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The wife of a man – who, along with his brother and parents, has been accused of murdering eight members of an Ohio family – said she felt she was “living in Nazi Germany” after they accused her of abused her husband’s daughter.
In a phone call in May 2018, Jake Wagner’s then-wife Beth Ann admitted that she felt trapped living with his parents while on the road as a truck driver.
“I feel like I live in Nazi Germany,” she told Jake, now 29, who signed a plea deal in April 2021 for the shooting of five of the victims.
Beth Ann testified last month that Jake’s mother Angela Wagner, 52, ran the house and accused her of inappropriately touching Jake’s toddler, Sophia, two.
She also testified that her husband threatened “to tie me up in the barn, beat me to death with a baseball bat, bulldoze the barn, set fire to it, and track down and kill my family.”
The Wagner family also accused the men who were allegedly in a relationship with Sophia’s biological mother Hannah Rhoden, 19, of harassing her.
The Wagner family has been charged with murdering Rhoden and her seven members of her family after she and Jake had a custody dispute.
In a phone call in May 2018, Jake Wagner’s then-wife Beth Ann (pictured) admitted she felt trapped living with his parents while he was a truck driver, after they accused her of assaulting his daughter Sophia. , two
She also claimed that Jake, now 29, (pictured) threatened to kill her if his mother Angela’s accusations were correct
Jake and Angela accepted plea deals and are required to testify against George IV, 31. Meanwhile, George “Billy” Wagner, 50, is expected to appear in court next year after he and the eldest son pleaded not guilty.
George IV would not have fired a single bullet, but was closely involved in the preparation and cover-up of the alleged murders, his brother testified.
In a separate phone call between Jake and Angela in 2018, the grandmother, who watched Sophia and her other son Bulvine’s child, revealed that the children called her “Mommy.”
“You really did a good job, Jake,” Angela angrily joked in the May 2018 call.
When her son asked her what he’d done wrong, she replied, “Beth is her mommy, I’m her grandmother. Beth never did anything wrong to her, it was just Sophie saying that… and she loves Beth more than me and she believes Beth over me because I’m just her grandmother.”
She told her son that he had done “enough damage” after allegedly revealing to the children that Angela was their grandmother, leading to George IV’s son asking questions as well.
In a separate phone call between the Jake and George IV – who is currently on trial – the latest Beth Ann revealed a “whore” and insinuated that the younger brother believed his wife over his mother over the sexual assault charges.
“You won’t insult my wife,” Jake told his brother.
“I will insult your wife,” George IV had replied.
However, later in the conversation, Jake revealed to his brother that he did not trust Beth Ann to take care of his daughter if he went to prison.
“Would I want her to have Sophia while I was in jail? No. I don’t trust that she would take or be able to do the right thing with Sophia.’
The alleged murders revolve largely around the idea that the two-year-old was sexually assaulted, as she would return to the family with her genital area ‘red’ and it had ‘strong odors’.
In another phone call, Jake and his brother George IV (pictured) got into an argument, with the latter calling Beth Ann a “whore” and both admitting they didn’t trust her
Angela (left) testified last week that the alleged murder of Jake’s baby mother’s family was the idea of her son George “Billy” Wagner III (right), because he fears they would take revenge on Jake if he killed Hannah Rhoden, 19
Angela testified last week that the murders were committed to protect the child, Fox 19 reported. When asked why the family did not contact Child Protective Services, she said she did not know.
Hannah, along with her father Christopher Rhoden Sr, 40, mother Dana Rhoden, 37, and brothers Clarence, 20, and Christopher Jr, 16, Clarence Rhoden’s fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20, Christopher Sr.’s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44 , and cousin Gary Rhoden, 38, were all shot execution-style while sleeping in four different homes in rural Ohio in April 2016.
Angela also revealed in her testimony that the murder idea came from Billy, because he feared they would retaliate if Jake killed his baby’s mother.
Angela said her youngest son had wanted to kill the mother of his child, Hannah, but her husband objected because he believed the woman’s family would retaliate.
“They’ll know, and then they’ll come get Jake. They’d shoot him, if not all of us,” Angela Wagner said her husband had told her. He also said the rest of the woman’s family should be “killed,” she testified.
Hannah Rhoden, the 19-year-old mother of Jake Wagner’s toddler daughter, was shot multiple times while sleeping with her newborn baby. Her 16-year-old brother Christopher Jr, right, was also killed in the murders
Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40, and his ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37, were among those killed in April 2016 in Ohio
Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44, (left) and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38, were also shot dead.
Clarence ‘Frankie’ Rhoden, 20, and his fiancée, Hannah Gilley, 20, were shot dead while sleeping with their child
She accepted a plea so that one day she could see her grandchildren. The grandmother will be around 80 years old when she is released.
Jake took to the stands earlier this month to graphically describe how he shot five people and injured a sixth. He also testified that his father killed the others and that his brother George IV never fired a single shot, but participated extensively in the preparation and cover-up.
Jake was given eight full life sentences without the possibility of parole in 2021 after agreeing to a plea deal with no possibility of the death penalty for himself and his family members.
He pleaded guilty to 23 felony charges, including eight of murder, while his mother pleaded guilty to several counts of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence and other charges.
George IV is the first person to stand trial for the murders and he has assumed most of the blame for the fall, his mother said. George IV faces the death penalty if convicted.