to steal a car in case they ever get kidnapped. 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:27.200 I wonder, I wonder where all changes in tire rotations 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:29.320 came in? You know, did you at least talk about 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:31.760 that first, you know, And he's saying this, he's saving 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.559 this from the stand, and you're really getting a peek 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:41.080 behind the curtain at this life that they led. Jake 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.400 told the courtroom his relationship with Hannah Me Rodin began 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:47.520 when she was just thirteen years old. He said he 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.040 met Hannah at the Pike County Fair where she was 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:53.560 showing off her pet rabbits. Despite being four years older 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.520 than Hannah, Jake asked her parents, Dana and Chris Rodin, 0:07:56.600 --> 0:08:00.320 if he could date her. At times, their relationship ship 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:04.000 was violent. Prosecutor Angie Kaneppa asked Jake if he ever 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:08.840 choked his young girlfriend, as Hannahme had once claimed, and 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:11.320 he said, I never choked her, and he was very 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:14.760 like adamant about it, and he said, she was having 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.480 a fit, and you know, I held her up against 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.800 the wall and I put my arm on her collar bone, 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:24.880 but I didn't choke her. I just held her there 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:28.160 until she calmed down. And after he gave that answer, 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:30.920 he kind of like Angie Kaneppa kind of made a 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:34.240 sighing noise. But it was just like he was talking 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.560 about this, like, oh, I didn't choke her. I was 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.000 just you know, holding her there. It was like this 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:46.280 minimization or justification or rationalization for basically holding your ex 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:49.080 girlfriend against a wall because she was upset about something. 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.360 And you know he's claiming he didn't choke her. Well, 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:55.240 Hannah May saying he choked her like that his arm 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:58.640 was on her throat. So some of these things were 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:05.000 pretty strange to me that way he would describe them. 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:08.360 By age fifteen, hannahme Rodent was pregnant and gave birth 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:12.560 to her daughter she shared with Jake Wagner. Her tumultuous 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:16.680 relationship with Jake ended in February of twenty fifteen, a 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.920 little more than a year before the murders. Jake Wagner 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.640 described his family's motive and one of the worst massacres 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:24.920 in Ohio's history that led to the death of eight 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:28.280 members of the Rodent family. After their relationship broke up, 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:31.720 Jake testified that he and his mother, Angela began to 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:34.120 have concerns about the safety of his daughter, who was 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:37.240 living with the Rodents. This was true in particular after 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:40.719 Hannah May started dating Corey Holdron, who Jake believed was 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:44.240 dealing drugs. Jake said he was concerned his daughter wouldn't 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:46.199 be safe living with the Rodents, even going as far 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:49.440 as saying he was concerned would be molested, since he 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:53.040 said it happened in both his family and Hannah's family. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.440 Jake testified that his mother, Angela Wagner, monitoring Hannah May's 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:06.120 private Facebook conversations. Jake's concern for his daughter only grew 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:09.240 when he became aware of an online conversation where Hannah 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:11.600 said the only way she would give up custody of 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:16.040 their daughter is if the Wagner's killed her first. Wagner 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:20.120 said that his father, Billy Wagner, first mentioned a murder plot, 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:23.480 but he would not let it happen. Jake testified he 0:10:23.520 --> 0:10:26.679 told Hannah he was concerned that their daughter could be molested, 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:30.360 and he claims that Hannah was dismissive, saying, quote, if 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.840 that happens, we'll just have to deal with it. That 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:36.720 alleged response, Jake Wagner told the court was the tipping point. 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.360 Jake Wagner said, by the winter of twenty fifteen and 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.400 twenty sixteen, he was concerned that his daughter with Hannah 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:47.720 Rodin might be molested, so he decided his only choice 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:52.080 to protect his daughter was actually to kill Hannah. The 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:56.520 prosecution says basically that that was made up, this fear 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.120 that the little girl would be molested. The prosecution basically 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.959 says that was something they kind of whipped up in 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:09.439 their heads to justify what they wanted to do. And 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.440 we get earlier in the trial seeing text messages or 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:16.640 Facebook messages where Hannah May and Jake were talking about 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:21.360 their child, and it was just amazing to me that 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.880 in some points he would say things like I'll take 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:26.960 her even if I have to do it by force, 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:35.000 just some really eerie foreshadowing. So it just seemed to 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.760 me that they, for whatever reason, and everybody wants their 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.000 children to be with them, but this seems to be 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.520 some type of demand like, no, this child is going 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:51.240 to be with me. Once he made up his mind 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:54.559 that Hannah may had to be killed, Jake testified that 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:59.760 the Wagner family began to plan and plot. His first 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.679 deal was to frame Hannah's boyfriend, Corey Holdron. Here's James Pilcher, 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:09.520 longtime investigative reporter in Cincinnati, now with Local twelve. He's 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:15.079 followed by Long Crimes and Jeanette Leavy. Jake was convinced 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.880 that something needed to be done, that they were going 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:22.360 to kill Hannah and Corey and make it look like 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.600 a murder suicide, and Billy said, no, you can't do 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:27.840 that either, because they'll figure out it was awesome, they'll 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.360 come after us. I don't want somebody up there on 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:33.839 the hill with a sniper rifle killing us. Billy said, well, 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:35.640 you know, if you kill her, you're gonna have to 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:39.560 kill Chris and Frankie because they will know who you 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.439 did it and they will come after you. So it 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.360 was just this insane like, oh yeah, I mean you're 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.080 gonna kill well, we're gonna kill her. We gotta kill 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:53.600 everybody else too. We're going to take a break. We'll 0:12:53.640 --> 0:13:04.280 be back in a moment. Jake said the Wagner spent 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:08.160 three months preparing, buying everything from ammunition to shoes from 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:11.600 Walmart to a device to jam phone calls. Jake even 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.320 order to captain Americo Winter Soldier mask, specifically for his 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:19.360 brother George to wear. Jake Wagner said that his brother George, 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.320 who's on trial, was with him when he bought a 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.640 pickup truck and a false truck bed cover for those killings. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.080 On the afternoon of April twenty first, Billy Wagner told 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:35.680 his sons this would be the night. Four days earlier, 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.679 Hannah Rodin had given birth to her second child, so 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.920 they knew she would be home. Billy Wagner also believed 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.800 the cloudy weather would prevent surveillance satellites from tracking their movements. 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:48.760 Wagner said he dyed his hair a dark brown, like 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:52.080 a character in the movie Boondocks. Saints. Wagner said before 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.280 heading out, he watched a clip of the movie to 0:13:54.400 --> 0:14:02.160 quote psyche myself into what I was about to do next. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.120 Jake Wagner described how he walked barefoot to the truck 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:08.120 to avoid tracking any dirt from his home. Here again, 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:13.360 forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan We have longed to hear 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:17.160 about what happened that night, what went into the planning. 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.880 You know, I was particularly interested in the care that 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:25.080 Jake talked about with walking barefoot when he went back 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:27.800 to the vehicle. He wanted to prevent any kind of 0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:30.920 prints being left behind. He had enough sense about that, 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:34.000 and he even knew about soil types, which is fascinating 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.160 me because you know, there's an entire discipline. He's not 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.960 a dummy. He was aware of that. He had a 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.960 sensitivity to it. I think it's another kind of point 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:46.720 along the continuum that goes to guild because that's a 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:52.160 premeditative factor. Then Jake described how they went from house 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:56.720 to house, killing eight people. Jake described how his father, Billy, 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.480 as well as George Paul took part in these murders. 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.760 On that he went into detail, describing that they modified 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:04.840 the bed of their truck in order to hide George 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.680 and himself in the back while his father drove them 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.040 to the Rodents trailers. Once at the Roden's property on 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:16.320 Union Hill Road, Billy Wagner lured Chris Roden outside. Jake 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.800 said the plan was to shoot Chris Senior as he 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.760 and Billy walked back towards the Roden's marijuana grow site, 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:26.240 but the shot never came. Prosecutors were asking if George 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.600 was going to be involved in the killings. Jake said yes. 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.960 Jake testify that George was actually supposed to kill Chris 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:35.720 Roden Senior. Jake testified George was in a firing position. 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:38.240 Jake said he told him to shoot, but he didn't. 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.600 After a few minutes outside, Chris Senior and Billy Wagner 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.960 went back into the trailer where Chris's cousin, Gary Roden was. 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.360 After a few minutes, Billy was able to convince Chris 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.960 to come to the door one more time, and the 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:59.600 killing spree began again. Investigative reporters James Pilcher and Antinette Levy, 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:04.320 Jake takes the rifle from George and then when Chris 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.960 shows up in the doorway, he shoots him with the 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:09.800 s cast and he says he missed or couldn't get 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.400 a shot. He missed the first shot that went above him, 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.800 and then he'd lowered it close his eyes and just 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:18.200 pulled off a bunch of shots. And that's later corroborated 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:20.160 by the evidence where you see all of these other 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:24.160 bullet holes all around the doorframe where he missed, but 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.680 then obviously on the line hit Chris in the shoulder, 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.960 in the belly, in the arm. I'll never forget seeing 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:34.200 that autopsy photo of the arm. What really stood out 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.359 to me it was just the way he talked about 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.640 killing people like it was no big deal. You would 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.720 think after you maybe fired the first shot at somebody's head, 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:47.360 you might flinch, but it doesn't sound like there was 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:53.120 any flinching on Jake's part. Inside, Billy Wagner killed Gary 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:56.840 Rowdin and fired several more shots into Chris Senior's body. 0:16:57.520 --> 0:16:59.680 Jake Wagner said his father came running out of the 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.640 house in a quote nervous breakdown. Jake said that Billy 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:06.080 came out and was freaking out, and he was like, 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.439 you can't freak out now, it's too late. There's no 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:14.320 turning back. Jake went through Chris Roden Senior's pockets and 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:16.920 grabbed the keys to the marijuana shed so he could 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.000 remove the hard drive from the security system. When Jake 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.960 returned to the trailer, he said Chris and Gary Roden's 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:26.439 bodies have been moved into the back bedroom. Jake testified 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:29.240 he threw a blanket on top of them, but admitted 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.920 to the jury that he didn't know why. Throughout his testimony, 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:36.199 Jake appeared calm and responsive, and several times throughout it 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:38.520 he would even look at his brother George. However, I 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.000 can't say that George would avert his gaze multiple times 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:44.359 and appeared to not even want to look at his brother. Next, 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:48.000 the Wagners went to Frankie Roden's home. Jake said after 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.240 he crawled through a window, he let his brother and 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.720 father in through the front door. Frankie Roden's three year 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.680 old was lying on the couch. Jake said he walked 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.359 past the sleeping child to the back bedroom and shot 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:03.119 Frankie Rode in his head as he slept. He further 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:07.119 testified that Frankie's fiance, Hannah Hazel Gilly, began to wake 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.080 and Jake said he shot her too. Then, for no 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:15.560 explained reason, Billie Wagner shot both Frankie and Hannah Hazel 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:18.720 Gilly in the head as well. Their six month old 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:25.720 son was sleeping between them. It was quite chilling in 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:29.399 a way, and I feel like that word is sometimes overused, 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.199 but just the matter of fact way in which he 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:40.640 described shooting people. It was just very nonchalant, according to Jake. 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.720 Then he his brother George and father Billy Wagner went 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:48.000 to Dana Roden's home. She had just arrived home from work. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.280 The door was unlocked, and Jake said he just walked in. 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:54.080 He was surprised to see Dana awake in her bed. 0:18:54.800 --> 0:19:00.440 Here again, investigative reporter Anjeanette Levy. He literally standing in 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.040 the hallway and he said he can see inside Dana's 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.800 bedroom from where he was standing, and then he could 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.880 also turn his head and see inside Hannah May's bedroom. 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:11.720 He could see that Dana was on her cell phone. 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.760 He could see the light from her cell phone shining 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.159 on her face, and she made it. She looked at 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.400 him and made a gasp, and he said he took 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.119 a step and he shot her like I think twice, 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.360 and then he took and then he pivoted. He said 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:27.160 he was at a pivot point and he moved into 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.080 Hannah May's bedroom. She made a noise, she saw him, 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:32.159 and he shot her in the head. And then he 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.000 went back and he shot Dana again. There was no 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:41.399 hesitation on his part. It was just really disturbing. Before 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:44.240 leaving Jake said he realized Hannah's fort ye old newborn 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:46.760 was in the room and was concerned she might starve. 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.040 He said, you know, I know it doesn't really make sense, 0:19:50.119 --> 0:19:53.440 but I didn't want to starve. I thought that if 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:55.600 you know, it took too long for them to find 0:19:55.800 --> 0:20:00.280 the bodies, he might starve. So I moved Hannah so 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.120 she could breastfeed. I mean, it's a newborn baby. Newborn 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:07.280 babies are helpless as can be, and it's just that 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.200 weird thought that you thought a four or five day 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:13.840 old baby is going to nurse off her dead mother. 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:19.359 It's just so crazy. Jake Wagner then walked into Chris 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:23.880 Roden Junior's bedroom and shot him point blank. Jake said 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.320 then that he, his brother George, and father Billy drove 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:30.560 to Kenneth Roden's home, where his father Billy killed him. 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.800 He was the final victim, and he was murdered with 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:38.720 one gunshot. According to Jake's testimony, The Wagner's collected shell casings, 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:42.359 cell phones and returned to their home on Peterson Road. 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:46.320 Here's Jeff speaking with attorney and legal analyst Mike Allen 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:50.720 on the impact of Jake Wagner's chilling testimony. I'm just curious, 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:53.480 like what your take on those impactful moments are and 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:55.840 how they kind of changed the course of this trial 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:59.639 moving forward. His testimony appeared credible to me. It didn't 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:03.280 sound like he was puffing it up or exaggerating it 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:07.120 to a great degree. And I just think he was believable. 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:10.120 And do you think that level of gory detail, like 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:15.199 Hannah Rodin's last moments, does that move the jury in 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:17.479 a way that none of the other stuff has probably 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:22.120 up until this moment. Absolutely, absolutely, I'm sure those jurors 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:26.399 were riveted hearing that testimony, because, I mean, you know, 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:29.000 that's the guts of the whole thing. Again. You know, 0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.600 that's why everyone is there, the judge, the jurors, the prosecutor, 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.560 the defense lawyer is because of what he did, what 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:39.200 Jake did at that time, and it's just a real, 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:45.320 real important part of the trial. In the aftermath of 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:49.080 Jake Wagner's first day of testimony, the media pool filed 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:51.840 emotion with Judge Randy Deering to allow cameras in the 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:55.760 courtroom for the rest of Jake's testimony. The media argued 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:57.920 that the public had a right to see and hear 0:21:57.960 --> 0:22:00.440 all of the testimony in the most expensive of murder 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:05.440 investigation in their state's history. Under Ohio law, witnesses can 0:22:05.480 --> 0:22:09.879 object to being filmed or recorded. In early October, an 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:12.960 Ohio Court of Appeal sided with the media outlets who 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:17.040 challenged the law, striking down parts of it, but Judge 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:20.399 Deering continued to allow witnesses to opt out as is 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:23.800 his right. After Jake Wagner's first day of testimony, a 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:27.200 coalition of media groups hired a first Amendment rights lawyer 0:22:27.240 --> 0:22:30.840 to visit the issue. Hearing was scheduled for the next day. 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:37.000 Here's James Pilcher. Another eventful day here in Waverley as 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:40.480 Jake Wagner, the younger brother of defendant George Wagner, took 0:22:40.520 --> 0:22:43.440 the stand for the second straight day to testify against 0:22:43.440 --> 0:22:47.000 his brother. Inside the courtroom, prosecutor Angie Kinneppa asked Jake 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:49.560 Wagner to describe what he and his family did after 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:54.440 arriving at home immediately following the murders. Today's testimony picked 0:22:54.480 --> 0:22:57.320 up right where they left off Monday, where Jake and 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:01.320 Billy and George had returned home from the killings at 0:23:01.320 --> 0:23:04.520 about four to thirty am on April twenty second. Now, 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:06.679 he says on that night they actually drove back to 0:23:06.720 --> 0:23:09.320 their family barn and began burning their clothes to get 0:23:09.400 --> 0:23:12.040 rid of any evidence on them. Jake also says he 0:23:12.080 --> 0:23:14.320 took each of their guns and began cutting them in 0:23:14.359 --> 0:23:16.719 half with power tools, and even went so far as 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:22.760 to try burning them with a torch. However, Jake said 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:25.639 he was unable to melt down the weapons, so instead 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:28.200 he burnt off the serial numbers and then hit them. 0:23:29.359 --> 0:23:31.639 Then he admitted to burying pieces of the guns in 0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:34.119 the barn underneath the support beam, which he dug up 0:23:34.160 --> 0:23:36.800 with help from George. Once they were done cleaning up, 0:23:36.880 --> 0:23:39.960 they went inside to change clothes. Jake said he saw 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:42.480 his mother, Angelo Agner in the kitchen, but did not 0:23:42.600 --> 0:23:45.960 speak with her. Later in the morning, friend Andrew Carson 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:48.880 called Jake and asked if he'd heard what happened. Jake 0:23:48.960 --> 0:23:51.480 said he had seen it on the news. Once news 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:53.600 of the rodent's death began to spread, Jake says he 0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:56.480 refused to speak about it with his family while in private, 0:23:56.640 --> 0:23:59.520 and even tried to forget about it completely out of guilt. 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:14.399 Let's stop here for another break. Several weeks after the murder. 0:24:14.400 --> 0:24:17.120