The Pike County Shootings , also known as the Pike County Massacre , occurred on the night of April 21β22, , when eight people β all belonging to the Rhoden family β were shot and killed in four homes in Pike County , Ohio , near the village of Peebles , 50 miles 80 km from Columbus and 60 miles 97 km from Cincinnati.
Their bodies were found later on April Seven of the victims β six adults and a year-old boy β were discovered to have been shot execution-style in three adjacent houses, while the eighth victim, an adult male, was found shot to death in his camper in nearby Piketon. Three young children, including two infants, were physically unharmed. At least two shooters were initially believed to be responsible.
Investigators believe the murders were premeditated, and that the perpetrators were known to the Rhoden family. On April 25, the Ohio Attorney General 's office confirmed the presence of marijuana cultivation and cockfighting operations at some of the crime scenes, but did not confirm a direct connection to the killings.
The ensuing investigation soon became the largest in Ohio's history. In November , four members of the Wagner family, who were known to the Rhodens, were arrested in Ohio and Kentucky , and charged in the eight murders. Edward "Jake" Wagner, an ex-boyfriend of victim Hanna Rhoden, and father of her three-year-old daughter pleaded guilty to all eight murders; he later testified that he shot five of the eight victims. The bodies were first discovered on April 22, , after Bobby Jo Manley, [ 4 ] a sister of victim Dana Rhoden, came to feed pets at the homes.
Her brother, James Manley, went to check on their sister Dana, and discovered a third crime scene, where the police found three more victims when they arrived. At p. Three young childrenβages three years, six months, and four daysβwere unharmed during the shootings, [ 13 ] with the four-day-old being found in bed with her mother's body.
