Trial in killings of 8 Ohio family members will be moved to another county

The trial of a man accused of the murder of eight people from another Ohio family will be moved to another county, a judge ruled Monday.

George “Billy” Wagner III, who has pleaded not guilty to the killings, is the last of four family members charged in the 2016 fatal shootings of seven adults and a teenager from the Rhoden family in southern Ohio.

Judge Jonathan Hein agreed to Wagner’s request to move the trial. “Pike County’s small population and intense media coverage lead the court to conclude that no jury can truthfully answer that they have no prior knowledge of the terrible facts of this case,” he wrote.

Prosecutors have said the killings, which initially sparked speculation about the involvement of drug cartels, were the result of a custody dispute. The murders in four different homes led to one of the most extensive criminal investigations in the state’s history.

Wagner is charged with aggravated murder and other charges. His wife Angela has already done that pleaded guilty to helping plan the murders and will be sentenced on December 17.

Their youngest son, Edward “Jake” Wagner, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his brother and their parents in a deal to help the family avoid possible death sentences. He will also be sentenced on December 17.

The couple’s other son, George Wagner IV, was found guilty in 2002 and sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences.