Speaker 1: All the State of Ohio has to show is that
Speaker 1: George was involved in the case at the beginning, and
Speaker 1: I think the evidence, in my opinion, showed that he was.
Speaker 2: You know, one thing that Kinnepa did strongly was to
Speaker 2: show a slideshow of each of the victims in the
Speaker 2: prime of their life and then show him dead in bed.
Speaker 3: But made no mistake about it.
Speaker 4: Those two children in that picture were never going to
Speaker 4: be raised anything other than Blacker.
Speaker 5: That moment, you know, when you walk for the jury
Speaker 5: and you talk to them and you try to remind
Speaker 5: them what is at stake that these people have died.
Speaker 5: We're talking about eight people that were slaughtered.
Speaker 6: This is the Pithon massacre. Returned to Pike County season four,
Speaker 6: episode The Verdict is in. I'm Courtney Armstrong, a television
Speaker 6: producer at Katie Studios. With Stephanie Leidacer and Jeff Shane,
Speaker 6: we're at the closing arguments of George Wagner, the fourth's trial.
Speaker 6: It's important to note that George Wagner has pleaded not
Speaker 6: guilty and has maintained he did not kill anyone. His father,
Speaker 6: Billy Wagner, whose trial is upcoming, has also pleaded not
Speaker 6: guilty to all charges. We're n piked in for the
Speaker 6: final days of trial. We've heard testimony from Jake, Angela
Speaker 6: and George Wagner. But before we can hear closing arguments,
Speaker 6: Judge Deering has some news for the jury.
Speaker 7: The jury lard the death penalty against George Wagner. The
Speaker 7: fourth has been taken off the table. That is the
Speaker 7: plea deal the prosecution struck with George's brother Jake and
Speaker 7: his mother Angela in exchange for their testimony.
Speaker 6: After the announcement, the judge addresses the court, Good morning
Speaker 6: the jury.
Speaker 8: We have reached the point of which council for each
Speaker 8: side will begining arguments.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Angiekineppa begins their closing arguments.
Speaker 9: I just want to first of all, start by thinking
Speaker 9: each and every one of you. You guys have probably
Speaker 9: served at least as far as I know, in the
Speaker 9: longest of any criminal jury, and each of you have
Speaker 9: paid strict attention. We are here because eight innocent victims
Speaker 9: were slaughtered, most of them in their sleep, all of
Speaker 9: them unarmed. These murders should never have happened.
Speaker 6: Forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan speaks to the significance of
Speaker 6: these closing arguments.
Speaker 5: I think they do matter. I think that it's like
Speaker 5: going to a beautiful concert where there's going to be
Speaker 5: this grand crescendo, that thing.
Speaker 10: That moves people.
Speaker 5: You better bring it, and it needs to be that
Speaker 5: thing that is going to resonate with those people. And
Speaker 5: it's taken all this time, thousands of miles can you
Speaker 5: imagine that have been traveled all over the place, all
Speaker 5: the way up to Alaska and back through Canada. All
Speaker 5: of that culminates in this moment. That moment, you know,
Speaker 5: when you walk forward the jury and you talk to
Speaker 5: them and you try to remind them what is at
Speaker 5: stake that these people have died. We're talking about eight
Speaker 5: people that were slaughtered.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Kneppa shows photos of the victims on the large
Speaker 6: screen in the courtroom. She starts with Frankie Rodin and
Speaker 6: reminds the jury about who he was. She then speaks
Speaker 6: about Hannah Hazel Gilly.
Speaker 9: Hannah Hazel Gilly very proud of her son, her six
Speaker 9: month old son. She was all of twenty years old
Speaker 9: as well at the very beginning of her life and
Speaker 9: especially her life as a mother. Her crime. You heard
Speaker 9: testimony that her crime was solely being there, nothing else.
Speaker 9: If she had not been there, she would still be
Speaker 9: alive today.
Speaker 6: The defense objects. Prosecutor stopped showing images on the large screen,
Speaker 6: but she continues speaking about the victims.
Speaker 9: Chris, There's a lot to say about him. He was
Speaker 9: obviously a family man, provided for his family. But the
Speaker 9: reason that he was killed is because he was the
Speaker 9: patriarch of this family and they knew that he would
Speaker 9: again figure out who did it and potentially seek vengeance.
Speaker 6: Here's James Pilcher, longtime investigative reporter in Cincinnati, now at
Speaker 6: Local twelves.
Speaker 2: You know one thing that Canepa did strongly. What she
Speaker 2: tried to do at the beginning was to show a
Speaker 2: slide show of each of the victims, you know, in
Speaker 2: the prime of their life, show pictures and then show
Speaker 2: him dead in bed. Well, that led to objections and
Speaker 2: then she basically threw that out the window, so she
Speaker 2: abandoned the slide show, but she still went on to
Speaker 2: go through here's this victim, here's this victim. I'll aid them,
Speaker 2: bringing it back to them and bringing it back to
Speaker 2: the fact that they were asleep.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Canepa touches on all of the evidence presented in trial,
Speaker 6: laying out the timeline from the beginning and hitting on
Speaker 6: each piece of evidence tying George Wagner and his immediate
Speaker 6: family to the murder of the Rodent, Manly and Gilly families.
Speaker 11: Special Prosecutor Angie Gineppa said there was plenty of direct
Speaker 11: and circumstantial evidence that tied George Wagner the four to
Speaker 11: the homicide. One example the false statements Wagners gave to
Speaker 11: investigators that everything was fine between Jake and Hannah rod
Speaker 11: In when she was killed, but custody over their daughters
Speaker 11: was at a boiling point.
Speaker 9: Then we see the Facebook message from Hannah May saying
Speaker 9: that she won't sign papers, that they'll have to kill
Speaker 9: her first, and we know that in four short months later,
Speaker 9: she and seven members of her family are dead. We
Speaker 9: know that in January of twenty sixteen, they had made
Speaker 9: the decision that they were going to kill them, and
Speaker 9: you start seeing the purchases corresponding to that timeline. It's
Speaker 9: hard to imagine that eight people would lose their lives
Speaker 9: over such a flimz motive, but it's true.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Caneppa reminds the jury of the evidence presented throughout
Speaker 6: the case, the shoe prints matching George Wagner's at the
Speaker 6: crime scene, as well as the bullet casings matching the
Speaker 6: weapons used in the murder.
Speaker 12: We know that.
Speaker 9: George went into that room, and we know that he
Speaker 9: stepped into blood, and we see it on our diagrams
Speaker 9: exactly where that was.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Canneppa reminds the jurors of George Wagner's testimony where
Speaker 6: he claimed he hadn't known that his brother Jake and
Speaker 6: father Billy were going to murder members of the Rodin,
Speaker 6: Manly and Gilly families.
Speaker 9: Did you know your family was going to kill these people?
Speaker 12: No happen.
Speaker 6: The prosecution then ties George to the crimes through Jake
Speaker 6: Wagner and Angela Wagner's testimony.
Speaker 9: George says to Jake, the family has spoken. There is
Speaker 9: nothing that happens in that household that is not a
Speaker 9: group decision. Jake and Angela have told you everything that
Speaker 9: this defendant did that night. I'm not here to say
Speaker 9: that Jake Wagner is a hero by any stretch of
Speaker 9: the imagination. He is a despicable, vile human being. But
Speaker 9: the difference between him and his brother is that he at.
Speaker 6: Least came full Kinnepa acknowledges that when George took the stand,
Speaker 6: he disputed what his brother and mother testified about him.
Speaker 9: You've heard Jake and your mother both say that that
Speaker 9: was the motive, and my.
Speaker 13: Mom and brother are lying to you.
Speaker 6: They have been like everybody else.
Speaker 9: Angela Wagner, this is her son. Ask yourself what motive
Speaker 9: would she have to say that George was involved? If
Speaker 9: George wasn't involved, why would you when we got to
Speaker 9: your son, you would say, Jake, Billy.
Speaker 12: And I did it.
Speaker 14: Despite all the evidence presented by prosecutors, it could come
Speaker 14: down to who the jury believes, Jake and Angela or
Speaker 14: defendant George.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Kinneppa addresses Jake and Angela Wagner's testimony head on.
Speaker 9: So let's talk about Jake and Angela's testimony. Jake Wagner
Speaker 9: gave us a lot of information. His testimony was corroborated
Speaker 9: by physical evidence. He led us to the murder weapons.
Speaker 9: So again, what Jake had to tell us was corroborated
Speaker 9: with physical evidence that we didn't know about. It was
Speaker 9: also corroborating with physical evidence we did know about. Then
Speaker 9: we talked to Angela Wagner, and she corroborates what Jake
Speaker 9: Wagner told us. They basically corroborate each other. And the
Speaker 9: magical and mystical thing about that is, as you heard,
Speaker 9: she was not provided with her son's statement. She had
Speaker 9: no idea what he said to us when he sat down.
Speaker 6: With us again, James Pilcher.
Speaker 2: One of the points she made very clearly was Jake
Speaker 2: and Angela had no chance to corroborate none. They couldn't
Speaker 2: see each other's statements. They're in separate jails. They couldn't talk,
Speaker 2: they couldn't watch each other's testimony. Nothing. How come their
Speaker 2: stories line up so well versus what George had to say,
Speaker 2: and they're both saying the same thing or close enough
Speaker 2: to the same thing, whereas George is saying something completely different.
Speaker 2: Who are you going to believe? And then on top
Speaker 2: of that, she makes a point it's one thing for
Speaker 2: a brother to testify against a brother, but it's another
Speaker 2: thing for a mother to testify against her funt, even
Speaker 2: as she says she loves it. That came across as
Speaker 2: very compelling.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Karnepa argues that Jake and Angela Wagner's testimony matches,
Speaker 6: especially on one key point.
Speaker 9: Both Jake and Angela tell you they are guilty. Jake
Speaker 9: is guilty, Angela is guilty. They don't deny that, they
Speaker 9: don't lie about that. The reason their stories match is
Speaker 9: because they both finally decided to tell the truth.
Speaker 6: Here's attorney and legal analyst Mike Allen.
Speaker 1: I think the credibility goes with Angela because George any
Speaker 1: number of times just said I don't recall, I don't remember.
Speaker 1: I didn't count him up, but there are a lot
Speaker 1: of times that he said that, and I don't recall
Speaker 1: hearing that in Angela or Jake's testimony for that matter.
Speaker 1: It was just pretty straightforward. So I think if you
Speaker 1: didn't have the physical evidence and it's George against those two,
Speaker 1: I think they win and George doesn't because a lot
Speaker 1: of things he didn't remember, and he contradicted himself on
Speaker 1: a number of occasions.
Speaker 6: Well, George Wagner appeared calm during his testimony on the stand.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Kanepa reminds the jury of the wires app recording
Speaker 6: of George.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I would strongly invite you to listen to that
Speaker 9: recording again and ask yourselves if that is the voice,
Speaker 9: or the demeanor, or the attitude or the approach of
Speaker 9: somebody who would ever sit one out again.
Speaker 2: James Pilcher, I will say Kneppa did kind of bring
Speaker 2: it home early on when she said you saw George
Speaker 2: up on the stand, but then you also heard George
Speaker 2: on these recordings. Well, the real George Wagner, please stand up.
Speaker 2: Those are my words, not hers. But basically she's saying,
Speaker 2: the real George Wagner is not the one that was
Speaker 2: all to help on the stand. He was coached, he
Speaker 2: was whatever he was. The real George Wagner is the
Speaker 2: one you hear in those recordings who's a for all
Speaker 2: intents and purposes as a madman.
Speaker 9: He indicated to you that a few days before the
Speaker 9: homicides that Billy told George that he wanted George to
Speaker 9: shoot Chris in the head. He went up there to
Speaker 9: Union Hill Road on April twenty first, twenty sixteen, knowing
Speaker 9: for well what was going to happen.
Speaker 6: Well, George may not have pulled the trigger during the murders.
Speaker 6: The prosecution contends that doesn't matter to prove conspiracy to murder.
Speaker 9: He doesn't have to be the person that actually pulled
Speaker 9: the trigger. Right. You heard that Jake Wagner pled to
Speaker 9: eight counts of aggravated murder because he pulled the trigger
Speaker 9: as to five according to him, but he was complicit
Speaker 9: in remaining three. You heard Angela Wagner say that she
Speaker 9: also was guilty of eight counts of aggravated murder because
Speaker 9: she was complicit in it because she knew what they
Speaker 9: were going to do. She ate it and embedded them.
Speaker 9: You were complicit because you knew what was going to happen.
Speaker 9: You knew what they were going to go do, and
Speaker 9: you aided and abedded them.
Speaker 6: Here's Jeff speaking with.
Speaker 14: Mike gallon something she really hammered home.
Speaker 15: Which I think is important to remind the listeners is
Speaker 15: that George could still be found guilty of murder even
Speaker 15: if he didn't pull the trigger under Ohio law, like,
Speaker 15: as long as he's involved in the planning and the
Speaker 15: cover up, that's enough to find him guilty.
Speaker 1: All the State of Ohio has to show is that
Speaker 1: George was involved in the case at the beginning, and
Speaker 1: I think the evidence, in my opinion, showed that he
Speaker 1: was in the beginning and then he was part of
Speaker 1: the execution of the crime. And I think that's clear
Speaker 1: that he was a part of it and a part
Speaker 1: of the cover up, and that gets you into the
Speaker 1: complicity part of it.
Speaker 13: And that's all you need for a murder conviction. I mean,
Speaker 13: you don't have to.
Speaker 1: Show and they couldn't show, and they didn't show that
Speaker 1: George pulled the trigger because he didn't, but he was
Speaker 1: in it up to his neck, and I think that
Speaker 1: was clear at the end of all the testimony and evidence,
Speaker 1: and Miss Kinneppitt really kind of just hit on all
Speaker 1: of those points in her closing.
Speaker 6: The prosecution also spoke to the plea deal given to
Speaker 6: Jake in exchange for his testimony.
Speaker 9: Mister Parker has called this the deal of the century
Speaker 9: for Jake Wagner, the deal of the century. But let's
Speaker 9: just talk a little bit about that. First of all,
Speaker 9: he played guilty to every count of the indictment except
Speaker 9: for the death telling specifications, which we dismissed in exchange
Speaker 9: for him telling us what happened. Not just telling us
Speaker 9: what happened. But you heard from Special Agent Shier that
Speaker 9: the victim's family was consulted in this and as you
Speaker 9: might imagine if this was somebody that you loved, you
Speaker 9: would want to know what happened more than any think
Speaker 9: some of them got the peace of mind they were
Speaker 9: looking for because their loved one was sleeping. Some of
Speaker 9: them did not, but they wanted to know, and they
Speaker 9: wanted us to do the deal.
Speaker 1: Again, Mike Allan, Obviously from their conduct in the court room,
Speaker 1: there's close relationships between the prosecutor and the Rodent family.
Speaker 1: I don't think they have any problem at all with
Speaker 1: the deals that were made in this case. But in
Speaker 1: any homicide case, you have to get buy in from
Speaker 1: the victim's family, and I think that's what.
Speaker 13: She did here.
Speaker 1: I see a lot of cooperation and a lot of
Speaker 1: admiration too, So I don't have any doubt that Angie
Speaker 1: Kneppa consulted, probably at length with the Rodent family before
Speaker 1: they cut the deal with Jake and Angela.
Speaker 6: After nearly five hours, Prosecutor Kanepa finishes her closing argument.
Speaker 9: I know this was very, very long. I just wanted
Speaker 9: to kind of try my best to kind of lay
Speaker 9: a foundation of the evidence that we believe supports a
Speaker 9: conviction of George Wagner. The fourth of each and every
Speaker 9: count in this indictment, whether he is a principal offender
Speaker 9: or whether he is exquisite in it. He knew what
Speaker 9: was going to happen. He participated in what happened. Jake
Speaker 9: and Angela have told you everything that this defendant did
Speaker 9: that night and his participation in the aggravator murders and
Speaker 9: all the other crimes listed in the indictment. Respectfully, class
Speaker 9: that weturn verdicts of guilty as to each count into
Speaker 9: each specification. Thank you.
Speaker 6: The day of the trial ends with prosecutor Canepa's closing argument.
Speaker 6: Here's Mike Allen, followed by investigative reporter an Jeannette Levy
Speaker 6: of the Law and Crime Network.
Speaker 1: The defense has to make the points that they want
Speaker 1: to make, and they also have to counter what the
Speaker 1: prosecutor says in closing argument.
Speaker 16: I think that Jake and Angela's testimony, coupled with the
Speaker 16: wiretops that do not bode well for George. He still
Speaker 16: sounds like he's in the thick of this and he
Speaker 16: knows exactly what's going on. You would think.
Speaker 17: That that would just be very difficult for the defense
Speaker 17: to overcome, for them to come into court and feel
Speaker 17: confident that they were going to somehow poken up holes
Speaker 17: in Jake and Angela's testimony to make George not guilty
Speaker 17: beyond a reasonable doubt.
Speaker 6: We're going to take a break. We'll be back in
Speaker 6: a moment. The next day, the defense delivers their closing remarks.
Speaker 6: John Parker opens with a joke about how he's not
Speaker 6: going to go as long as the state did. In
Speaker 6: his closing remarks, Parker then goes after the state's key witnesses,
Speaker 6: Jake and Angela Wagner.
Speaker 18: Angela and Jake, he's a mama's boy.
Speaker 19: You heard testimony about that.
Speaker 18: They're liars, they're connors, they're thieves.
Speaker 6: Defense attorney Parker brings up Jake's character there laughing.
Speaker 20: And smiling and smirking as he's talking about these murders.
Speaker 9: He's cold bloater.
Speaker 21: I think he's psychotic.
Speaker 13: He didn't see that care in the world.
Speaker 18: It's like sitting around talking about a football game on
Speaker 18: Monday morning.
Speaker 20: Is the way he's.
Speaker 21: Talking about killing these people. It's disgusting.
Speaker 13: He's a sick man.
Speaker 4: You can't believe what that guy says.
Speaker 6: The defense hits again on an argument that they've used
Speaker 6: repeatedly throughout the trial that the evidence tying George Wagner
Speaker 6: to the murderers is at best circumstantial.
Speaker 18: There's no proof here beyond your reasonable doubt, that George
Speaker 18: was even up there, and we could offer him nothing
Speaker 18: for his testimony. He was vigorously cross examined. You saw
Speaker 18: his demeanor. Compare that to Jinks and his mother. He's
Speaker 18: no testimony. George is the shooter. There's no reliable testimony that.
Speaker 21: He was even there.
Speaker 18: This has to be proven beyond the reasonable that there's
Speaker 18: all kinds of reasons to doubt.
Speaker 6: Parker then to dismantle the state's argument that the Wagoners
Speaker 6: are a walking criminal conspiracy.
Speaker 18: The state in this case that you have seen with
Speaker 18: respect to George, paints with.
Speaker 9: A very very broadbrush. All right, how many times have.
Speaker 22: We heard they them?
Speaker 19: You guys, the Wagners?
Speaker 21: All right?
Speaker 9: George is one's about trial here, all right.
Speaker 18: We are not here to defend Billy, we are not
Speaker 18: here to defend Angela.
Speaker 23: We're certainly not here to defend James, all right.
Speaker 13: And basically, I.
Speaker 22: Mean there were days and days that went by when
Speaker 22: you didn't hear Georgie's name, and that's significant.
Speaker 6: Parker has the jury to return a verdict of not
Speaker 6: guilty on all charges.
Speaker 22: You folks stand between the power of the government and
Speaker 22: the man with George Waite, so you've seen the power
Speaker 22: of the government, and in this particular case, they've over
Speaker 22: when it comes to Georgia.
Speaker 6: Mike Allen offers his thoughts to how the defense did
Speaker 6: on closing arguments.
Speaker 1: Well, I think he did as well as he could.
Speaker 1: And his closing argument did not take five hours, But
Speaker 1: he did as well as he could with what he had,
Speaker 1: which wasn't a heck of a lot.
Speaker 13: He just didn't, you know.
Speaker 1: He called the state's witnesses liars, con artist mainly Jake
Speaker 1: and Angela really hit Jake card and really, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's pretty much all he had. When you're a defense counsel,
Speaker 1: you get the case that you get and you're not
Speaker 1: going to be able to change things factually. So the
Speaker 1: short answer is, I think they did as well as
Speaker 1: they could.
Speaker 6: After the defense rests, Andrew Wilson delivers the prosecution's rebuttal.
Speaker 3: The concept of complicity works in Ohio is that two or.
Speaker 4: More people set out to achieve a criminal.
Speaker 3: Purpose a criminal goal, when one doing one part and
Speaker 3: others doing the other part.
Speaker 4: Then each one of them is individually guilty as if
Speaker 4: they were the principal offender Festimal.
Speaker 3: That's how it works.
Speaker 4: There's been no direct testimony that he actually pulled the
Speaker 4: trigger and any.
Speaker 21: One of those murders. But you better believe he's up
Speaker 21: to his eyeballs as they plot, as they prepare, as
Speaker 21: they execute, and as they cover up those murders.
Speaker 19: He's in it up to his islands.
Speaker 1: The prosecution has a huge advantage, and boy, I tell you,
Speaker 1: I think they utilized it in this case.
Speaker 13: To where they get the final word.
Speaker 1: They get to address the jury after the defense does
Speaker 1: their closing argument. It's done because the state has the
Speaker 1: burden of proof.
Speaker 13: That's why they get the last fight at the apple.
Speaker 13: Having been a defense counsel and having been.
Speaker 1: A prosecutor, that I can tell you that's a huge
Speaker 1: advantage for the state prosecutor.
Speaker 6: Wilson addresses Shake and Angela Wagner's testimony they matched.
Speaker 4: The only way that happens without her knowing what he
Speaker 4: said is if they're telling the truth about.
Speaker 9: What they observed, what they knew.
Speaker 6: Wilson goes on to address Jake and his testimony.
Speaker 21: He's not our star witness.
Speaker 4: He's a terrible, terrible human being. He's equal, and he's
Speaker 4: going to spend the rest of his miserable existence locked
Speaker 4: in a cage. He's going to spend the rest of
Speaker 4: his life separated from what.
Speaker 21: Means most of him, his family.
Speaker 4: He will never be free again. And as incredibly distasteful
Speaker 4: as it was, the state entered into an agreement with
Speaker 4: Jake for one night.
Speaker 3: We needed one thing of guns. That's what we need
Speaker 3: from him.
Speaker 4: Him leading us to those guns was incredibly important.
Speaker 6: Wilson also reveals while the prosecution didn't play the tape
Speaker 6: of George Wagner's interview at the Canadian border again James Pilcher, and.
Speaker 2: That was because they didn't want that tape to serve
Speaker 2: as his own testimony and his own denial. If he
Speaker 2: was going to deny it, he was going to have
Speaker 2: to deny it from the stand, and they didn't want
Speaker 2: to give him the opportunity to tailor his testimony to
Speaker 2: what he said at that point, which was key too,
Speaker 2: because he did have a major inconsistency between what he
Speaker 2: said at the border versus what he said on the stand.
Speaker 2: At the border, he said he went to bed about
Speaker 2: some time after midnight after watching the Ferry movie whatever.
Speaker 2: But then on the stand, he said he went to
Speaker 2: bed before ten with the Hits, and yeah, he should
Speaker 2: have heard them leave, but he didn't. He usually stays
Speaker 2: up an hour after he goes to bed, and somehow
Speaker 2: I didn't hear Jake and Billy Leaves didn't even know
Speaker 2: they had gone. So that was a major inconsistency. And
Speaker 2: Wilson brought that home in his clothing.
Speaker 6: Andrew Wilson then shows a photo of the Wagner family
Speaker 6: with all the kids.
Speaker 4: Why don't you look at this picture, man, This picture
Speaker 4: speaks volumes. It speaks volumes. They don't want you to
Speaker 4: believe that this case is about custom, that these murders
Speaker 4: had anything to do about custom.
Speaker 3: But maybe no mistake about it.
Speaker 4: Those two children in that picture were never going to
Speaker 4: be raised anything other than why men.
Speaker 2: They wanted control of those kids, and that's what this
Speaker 2: was all about. It started with George's son with Tabitha
Speaker 2: and getting control over that little boy. And it was
Speaker 2: the same thing about Jake's daughter with Hannah. But Hannah
Speaker 2: had a support system, Hannah had a family, and they
Speaker 2: were going to fight back.
Speaker 6: Wilson closes out the prosecution's rebuttal with one final thought.
Speaker 9: He is guilty. He's guilty.
Speaker 3: And when you make that fine, when you look at
Speaker 3: all that evidence, he's guilty. At that point, byball, you're
Speaker 3: required to find him guilty. And that's what he'll do,
Speaker 3: because that's.
Speaker 23: What he is.
Speaker 2: Andy Wilson's rebuttal closing, I mean, everybody who watched it
Speaker 2: was like, I think that just sealed the deal. He
Speaker 2: answered every outstanding question defense had raised to a t.
Speaker 2: He was enthusiastic, he was forceful.
Speaker 6: Forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan agrees.
Speaker 5: When that bailiff causes that jury to rise, and you
Speaker 5: better leave an impression on when they go back there,
Speaker 5: and that big crescendo is what you want. It's one
Speaker 5: of the oldest cliches that prosecutors used. And they'll say
Speaker 5: things like, do not let their desks be in vain.
Speaker 5: Hold these people accountable for what they have done, snuffing
Speaker 5: out these lives in the most horrific way possible, These
Speaker 5: people who have scarred our county forever and ever and
Speaker 5: ever for generations to come. Hold them accountable. And they
Speaker 5: might even throw in God they'll say, you know, someday
Speaker 5: they'll be judged by God, but right now is your
Speaker 5: time to judge them upon.
Speaker 21: What they have done.
Speaker 6: Before the day ends, Judge Dearing gives instructions to the jury.
Speaker 6: The next morning, at eight thirty am, the jury begins deliberations.
Speaker 2: After a two and a half year investigation, after a
Speaker 2: three and a half month trial, the longest criminal trial
Speaker 2: in the history of Ohio, the most expensive trial in
Speaker 2: the history of Ohio, it is now in the hands
Speaker 2: of nine women and three men, the twelve jurors.
Speaker 1: Generally speaking, if they're out for a short period of time,
Speaker 1: if they're not out long, that's good for the state,
Speaker 1: the prosecution. If the longer they go, it's better for
Speaker 1: the defense because you know they're thinking about it. Then
Speaker 1: the other thing too, The longer they go, the better
Speaker 1: chance that they will have a hung jury, which is
Speaker 1: a victory for the defense attorney.
Speaker 6: With the fate of George Wagner in the jury's hands,
Speaker 6: all the defense and prosecution can do is wait.
Speaker 15: What are those hours like? It must be so tense.
Speaker 13: Let me tell you something.
Speaker 1: They are the slowest hours in a trial lawyer's life,
Speaker 1: from when a jury begins to deliberate until when they
Speaker 1: come up with a verdict.
Speaker 13: You stay around your office and then just kind.
Speaker 1: Of like dwell on it and it's just hard to
Speaker 1: concentrate on anything else. It's kind of brutal. But on
Speaker 1: the other hand, it's exciting too, because you know, then
Speaker 1: you get back in the courtroom and the jury walks
Speaker 1: in and you know you're looking at whether they look
Speaker 1: in the eye, and you know then they'll give their verdicts.
Speaker 1: So it's tough, but it's also exciting. I guess it's
Speaker 1: the best way to put it.
Speaker 6: Two and a half hours into deliberation, the jury asked
Speaker 6: to see Judge Jeering.
Speaker 2: There were some rumblings when that note came out with
Speaker 2: the question. There was a couple of people who thought
Speaker 2: it might have been a verdict and we're like, no,
Speaker 2: it wasn't the case. So some false information got put
Speaker 2: out there. Initially ended at about eleven they sent down a
Speaker 2: question and apparently went on the record and they'd asked
Speaker 2: the transcript of Jake's testimony, or at least just a
Speaker 2: part of it, and Judge Deering said, no, you have
Speaker 2: to get all of it, and I'm going to want
Speaker 2: you to read all of it, because it's not fair
Speaker 2: to exact certain excerpts, especially if you're just going to
Speaker 2: look at one part from the direct examination and not
Speaker 2: look at what the cross examination was. That wouldn't be fair,
Speaker 2: takes it out of context. And he said, to be
Speaker 2: to be honest, it's not fair, and if you're going
Speaker 2: to do this, really I should make you read the
Speaker 2: transcripts of all of the witnesses. But even if it's
Speaker 2: just shake, it's seven hundred and fifty seven hundred and
Speaker 2: sixty pages.
Speaker 6: The jury goes back to deliberating.
Speaker 2: Then about four o'clock on Wednesday, we were notified that
Speaker 2: they had a verdict, and we're like, wow, that was
Speaker 2: very very quick. So that's like seven hours, you know,
Speaker 2: less than seven hours of deliberation if you count their breaks,
Speaker 2: and probably took them at least thirty minutes to an
Speaker 2: hour to sign all the forms because there's twenty two
Speaker 2: forms that all twelve had to sign for all twenty
Speaker 2: two charges.
Speaker 16: The bailiff came upstairs and he went back into the
Speaker 16: judges chambers, and then he came out and he looked
Speaker 16: over at a couple of us sitting in the gallery
Speaker 16: and said be ready in twenty five minutes. I said,
Speaker 16: what a verdict in twenty five minutes? And he said,
Speaker 16: there's a verdict in twenty five minutes, and I just
Speaker 16: tweeted it out immediately.
Speaker 6: The jury enters the courtroom, a.
Speaker 16: Lot of people will say, Oh, if the jurors come
Speaker 16: in and they don't look at the defendant, that means
Speaker 16: it's a guilty verdict, And if they come in and
Speaker 16: they look at the defendant, it's a not guilty verdict.
Speaker 6: The clerk hands the verdict forms to Judge Daring. He
Speaker 6: reads the jury's verdict.
Speaker 8: Verdict does to count one. It says, we the jury
Speaker 8: find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, George Washington
Speaker 8: Wager the fourth is guilty of aggravated murder has charged
Speaker 8: in count one of the indictment. Ladies and gentlemen of
Speaker 8: the jury, is that your verdict yet.
Speaker 6: Again?
Speaker 24: Antonette Leeby, when the first guilty verdict was read, you
Speaker 24: heard kind of a noise, a gasp, but almost like
Speaker 24: a cry of sorts, and that came from the road
Speaker 24: and family, and.
Speaker 16: I feel like that was some type of big, you know,
Speaker 16: a sense of relief on their part. There were a
Speaker 16: lot of tears. I think these were tiers of relief.
Speaker 16: It's like an emotional release. You know, you're sitting there,
Speaker 16: waiting and waiting. You've been sitting there for all of
Speaker 16: these weeks, looking at horrible things, hearing horrible things, seeing
Speaker 16: horrible things, and I think they knew collectively when that
Speaker 16: first guilty verdict was read, they were all going to
Speaker 16: be guilty.
Speaker 6: Judge Daring continues reading the verdict. George Wagner has found
Speaker 6: guilty on all eight murder charges. He has also found
Speaker 6: guilty of aggravated burglary, conspiracy, gun charges, and tampering with
Speaker 6: evidence for a total of twenty two charges. George Wagner's
Speaker 6: reaction to the verdict was similar to his demeanor throughout
Speaker 6: the trial.
Speaker 15: George Wagner showed no emotion.
Speaker 2: No, this is lawyer John Parker. Could He shook his hair,
Speaker 2: kind of nodded and you know, seemed a little upset,
Speaker 2: but no, George showed absolutely no emotion. He just kept
Speaker 2: his eyes down.
Speaker 16: I think George Wagner, when they brought him in and
Speaker 16: just looking at his face.
Speaker 24: He knew, he knew that he was going to be.
Speaker 16: Convicted, and I felt like I just saw his eyes
Speaker 16: kind of blink, just, you know, briefly and kind of quickly.
Speaker 24: Once the first guilty verdict was.
Speaker 6: Read, Judge Daring said George Wagner, sentencing for December nineteenth.
Speaker 6: After the verdict, the Rodent family gives a press conference
Speaker 6: speaking on their behalf as Tony Roden Chris Roden, Senior's brother.
Speaker 25: I would like to thank the citizens of the state
Speaker 25: of Ohio for barreness, burden that should have never happened
Speaker 25: to this family in southern a little bit of peace.
Speaker 19: We still have a long route to go.
Speaker 25: We'll get there because we are family the party.
Speaker 19: We're gonna go.
Speaker 6: Home a little easier tonight.
Speaker 26: We're gon.
Speaker 13: We don't take for granted anymore. We love but once
Speaker 13: we got and never let go.
Speaker 6: If you never A reporter asked the Rodent family their
Speaker 6: thoughts on George Wagner. Here's Tony Roden's response.
Speaker 19: I feel sorry for him.
Speaker 13: Why is that?
Speaker 9: Why?
Speaker 22: Why?
Speaker 19: Because he is human?
Speaker 13: How do you find the humanity time like this when
Speaker 13: he did so much to your family?
Speaker 19: I think we all have human in us. There's just
Speaker 19: a difference in us.
Speaker 6: The prosecution also gives a statement to the press and
Speaker 6: the Rodent, Wagner and Gilly families. Here's Andrew Kneppa, followed
Speaker 6: by Rob Junk from the State.
Speaker 9: You guys have trusted us with your lives and the
Speaker 9: lives of your loved ones, and I know today's verdict
Speaker 9: does not bring your loved ones back. I know that,
Speaker 9: but I do hope that it gives you some some
Speaker 9: lens of peace that yet another one of the evil
Speaker 9: monsters that did this to your family have been held accountable.
Speaker 20: Justice was done, and again they heard the voices of
Speaker 20: our eight victims today. The jury listened. They understood we
Speaker 20: could never ever ever bring them back. But I can
Speaker 20: tell you that good Lord Willing George Wagner the fourth
Speaker 20: will never be in a position to hurt anyone ever ever.
Speaker 13: Again.
Speaker 6: Journalists and legal experts who have been following the case
Speaker 6: for years weighing on the verdict.
Speaker 16: Antinette Levy, I wasn't completely surprised when they came back
Speaker 16: with guilty verdicts because it was so fast the way
Speaker 16: that I read the indictment. If you're guilty of one murder,
Speaker 16: you've got to be guilty of all of them. You
Speaker 16: know that it's a conspiracy case, and all of these
Speaker 16: homicides happened on the same night. So if the theory
Speaker 16: is that all three of the guys were there, Billy, Jake,
Speaker 16: and George, and these homicides were committed and carried out
Speaker 16: that night. Under the law, if he's complicit with the
Speaker 16: complicity instruction that was given to the jury, then he's
Speaker 16: guilty of everything unless there's a compromise.
Speaker 6: After the guilty verdict, George Wagner is taken back to
Speaker 6: jail where he will wait until he is sentenced. Let's
Speaker 6: stop here for another break. December nineteenth is the day
Speaker 6: George Wagner is to be sentenced for the murders of
Speaker 6: the Rodent, Manly and Gilly family members.
Speaker 14: Even if Judge Randy Dearing does stack a minimum possible
Speaker 14: sentence of thirty years. Concurrently, Wagner still faces significant time
Speaker 14: for sixteen other charges.
Speaker 10: With the sentencing arse state rots yes, don't sure, yes.
Speaker 6: Prosecutor Angie Kinnepa begins her sentencing remarks.
Speaker 9: It has been said far and often that this is
Speaker 9: one of the most serious aggregated murders of the.
Speaker 23: State of Ohio.
Speaker 9: Not that any murder, of course, comes without pain and
Speaker 9: horror for those killed and those left to hide. But
Speaker 9: the killing of eight people in such a premitedicated fashion
Speaker 9: for literally no reason, and all in one night, I
Speaker 9: would suggest, does make this one of the most serious
Speaker 9: aggregating murder cases Ohio has seen today. I urge the
Speaker 9: court to focus specifically and mainly on that impact to
Speaker 9: the families when fashioning sentence in this case. And this
Speaker 9: is the unjustified, unprovoked, horrible senses killing them eight innocent people.
Speaker 9: We urge the court from post eight consecutive life without
Speaker 9: choral sentences regarding the murder of each of these lives
Speaker 9: and Jimpoe's maximum and consecutive sentences to each of the
Speaker 9: remaining accounts as well. The defendant in the sentencing memory
Speaker 9: and then begs for merci. He shared no mercy for
Speaker 9: the victims who just wanted to live. They have no
Speaker 9: one to beg for their lives for Demand's d process.
Speaker 9: He is a judged jury and executioner in their lives.
Speaker 9: He deserves no mercy.
Speaker 14: In pre sentenced motions, Wagner's lawyers asked for a sentence
Speaker 14: which would give him the possibility of a parole. The
Speaker 14: prosecution asked for the maximum possible life without parole, and
Speaker 14: for the eight murder counts to be served consecutively with.
Speaker 6: Pre sentencing motions over Prosecutor Krenepa tells the court that
Speaker 6: members of the Rodent, Manly, and Gilly families are going
Speaker 6: to deliver their victim impact statements.
Speaker 14: James Pilcher, a jury of nine women and three men
Speaker 14: took less than eight hours to find George Wagner the
Speaker 14: Fourth guilty on all twenty two charges for his role
Speaker 14: in the twenty sixteen Pike County massacre. Now Wagner must
Speaker 14: not only face his punishment, but the survivors from the Rodent,
Speaker 14: Gilly and Manly families. They get their first opportunity to
Speaker 14: address a Wagner directly about the crimes.
Speaker 6: Ten family members give statements in person or through victims advocates.
Speaker 6: Here's Andrea's Shoemaker, mother of Hannah Hazel Gilly.
Speaker 23: George Bidener the fourth, one of you introduced myself. You see,
Speaker 23: you said you're enough that.
Speaker 27: You never met my father, Hannah Hazel Gilly. I'm a mom,
Speaker 27: Andre a shoemaker.
Speaker 23: I stand here today to be her voice, since you.
Speaker 26: George Wadener the Fourth and your evil family took her.
Speaker 28: Frankie rod I shoon to be son in law, the
Speaker 28: young man that gave me.
Speaker 23: My first grandson.
Speaker 28: I love you have for my beautiful baby girl, Hanna
Speaker 28: Hazel was what was your two sons a heart as
Speaker 28: for you son.
Speaker 23: My gan grandson was made an orphan in one night.
Speaker 12: I see the.
Speaker 29: Pain of he mars for a dad sad and it
Speaker 29: is something he won't.
Speaker 28: Do for the work of his life, his one his
Speaker 28: daddy and Hannah Hazel Billy, my best girl.
Speaker 21: Only the age of twy.
Speaker 12: Got me mad.
Speaker 23: Who fell in with the love.
Speaker 28: With a young man, Drankie Braiden, the love of Hannah
Speaker 28: Hazel Billy's life. Annah Hazel was the first of my
Speaker 28: children to give me the blessing of becoming a man all.
Speaker 12: Hannah Hannah Hazel Billy was.
Speaker 23: Her first time mom to her beautiful son, and what
Speaker 23: a mommy she was. She loved her son with her
Speaker 23: whole heart and for her.
Speaker 27: Generally had six months six months of his life. That
Speaker 27: is the one thing she wanted to see in her
Speaker 27: whole young life is to watch him grow up.
Speaker 23: My baby girl. I miss you beyond words.
Speaker 12: Another life take him way too soon, but will never
Speaker 12: be forgotten.
Speaker 27: Haname was such an innocent young lady, a great mother
Speaker 27: to two beautiful girls.
Speaker 23: I watch your baby girl more.
Speaker 12: More to know who her mommy was.
Speaker 23: I answer questions that should have never had to be
Speaker 23: asked in the first place.
Speaker 6: My heart is for ever broken that she and.
Speaker 23: Her sister will never knew the mommy.
Speaker 26: The list of victims gets longer.
Speaker 23: The eight lives are just the ones no longer on
Speaker 23: this earth.
Speaker 12: We are we have. It's a new family.
Speaker 28: The Gilly Manlies and the Romans have all suffered. We
Speaker 28: are all suffering, hurting, always heartbroken, forever without our children,
Speaker 28: all because the devils, like the dark Devil's hunt at night,
Speaker 28: just like you, George Wagner the Fourth and your evil
Speaker 28: family did on Friday April the twenty first and twenty.
Speaker 23: Seconds of twenty and sixteen.
Speaker 27: All I want is my baby girl, Hannah Hazel, and
Speaker 27: that I will never have. I only agree to the
Speaker 27: state because I want all these older families to get
Speaker 27: justice on earth while they're still here, because of the
Speaker 27: fact that Gary's dad, Dana's dad, and my dad didn't get.
Speaker 23: Their justice while on this earth.
Speaker 27: And I pray to God that your son learns.
Speaker 23: What kind of a monster you really are.
Speaker 12: And he never wants anything to do with you.
Speaker 23: And I pray Judge dry they used.
Speaker 28: To get turned out at the Doorge partner, the force
Speaker 28: really is and my kids up.
Speaker 23: But with my life of prisons.
Speaker 6: Here's Kenja Rodin, daughter of Kenny Rodin.
Speaker 26: As I seen here today, I know I should fills
Speaker 26: the piece. I should have peace because you have been
Speaker 26: found building on all twenty counts. I should go relief
Speaker 26: that justice is being served, but there is no real
Speaker 26: justice and piece is not a feeling I have. Hannahme
Speaker 26: was my peace, and because of you and your family,
Speaker 26: she is gone eight life sneaking in so many more.
Speaker 26: Traumatized by the horrendous acts committed by.
Speaker 23: The lack of family.
Speaker 26: For months, I was riddled with questions of whom and why.
Speaker 26: I tried to find souls, in the belief that most
Speaker 26: of my family members i'd instantly them being shot in
Speaker 26: the head.
Speaker 23: Unfortunately that was not true.
Speaker 26: When SIGNED found my father's like this body the corner seated.
Speaker 12: My father died within minutes.
Speaker 23: I'm being shot.
Speaker 30: Minutes, not seconds. So now I'm like wondering for how
Speaker 30: long did he remain conscious? Conscious? Did he feel the pain?
Speaker 30: How long was he conscious for knowing his death was
Speaker 30: imminent and there was nothing he could do. What went
Speaker 30: through his mind in those.
Speaker 26: Moments that I imagined felt like hours as she died alone?
Speaker 26: What about Hannah, maa she liked next to her nurse
Speaker 26: and infant. Did she die in fear not knowing what
Speaker 26: would happen to her child? How long did she like
Speaker 26: there helplessly knowing she could do nothing to protect her
Speaker 26: infant from the evil the storm front, the storm through
Speaker 26: her home that night. The questions were accompanied by nightmare's
Speaker 26: night after night, lack of sleep. Really crazy, I thought
Speaker 26: I could not escape it. Every time I closed my eyes,
Speaker 26: I was taken back to that horrific moments I find.
Speaker 23: Out that my family was murdered.
Speaker 26: I'd beg for anything to stop and ever a new
Speaker 26: pain and grief, to the point I nearly ended my
Speaker 26: own life and December twenty seventeen. In twenty eighteen, I
Speaker 26: had my daughter. It should have been a moment filled
Speaker 26: with nothing but joy. Instead, it was filled with heartache,
Speaker 26: knowing my father would never hold my daughter. Now, as
Speaker 26: I plan for my wedding, I dread walking down the
Speaker 26: aisle because my father will not be walking with you.
Speaker 26: Or handing me over as a father should.
Speaker 23: I won't look over to the.
Speaker 26: Bride's nids and see hand of me as my maid
Speaker 26: of honor. I won't see Frankie and the crowd making
Speaker 26: some sort.
Speaker 23: Of commotion to make me laugh and call my nurse.
Speaker 26: Christopher won't be there as the life of the party,
Speaker 26: making me a scene as his usual gifty. So you see,
Speaker 26: eight lives were taken in the most brutal ways that
Speaker 26: many more lives were stolen. You took moments that were
Speaker 26: no more years to take.
Speaker 23: Than the life you and your family took.
Speaker 26: I am sorry you never got to know the unconditional
Speaker 26: love of a mother and father, but it does not
Speaker 26: excuse your participation in the grim murders your family committed.
Speaker 23: As a whole.
Speaker 26: My family and I are not asking for your demise,
Speaker 26: but I do ask that you receive the mexicinality. It
Speaker 26: is not justice, but I believe in my heart it
Speaker 26: is the closest we can get.
Speaker 6: Here's Frankie Rhoden's former girlfriend and mother of their son.
Speaker 31: My first little statement is actually one that my son
Speaker 31: has written with himself a victim of the ninth. It
Speaker 31: was now since turn pay I find myself wondering why
Speaker 31: you killed my daddy. There are things that make me
Speaker 31: sad because I can't learn from him. He could have
Speaker 31: taught me stuff like working on Derby cars and kum hunting.
Speaker 31: My mommy tried, but it's not as good as Daddy was.
Speaker 31: I have been scared since that night, knowing bad guys
Speaker 31: came into my house while I was sleeping. I'm always
Speaker 31: scared now that I will lose my mommy. You did
Speaker 31: that to me.
Speaker 23: I just wanted you that I hate you with your family.
Speaker 23: Those are the words.
Speaker 9: Of a ten year old boy.
Speaker 31: For him to tell me he watches daddy's can fall
Speaker 31: while he tried to wake him up because his baby
Speaker 31: brother screaming is traumatic itself, but Knowingdaddy has seen stuff
Speaker 31: hurts my heart so much. The sleepless nights, the panic attacks,
Speaker 31: and constant worry is so it's you and your family
Speaker 31: did that.
Speaker 9: This is history and I'm just living it.
Speaker 31: We may have been friends in the past, but for
Speaker 31: you to get up here on that stand and take
Speaker 31: an oath and.
Speaker 9: Still why with me, excuse me, I don't know.
Speaker 21: I hope you burn in hell.
Speaker 23: George.
Speaker 31: I will say, there's one thing I have learned is
Speaker 31: that God wants us to forgive, and maybe one day
Speaker 31: I will forgive you, But at this time I just
Speaker 31: can't thank your honor.
Speaker 6: Here's April Manly, Danna Roaden's sister in law.
Speaker 23: As I stand here today, I realize I'm standing here
Speaker 23: for my father in law, Lendard Sue. Leonard caught a
Speaker 23: short fight with liver cancer. All he wanted to do
Speaker 23: was be with these baby girl, Dana Roading and make
Speaker 23: sure she was okay. For that reason, he would and
Speaker 23: fight for his life. Leonard would tell us time and
Speaker 23: time again that he was sorry for leaving us, but
Speaker 23: he just couldn't walk this world without Dana any longer.
Speaker 23: He made me promise that I would see these trials through,
Speaker 23: that I would be at every court day. So here
Speaker 23: I stand today, at the end of one of them.
Speaker 23: I don't only stand here for Winter but myself as well.
Speaker 23: You see, James Manley and I would be married twenty
Speaker 23: eight years this week. The Rugnans are also in my family,
Speaker 23: but in heart as well.
Speaker 12: I was.
Speaker 23: Made of honor at day on Chris's wedding. I be
Speaker 23: beset Freakie Hannah Little Chris from the time I was born,
Speaker 23: until they was old enough to stay by themselves. Even
Speaker 23: after they was old enough to look after themselves, I
Speaker 23: would still see them daily. That's why I referred to
Speaker 23: them my babies. Then comes the morning of April twenty second,
Speaker 23: two sevenenty sixteen, where all of our life changed forever
Speaker 23: and will never be the same again. Not one, not
Speaker 23: to but eight family members were taken away from us.
Speaker 23: It was like the bottom fell out of my soul.
Speaker 23: Hundreds of people around me, but I felt like I
Speaker 23: watched this warm the line to this day, my husband said,
Speaker 23: streaming to us and asleep, s tell anything. He called that.
Speaker 23: You know, my stepson was never afraid of the dark.
Speaker 23: He is now fifteen years old and still't won't go
Speaker 23: outside by himself after dark.
Speaker 21: He says that they came in the darkness took them.
Speaker 19: All the way.
Speaker 23: Before that night. He was never afraid. I hope George
Speaker 23: Wagner spends the rest of his life in prison without
Speaker 23: seeing your loved ones for the rest of your life,
Speaker 23: just like you made sure we went and see ours.
Speaker 23: I hope you feel the loneliness and the emptiness that
Speaker 23: we feel for the rest of your life. And I
Speaker 23: have one last wish for you, George said, you and
Speaker 23: your family made shoe. You were the last ones to
Speaker 23: see our family a lie. I hope every night, when
Speaker 23: you close your eyes, you see them eight faces, and
Speaker 23: I hope they hotch for the rest of your life.
Speaker 6: Lisa, niece to Chris and kind of Roden goes next.
Speaker 12: Growing up, our parents tell us monsters do not exist,
Speaker 12: but I had come to know that as a lie.
Speaker 12: In my adult life. There are so many moments that
Speaker 12: have made an impactful me greatly over the last eight
Speaker 12: years six years.
Speaker 21: Sorry, but a few.
Speaker 12: Of this moments are very aful moments that I will
Speaker 12: forever remember, vividly going into a funeral home and seeing
Speaker 12: a caskets lying along the wall of our loved ones.
Speaker 12: Walking into that room with my family, hearing the streams
Speaker 12: from my mother's, my aunt and my uncles while trying
Speaker 12: to hold him up because the leagus gave away. Six
Speaker 12: years and eight months later, we still had these unbearable
Speaker 12: moments where we feel like we could just break, knowing
Speaker 12: the callous way they.
Speaker 23: Were taken from us.
Speaker 12: Who would not only lose her mommy on April twenty seconds,
Speaker 12: but she lost all of her immediate family, and then
Speaker 12: on November the thirteenth, twenty eighteen, she lost her dad's
Speaker 12: side of her immediate family. Regardless of the monsters they are,
Speaker 12: she still had a bond. The devastation it impact well forever,
Speaker 12: way heavy on her for the rest of Hawaii. I've
Speaker 12: tried to wrap my head around why my family was
Speaker 12: given death sentences, but nothing will justify the why. My
Speaker 12: cousin Hanname was given a death sent because she was
Speaker 12: a strong old mother who wanted to raise your daughter
Speaker 12: and continue to grow her family outside the Wagner's control.
Speaker 12: My cousin Jared Dannah Hazel, little Chris, and I hate
Speaker 12: name him, I was given a dossance for just simply
Speaker 12: being there. My cousin Frank, my uncle Chris Michael Kenneth
Speaker 12: were given adescence for being the protectors of our family.
Speaker 23: No man justice.
Speaker 12: Given in this court will come close to what is deserved.
Speaker 12: But this man deserves nothing less than to spend the
Speaker 12: rest of his life in prison.
Speaker 6: Tony Rowden, brother of Chris Sior and Kenneth Roden, speaks
Speaker 6: last by reading a statement from his mother, Geneva Rodin.
Speaker 21: George Wadener, you or He'll breathing on two signs are
Speaker 21: not breathing. My grandchildren.
Speaker 14: Are not breathing.
Speaker 21: They are all children left behind. I'd just like to
Speaker 21: see some justice.
Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 26: Jong.
Speaker 6: With all of the impact statements heard, Judge Randy Dearing
Speaker 6: addresses the court.
Speaker 10: Mister Wagner, is there any reason that you want to
Speaker 10: state is the white sentence should not be pronounced and
Speaker 10: imposed immediate?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 8: Is there anything that you wish to say on your
Speaker 8: own behalf or any information you wish to provide and mitigation?
Speaker 6: The judge then prepares to hand down the sentence.
Speaker 8: First of all, no sentence that the court man posed
Speaker 8: in this case would right the wrong that has been
Speaker 8: inflicted upon the victous and the families. Murder is a
Speaker 8: is an irreversible act. The Court does find that these
Speaker 8: murders do constitute the worst form of the offense, and
Speaker 8: the Court quite frankly finds that defendate has shown no remorse,
Speaker 8: just denial. The courts considered all of these facts, is
Speaker 8: the course required to consider and is ready to impose sentence.
Speaker 10: So, mister Wagner, and I ask you to stand.
Speaker 6: George Wagner stands home.
Speaker 32: Count one of the indictment for the offensive aggravated murder
Speaker 32: in violation Section two nine zero three point oh one
Speaker 32: A of the Revised Code, the victim of that offense
Speaker 32: being Kenneth Roden. The court by sentences you to serve
Speaker 32: a mandatory term of life imprisonment without parole.
Speaker 6: George Wagner is sentenced to life in prison without parole
Speaker 6: for all eight aggravated murder charges. Judge Jeering then hands
Speaker 6: down sentences for fourteen additional counts.
Speaker 8: The aggregate of this sentence is eighth consecutive terms of
Speaker 8: life imprisonment without parole plus.
Speaker 9: One hundred and twenty one years.
Speaker 8: Eighty one years of which are mandatory anything for if
Speaker 8: not done yard journey.
Speaker 6: The final few charges can be served concurrently, but in
Speaker 6: the end the full sentence is for eight consecutive life
Speaker 6: sentences in prison plus one hundred and twenty one years
Speaker 6: in prison, to be served consecutively. The prosecution agrees with
Speaker 6: the sentence.
Speaker 33: We're satisfied with it. The most important thing was getting
Speaker 33: those eight life without paroles. George Wagner, the fourth will
Speaker 33: never be in a position to hurt anyone ever again.
Speaker 33: I'm just happy for a family that they got to
Speaker 33: see this. They actually got some justice.
Speaker 6: At this point, George Wagner could file an appeal. Jake
Speaker 6: Wagner is serving life without parole. Angela Wagner is sentenced
Speaker 6: to be in prison until she is eighty years old.
Speaker 6: Billy Wagner is next to go to trial for the murders.
Speaker 5: Now all eyes are on Billy Wagner, the dad who
Speaker 5: faces the same charges that George faced.
Speaker 32: Billy's trial is still expected to happen at some point
Speaker 32: next year.
Speaker 24: You's been such a long, awful road for you all.
Speaker 16: I'm sure you're feeling a lot of emotions, but can
Speaker 16: you give us any sense of what you're feeling just
Speaker 16: right now?
Speaker 19: A little bit of peace. We still have a long
Speaker 19: road to go. We'll get there. It's we are family.
Speaker 14: Are that this is now put russure on Billy to
Speaker 14: complete guilty.
Speaker 12: We can only hope.
Speaker 6: As the season comes to a close, we felt it
Speaker 6: was important to have one of the Rodent family members
Speaker 6: have the last word. On December nineteenth, twenty twenty two,
Speaker 6: Chris Senior and Kenneth's brother Tony Roden made a statement
Speaker 6: in court. His words remind us of the strength, love
Speaker 6: and loyalty that encompasses not just the victim, but those
Speaker 6: they left behind.
Speaker 21: I lost two brothers, Chris Rodin Senor Kenneth Roden. I
Speaker 21: also lost a niece, Anna Rodin. Also lost two nephews,
Speaker 21: Frankie Rodin, Chris Rodin Julie. I also lost a cousin,
Speaker 21: Gary Rogan. I also lost a sister in law, Daniel
Speaker 21: Roaden Manon. I also lost my nephew, Frankie's fiance, Hannah
Speaker 21: Hazel Guilty. I have so many memories of my brother
Speaker 21: Chris that I wish I could put them all down
Speaker 21: on paper, so whoever hears this today could see through
Speaker 21: my memories how my brother Chris really was carrier, gracious,
Speaker 21: loving family man and come. My brother Kenneth, my mom's son.
Speaker 21: As a young boy, he would always hang out with
Speaker 21: me and my other brothers, Chris, Stephen, and Brady. Loved
Speaker 21: old cars and old trucks.
Speaker 14: Even at a young.
Speaker 21: Loved his family and he always showed it. When he married,
Speaker 21: he adopted two kids, loved him as his own. My
Speaker 21: cousin Gary, my mom's nephew. He would always help people.
Speaker 21: I would be working with him, we would stop at
Speaker 21: store to get something to drink. I'd say, Gary, go
Speaker 21: in and get us something to drink, and he would,
Speaker 21: but he also bought lottery tickets out of my money.
Speaker 21: Loved his family. His life cut short by selfie shacks
Speaker 21: of other My sister in law, damn, my mom's daughter
Speaker 21: in law always spoke her mind. She would come to
Speaker 21: my house and tell me what I needed to do
Speaker 21: at my own house. When she walked in a room
Speaker 21: with other people in it, she would always have people laughing.
Speaker 21: She loved people, and it showed she loved her family,
Speaker 21: would do anything for them. Her life cut short by
Speaker 21: selfish acts of others. On November the thirteenth, twenty and eighteen,
Speaker 21: there was an arrest in the murders of my family.
Speaker 21: The same year, around Christmas time, my sister woman played
Speaker 21: phone pad back and forth trying to get the authorities
Speaker 21: to let and spend Christmas dinner at our family. So
Speaker 21: it happened, and all the kids just loved them. And
Speaker 21: at this Christmas dinner or Mom was handing out presents
Speaker 21: to her younger grandchildren and her great grandchildren. Pictures were
Speaker 21: being taken and then his name is called. He walks
Speaker 21: up to Mom. She puts him on her lap. She
Speaker 21: hands him the present pictures are taking she puts him
Speaker 21: down and gives him a hug. I am sitting in
Speaker 21: the kitchen crying as I watched. There's no relation to
Speaker 21: our family, but he is the defendant's son. True love.
Speaker 21: That's what was showed that Christmas dinner. It was embedded
Speaker 21: by our mom to all of her kids. We all
Speaker 21: have it in us. Chris taught it to his kids,
Speaker 21: it showed Kenneth thought it to his and it still
Speaker 21: shows true love.
Speaker 6: For more information on the case and relevant photos, follow
Speaker 6: us on Instagram at kat Underscore Studios. Now that the
Speaker 6: Pikedon massacre has come to an end this season, Kati
Speaker 6: Studios invites you to experience our new podcast, Death Island.
Speaker 34: Just a few miles off the Thailand coast, The island
Speaker 34: of Koto looks like a postcard.
Speaker 5: It's almost like if you were going to imagine a
Speaker 5: paradise island, you'll draw a picture of one. That's what
Speaker 5: Kotao looks like.
Speaker 6: Young tourists from all over the world visit the pristine
Speaker 6: beaches and crystal clear water.
Speaker 34: Right underneath the surface lies something sinister.
Speaker 6: In the last two decades, dozens of tourists have died
Speaker 6: mysteriously on the island.
Speaker 1: A dark cloud who's come over the island and cast
Speaker 1: its death, mystery and danger.
Speaker 34: I'm journalist Connor Powell. Even while making this podcast, another
Speaker 34: death on the island just happened. One thing is certain
Speaker 34: in this beautiful place, no coast is clear. This is
Speaker 34: Death Island.
Speaker 16: That's like murdering someone in Time Square and saying there's
Speaker 16: no witnesses.
Speaker 34: A production of KT Studios and iHeartRadio. Listen to Death
Speaker 34: Island every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 34: wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 6: The Pikedon Masker is produced by Stephanie Leidecker, Jeff Shane,
Speaker 6: Chris Cacaro, Andrew Arnow, Gabriel Castillo and me Courtney Armstrong.
Speaker 6: Editing and sound designed by Jeff Tis. Music by Jared Aston.
Speaker 6: The Pikedon Masker is a production of iHeartRadio and KAT Studios.
Speaker 6: For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the I Hear
Speaker 6: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 6: favorite shows.