September 2, 2020 • 42 mins
Ohio law enforcement officials spent over two years investigating the Rhoden murders. During that time, they received over 1,100 tips, conducted over 500 interviews and served nearly 200 search warrants.
Episode six explores this exhaustive investigation, how authorities honed in on the Wagners, and how they think the family allegedly pulled off the gruesome massacre. We’ll also look at the Wagner’s moves in the two years following the Rhoden murders, including a shocking decision the family made at the height of the investigation.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
How Deep does a Mother's Love Run? Now streaming only
on Hulu. Experience a Race against Time by four mothers
who went undercover. My ex partner abducted our six year
old son and took him out of the country. This
was a mother's worst nightmare, and we'll stop at nothing.
I knew something bad act for the children day Love.
I was so scared, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
(00:21):
Mother Undercover. I wanted him to know you mess with
the wrong mother. Now streaming only on Hulu. Search Mother
Undercover only on CNN. See It Loud The History of
Black Television of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of
black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black culture
(00:44):
has on all culture. See It Loud explores the best
history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July ninth at nine pm.
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa. But he'll never forget how
(01:06):
you invested in his future with the unstap Wow. Thanks Grandpa.
The unstap makes it easy for grandparents and family friends
to give funds to a child's investment account for a
limited time. Download the unst stapp and use the code
I Heart fifty at sign up to receive a fifty
dollar bonus when you find your account. That's code I
heart fifty when you sign up at un est dot
(01:26):
COO for fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at
unest dot coo. How long was Neil Armstrong actually on
the Moon? When did Europe start speaking English? Did Marco
Polo really go to China? Curiosity Stream is the streaming
service for all things history, plus science, wildlife and more.
What's the real story behind the Mona Lisa, We've got that.
What caused the collapse of Rome? We know? Where? Did
(01:48):
we find Mankind's earliest ancestor? Come find out? From Egypt
to Weinstein. Curiosity Stream is the place for history with monthly, annual,
and bundled plans. Find one for you at curiosity stream
dot com. Welcome to the Piked and Massacre, a production
of iHeartRadio and Katie Studios. It's been one year since
(02:09):
eight members of the Roden family were found murdered in
Pike County. Now, surviving members of the family have released
of lead for information. A year after eight members of
the Rodent family were ruthlessly gunned down in their homes,
Ohio authorities are on a relentless search for the killers.
Over eight hundred tips have been called into police of
the people of Pike County that day. We're not leaving
(02:32):
until we've solved it. Many different facets of law enforcement
collaborated to crack the case. The people that carried it out,
we're trying to do everything they could to make sure
that they didn't get caught. Law enforcement officials began tracking
down a series of leads that point them to another
group of potential suspects, the Wagners. The wagon shops and
(02:53):
local walmarts for ammunition, magazine, cliff and materials to build
grass catchers. According to the case indictment, the Wagners began
conducting what seems to be almost like reconnaissance on the Rodents.
What do you mean a camera was there? Was it
connected to something? I still do this day wonder why
she mentioned that and why that conversation wasn't allowed to
go any further. The revelations leave those closest to the family,
(03:15):
questioning their innocence. I know he was upset. Was he
upset because she had been murdered? Or was upset because
he's done it? This is the Pikedon Massacre, Episode six.
The investigation. In this episode, we're going to dive into
(03:38):
law enforcements, investigation, into the road and murders, how the
Wagner's allegedly pulled off this gruesome massacre and why. I'm
Courtney Armstrong and I work at Katie Studios with Stephanie
Ladecker and Jeff Shane. We produced a documentary about the
case for NBC Universal's Oxygen Network in twenty nineteen and
have been following the evolution of the investigation since then.
(04:00):
To understand the crime and the possible motivation of the
family that may have committed it, we want to look
at the months leading up to the murders and authorities
movements after. By any objective standard, it was a long,
arduous investigation spanning two full years. During that time, many
different facets of law enforcement, the FBI, the DA, the
Pike County Sheriff's Office, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal
(04:21):
Investigation all collaborated to crack the case. Police received over
eleven hundred tips, They conducted over five hundred interviews, tested
about seven hundred pieces of evidence, served close to two
hundred church warrants, subpoenas and other things. So this was
something that was huge. That's Mike Gallen, a defense attorney,
(04:42):
former Ohio County prosecutor, and legal analyst for Cincinnati news
station Fox nineteen. The Attorney General Dwine at the time
said it was a pretty sophisticated operation and the people
that carried it out, we're trying to do everything that
they could to make sure that they didn't get caught.
Attorney General Dwine and Sheriff Reader, they both said that
(05:03):
the investigation was going to be a long one and
a lengthy process, and Boyd sure has played out that way.
But how exactly did investigators circle in on the Wagners
as suspects and eventually compile enough evidence to make arrests.
In previous episodes, we discussed some of the conflicts between
the Wagners and the Rodens. In twenty sixteen, there was
a custody battle between Jake Wagner and Hannah Roden and
(05:26):
a physical altercation between Billy Wagner and Chris Roden. Senior.
It seemed like the relationship between the two families was
reaching a fever pitch and the months leading up to
the murders. But these two families didn't always have such
ill will towards one another. Here's journalist Jeff Winkler. I
think early on people wanted to paint the sort of
(05:47):
few between the Rodens and Wagners and something like the
Hatfields of McCoys, just because it was sort of heels
of Appalachia blackwoods and kind of thing. But I it
really wasn't lighted right like people like to say the
Hatfields and McCoy's. But I think they were probably closer
and friendlier than that version of it, right, Yeah, they
(06:07):
I mean the fact that they were family most just
sipilating their time between the two houses. The fact that,
you know, the Wagner's had been in the area for
a long time as well, just as the Rodents had.
It's just you had two families who were intertwined by
both blood and work. We got some more intimate observations
from Deray. She's Billy Wagner's cousin and Frederica Wagner's niece.
(06:30):
Deray spoke to Jeff about how she saw the relationship
between her family and the Rodents. Do you know anything
about Billy and Chris Roden Senior. My aunt said that
they were very good friends, and of course he was
the grandfather of Sophia, and so was Billy. Billy is
Sophia's grandfather. I mean, it's like they're in lass. They're related.
(06:55):
I mean they're two grandfathers and the same little girl.
She's adorable. Did Angela and Dana got along in the
same way? Do you know? It looked to me like
they were clearly getting along. And she never said anything
bad about the Rodents. She never spoke one negative thing
about it, just about the children about you know, they
went fishing and they were over at Frederiquez and you know,
(07:18):
small talk, right, like normal talk you'd have with another
mom about raising kids, right exactly, and it's just like
that's all it is. It's just family talk. We of
course know that Hannah and Jake Wagner had an intense relationship,
but through the ups and downs, most would say they
were in love and their relationship brought the two families together.
(07:40):
Here's producers Stephanie. When we started doing our research, I
personally became a bit obsessed with better understanding the intersection
between these two families and really struggle with the motivation
what could possibly cause one family, the Wagoners, to allegedly
murder eight people that they knew so well they knew
them Intimately, we came across a photograph taken in twenty
(08:02):
twelve at George Wagner, the eldest son's wedding, and the
Rodens and the Wagners are both in this photo seemingly
so happy. The only person not there is Dana Rodin,
and she said to maybe be taking the photo because
she later posted it on her MySpace page. But it's
mind blowing. The people in the photo do not look
(08:23):
like killers posing with there would be victims, but sure enough,
in four years, the majority of the people in this
picture would be dead and the others would be standing
trial for their deaths. Throughout this series, we've been talking
to a relative of the Wagners who's chosen to remain anonymous.
(08:43):
She spoke to Jeff about her family's reaction in the
wake of the Roden murders. What was the feeling like
in the family after that happened. Angela was upset because
it was the mother of her granddaughter. She was just
really sad, you know, that that had happened, I thought,
And I was telling him like, I'm so sorry, you know,
like if there's anything I can do, please tell me.
(09:04):
And Angela she did ask me m at one point,
probably about a month after the murders had happened, if
I could come down and pick up Lafia and Jake
and Kake Satia to a friend's house and stuff. So
I did, and in that time, we you know, me
and Jacob said. He and in the car and he
was an absolute rick rank And of course I did
(09:27):
not know. I didn't know how to react. I didn't
know what to ask him. I didn't know what to say.
I was kind of just letting him just have his moment.
And he was absolutely devastated. I mean, he couldn't talk,
he couldn't breathe he was having like a football page
attack in my car. And I'm like, oh my gosh,
you know, like I don't know what to say. So
(09:48):
of course, when I find out that they were the
ones to done this, um, I keep thinking back to
that time and you know, in the car and I'm like,
oh my gosh, like I know, he was upset. But
was he upset for you know, all right reasons? I
guess was he upset because she had been murdered? Or
was uet because you know, he's done it and he knew.
(10:09):
I don't know. It was just an awful, eerie feeling.
It really truly was Pike County massacre. It's the title
of what has happened out here, the tragedy that we've
been covering. The victims ranged in age from sixteen to
forty four. Each were shot anywhere from once to nine times.
It's just, you know, a grizzling scene in a bristling situation.
(10:33):
Let's rewind to summer twenty fourteen. Hannah and Jake's daughter,
Sophia is eight months old. Here's producer Stephanie. This is
why this case is so complicated, because just when I
think the Wagners could be innocent, I read something like this.
Around this time. According to the case indictment, the Wagners
began conducting which seems to almost be like reconnaissance on
(10:54):
the Rodent family. For the course of the next two years.
They allegedly began hacking into the rodents personal computers, their phones,
even their social media accounts. They even reportedly use surveillance
cameras to spy on the Rodents. But why would they
do that, Especially, according to most accounts, Jake and Hannah
were very much still dating and very much in love
at this time, So why would they be spying. Was
(11:17):
Angela Wagner the mom obsessed with her youngest son, Jake
Wagner's relationship with Hannah Rodin. Were the dads Chris Rodin
or Billy Wagner Senior embroiled in something big? Were the
Wagner's simply trying to get familiar with the family patterns
and better understand the Rodin property? Why would they possibly
be spying. Here's investigative reporter Jodie Barr. He's talking about
(11:42):
a conversation he had with Kendra Roden, the daughter of
one of the victims, Kenneth Roden. Rod brought up with
me in our discussions, she mentioned a few times that
they were cameras set up around Chris Senior's home. Wow,
so Kendra Rodin actually saw cameras on the property that
now it seems as if allegedly the Wagners had put there. Yeah,
(12:03):
she told me that at Christian Years Home that there
was a camera home that property, and she said it
was in sort of a not in the wooded area,
but sort of the field, like it hadn't been mowed,
but it was right near the garage of Christian Years Home.
And of course naturally you start questioning her about the
(12:24):
cameras and you know, what do you mean a camera
was there? What was it connected to something? Did you
did you look? Did you try to investigate? It was
a very strange encounter, you know, when she mentioned that
and then the conversation wouldn't no further. Well, she was
probably scared, right, possibly, I mean, but she's talking to
a reporter. That was always something that I've wondered about
(12:46):
because she never got an answer to and it was
so strange and I still to this day wonder why
she mentioned that and why that conversation wasn't allowed to
go any further. Yeah, what I find so like the
most screwed up thing about it is at that time,
summer in twenty fourteen, is when Jake Wagner and Hannah
rode in were like hot and heavy and planning a wedding.
And to know that he was then also sort of
(13:07):
maybe planning her murder at the same time, or starting
to at least spy on her in some way. It's
like just very dark. I mean, there's a lot of
interest obviously still in this case. And you know, with
every criminal prosecution, you know, the state they have their
version of facts and the defense will have its virgent
of facts. But if this turns out to be true, man,
what a story. I mean, what a terribly tragic ending
(13:30):
to these lives, to everything that was going on. If
we are to believe that the prosecution as alleged, you know,
this paints a very dark picture. We're going to take
a quick break here, we'll be back in a moment.
(13:52):
Like many of us, you might think identity theft will
never happen to you, but consider this. There's a new
identity theft victim every three secs in the US. That's
over fifteen million people by the end of this year,
equal to the populations of New York, Los Angeles, and
Chicago combined. Even worse, identity theft victims often don't even
know they're victims. That's why LifeLock identity theft protection helps
(14:15):
you identify threats, even the ones that don't show up
on a credit report, like data breaches, fraudulent bank transactions,
loan and credit card applications, and crimes committed in your name.
If your identity is stolen, your own dedicated LifeLock US
based restoration specialist will work to fix it. No one
can prevent all identity theft, but LifeLock protects you in
(14:37):
ways that you simply can't on your own. Save up
to twenty five percent your first year at LifeLock dot
com slash iHeart. That's LifeLock dot com slash iHeart to
save up to twenty five percent. Identity theft protection starts
here only on CNN. See It Loud The History of
Black Television, a five part docuseries he celebrating the achievements
(15:01):
of black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black
culture has on all culture. See It Loud explores the
best history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July nine at nine pm.
(15:23):
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa, But he'll never forget how
you invested in his future. What the unst app Wow,
Thanks Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, give them
a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and
(15:44):
family friends to contribute to your child's future. What the
un stapp. Unst is an investment account for kids that
makes it easy to gift funds that can be used
for college tuition, their first home, and more. Just by
sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party
invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download
(16:04):
the unst at and use the code iHeart fifty at
sign up to receive a fifty dollar bonus when you
fund your account. That's code iHeart fifty when you sign
up at une st dot coo for a fifty dollar bonus.
See terms and conditions at unest dot coo. Curiosity Stream
is the streaming service built by and for people who
(16:26):
want to know more more about our world and beyond.
Curiosity Stream has the best collection of documentary films and
TV shows about everything from the history of human migration
to the future of space travel. With thousands of titles,
curiosity has something for everyone science, wildlife, travel, human stories, culture,
(16:49):
and pretty much anything you're curious about. Watch Curiosity Stream
on your TV or any digital device all around the world.
Just go to curiosity stream dot com to sign up
download the app. Now you'll have access to brand new
titles dropping every week, filled with new discoveries and new
stories that will open your eyes to the world around us.
And with monthly, annual, and bundled pricing plans, it's easy
(17:12):
to find one that works for you and your budget.
Go to curiosity stream dot com to satisfy your curiosity
and sign up today. It seems that the Wagoners became
obsessed with getting soul custody of Sophia after Jake and
(17:33):
Hannah broke up, But how exactly did they think they
would gain control? As laid out in the indictment, the
Wagoners began methodically plotting a scheme that would take several
months to actually carry out. Here again is Jodi Barr.
So when you read these indictments, you know they were
talking about the Wagoners movements even months before these murders happened,
and that the investigators believe that they were planning this
(17:56):
for quite some time before that. The indictment says that
the Technos League that planning began January one of twenty sixteen,
the murders happened April of twenty sixteen, so you've got
four months of planning that's alleged to have happened here,
four months to plan this out. I mean, if that's
every day for four months, that's the full time job.
(18:19):
So what exactly went into the planning? In previous episodes,
we talked about how in April twenty sixteen, the Wagner's
presented Hannah Roden with custody documents. But what Hannah didn't
know then and what police later uncovered, is that the
supposedly legal documents were fake and that Angela Wagner's mother,
Rita Joe Nucam, was allegedly at the center of the deception.
(18:41):
I spoke to my Gallan about it. So Rita Joe
numb Angela's mom, she faces three counts of forgery, a
kind of perjury, and she's a notary. Can you speak
to like what power does a notary have or how
does that come into play? In Ohio? Notaries don't have
a lot of power. They are allowed, obviously to odorized signatures.
(19:02):
You know, they have to make sure that the oath
is administered properly. When they are notarizing something they're kind
of hard to come by here in Ohio. But I'm
certain that because of this, she'll probably lose that notary's license,
if she hasn't already. Moving forward a bit in time,
prosecutors ultimately claimed that Rita lied about the authenticity of
(19:25):
these documents to a grand jury, but in an unexpected twist,
Nwcombe agreed to a plea deal with the prosecution. She
pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business
in exchange felony charges of forgery and perjury were dismissed.
Here's Newcomb's speaking in court. I just feel that it's
not a good thankful and it's difficult to hear her
(19:50):
because of the recording, but she says, I just feel
that it's not a good Christian thing to lie, and
I couldn't live with it no more. Jodi Barr thinks
there could be ulterior motives Newcomb's deal. The prosecutor said
in court, though, that a hand writing expert concluded that
Rita Newcombe did not sign the documents herself. Newcombe admitted
to falsely telling a grand jury and investigators that she
(20:13):
did so only because her daughter, Angela Wagner, who was
among those charged with the killings, told her to do so.
I mean there were some heavy charges dismissed, you know,
where investigators trying to squeeze the grandmothers to get some
information out of them. Mike Allen seems to think so.
Now there's a lot of speculation, and in the normal case,
(20:36):
the first thing you'd think of is Okay, you know,
they gave her a reduced charge in return for cooperation,
and I would not be surprised if that's not the case.
But again, you know, we won't know until we get
closer to trial. Can you be compelled to testify for
the prosecution? Sure, I mean they received a subpoena unless
(21:01):
there's some kind of legal reason why you know they couldn't. Yeah,
I mean the prosecutor could issue the subpoena. If there's testimony,
the prosecutor would probably ask the court designate that person
as a hostile witness and then they can use leading questions.
According to court records, the documents appointed a guardian Frigid
(21:23):
and Hannah's daughter in the event of their deaths. When
police later searched the Wagner home, this document was found
in a box belonging to Angelo Wagner labeled important stuff.
I asked Mike Allen about the legal ramifications of these
forged documents. How does it appear that these documents were
forged on April third? It was nineteen days before the murders.
(21:44):
I'll tell you what, I've been doing this for a
long time and I've never seen anything like this. It's
strong evidence for the prosecutor. The defense attorney has to
find a way to explain that, a way which is
probably next to impossible. But yeah, that's strong evidence from
a prosecutor's perspective. As we've discussed before, it was around
(22:06):
this time that Chris Roden Senior and Billy Wagner got
into a fight as well. Here's Mike Allen recapping that confrontation.
Back in mid April two thousand and sixteen, Supposedly there
was a fight between Chris Senior and Billy Wagner. Nobody
seems to know what the fight was about or what
caused it. Things were obviously becoming strained between the two families,
(22:29):
but the beginning of April also brought a lot of
joy for the Roden family. That month, Hannah celebrated her
nineteenth birthday. Here's Roden family friend Stephane. It was a
happy occasion, you know, it was family get together and
lots of fun, you know, because they were fun. They
were always having you know, get together's, birthday parties, anything
(22:49):
like that. They were a great family unit. But as
the Roden family was celebrating, the Wagners allegedly were busy
planning their murders. The Wagner has already had a cachet
of firearms, but around this time they began making their
own silencers. If the Wagners did do it, it seems
likely that these would have been used on the night
(23:10):
of the murders. The family also bought ammunition, a magazine clip,
a bug detector, and materials to build brass catchers. Jodie
Barr filled us in on what some of this equipment
is used for. The brass catcher is a bag that
hooks on the side of a firearm. It will catch
spent cartridges, so every time you pull this trigger, cartridges
(23:34):
is ejected. And if you were really interested in not
leaving anything behind as far as ballistic evidence, this sounds
like a great story. This bag will collect the shell casing,
so there's no evidence left. Behind the bug detector, so
purely that helps someone find listening devices and sometimes create
white noise to muscle sounds or discussion. The indictment also
(23:58):
includes a reference to a specific pair of shoes that
the family purchased from Walmart. But why would they need
a particular pair of shoes to pull off from murder?
Here's Stephanie. One such theory is that the Wagoners were
trying to frame Danta Roden's brother, James Manley. He's significant
because if you recall, Dana Roden's sister, Bobby Joe, made
(24:19):
the first discovery of bodies and called nine one one.
She also called her brother, who rushed to Dana Roden's
house and also found their bodies. His prints were allegedly
at the crime scene. However, just one day before the murders,
the Wagoners drove two and a half hours to a
specific Walmart to buy a particular pair of boots. They're
(24:39):
seen on surveillance buying these boots and then the same
kind of boots known to be worn by James Manley.
Why would they do that? Here's reporter Jodie Barr from
the dyingment. I mean, there's a lot of assertion by
the prosecution that they have evidence that, you know, these
boots were purchased to James Manley, a family member for
(25:02):
the murder, and that James lived the closest to Dana,
and that James ended up being one of the first
to discover Dana and you know in Hannah's bodies that morning, right.
So the idea is that they went and bought these
specific boots knowing that James Manley wore them, and then
they would in theory wear them the night of the murder.
So it looks to police like he was the one
(25:23):
walking around, and it sounds like for a period of
time investigators might have believed that to be the case,
because James Manley was one of the first people brought
in and interrogated given a polygraph. I mean, if you're
to believe what's written in that indictment, it sounds like
they may have been pretty close to pulling this all on.
(25:45):
It was so detail oriented. Yeah, and you and you
wondered this too. It's like it seemed like a lot
of details planning to preplan that. I don't really know
what to think of it. Again, I don't know anybody
who's capable of doing that and we know it happened
pulled off by somebody, But I mean, if they really
bought boots to try to frame James manly Man again,
(26:08):
this is a heck of a story. Who drinks this up?
Who thinks this up? In April twenty sixteen, the same
week as Hannah's birthday, her mother Dana, threw a baby
shower to celebrate the upcoming birth of her new baby girl, Kylie.
It would be the last time the Rodent family all
gathered in one place. Becky Ryder was a close friend
of Dana Roden's. She told Jeff about the excitement surrounding
(26:31):
the baby's arrival. Dana felt overwhelmed with joy, happiness. I
guess she's getting another grand baby that she can love
and spoil. She always loves her grandkids, if yeah, deeply? Yeah,
And like Hannah must have been happy too, because she was.
She had a new boyfriend at that point who was
not Jake Wagner, and she was about to have a
new baby and kind of start a new chapter of
her life. Right, Oh yeah, absolutely. In photos from this event,
(26:54):
Hannah smiles with her daughter Sophia. We also see other
family members in the photo, including Frankie and his fiance
Hannah Gilly. In just a few days, eight members of
the Rodent family would be dead. But Deray's recollection of
the events leading up to the birth of Kylie is different.
She says at that point that things were still going
(27:15):
well between Jake and Hannah. I believe they may have disagreements,
and I think there was disappointments, but I don't think
there was any any hate. We've discussed in previous episodes
how the people have pikedon were immediately affected by the
murders and the shroud of fear that hovered over the
small town. I just don't understand why happened here. He
(27:37):
has a really wondering thing, like, is so like mafia
or anything like that, because it's just crazy. If I
lived down there, I wouldn't stay there. I would be
so afraid. But in the wake of the murders, many
news outlets were portraying Jake Wagner as almost a sympathetic figure.
This is how the Cincinnati Inquirer describes him in a
July twenty sixteen article, A full time single dad with
(27:58):
mounting legal bills, with a new job that pays half
of what he was making to ensure he is close
to Sophia, but close still means the twenty three year
old makes a daily commute to Cincinnati, a two and
a half hour daily drive. Anybody was connected to this family,
you know, there was a lot of emotion from the
public involved your because of these children. So it's no
(28:20):
surprise that Jake, you know, a lot of people felt
for Jake. I mean, he's left there with that very
young daughter and he's deciding to get her back. But
it's what the family did in the wake of the
murders that raised some suspicion. We know that just six
days after the Rodents were killed, Jake Wagner filed for
custody of two and a half year old Sophia, his
(28:40):
daughter with Hannah Rodin. In a previous episode, we talked
to Ohio criminal defense attorney Mike Allen about how this
looks from a legal perspective. That's extremely strong evidence for
the prosecution. I mean, six days, less than a week
after the killings to go ahead and file. It can
take months, you know, maybe a year, a little bit more,
(29:02):
a little bit less. It's not something that goes quickly
at all. And I think that that is going to
be some evidence that's problematic for the defense doing it
that quickly after the murders. It was around the same
time that Angela Wigner suggested her son create a go
fund Me campaign to help cover the custody expenses to
(29:23):
the tune of twenty thousand dollars. Jake wrote a personal
message on the page, saying these were not expenses I
was supposed to have. I was just supposed to be
able to spend time with her and give her a
happy childhood. Sophia and I are just asking enough to
settle the fees that we acquired due to the horrific
tragedy to her mommy. He finished, I hate seeing my
(29:44):
daughter cry. We want to get our lives back. But
these legal actions seemed unusual to many in the community.
He was an investigative reporter. Jodi Barr. I do remember
seeing that in the Rodent massacre Facebook group, you know,
people talking about that, you know, they were there was
a lot of angry comments about it that you know,
(30:05):
a lot of people in those groups have already convicted
the Waggers. They already believed they did it and they're guilty,
and you know, so to see that and how vocal
the wagoners were on social media, it seemed to rubble
people in that group the wrong way, that that was
the wrong message um that they believe the Wagoners should
have been sending at that point in time. But you
(30:27):
know a lot of people saw it as the brazen um,
the people wrapped up in this to make a move
like that, to ask for help. Let's stop here for
another quick break. We'll be back in a moment Only
(30:47):
on CNN. See It Loud The History of Black Television
of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of black actors
and creators, examining the historical impacts black claw culture has
on all culture. See It Loud explores the best history
of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
(31:10):
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July nine at nine pm.
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa. But he'll never forget how
you invested in his future with the unst app Wow.
Thanks Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, Give them
(31:34):
a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and
family friends to contribute to your child's future with the
un stapp. Unst is an investment account for kids that
makes it easy to gift funds that can be used
for college tuition, their first home, and more, just by
sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party
invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download
(31:58):
the unst app and use a code I Heard fifty
at sign up to receive a fifty dollars bonus when
you fund your account. That's code I Heart fifty when
you sign up at uneest dotzo for a fifty dollars bonus.
See terms and conditions at uns dot coo. Curiosity Stream
is the streaming service for people who want to know
(32:20):
more more about our world and beyond. Curiosity Stream has
the best collection of documentary films and TV shows and
now check out Curiosity's new series The Real Wild West.
Rowan Stone Magazine says it's the history of the West.
They usually don't teach you that an mythology of the
West left out a lot of the people. American West
(32:40):
is far more different, far more diverse. Peo would say
they've never seen a black cowboy. Well, we've been there.
We've been doing it. I never really learned about the
Hispanic Mexican aspect of the story. This is the history book,
but did you know about these other facts? Watch The
Real Wild West now on Curiosity Stream. Just go to
curiosity stream dot com to sign up or download the
(33:01):
app now. With new titles dropping every week, you'll never
run out of things to watch, and with monthly, annual,
and bundled pricing plans, it's easy to find one that
works for you when your budget. Go to curiosity stream
dot com to satisfy your curiosity and sign up today. Now,
I'd like to introduce you to Meaningful Beauty, the famed
(33:21):
skincare brand created by iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford. It's her
secret to absolutely gorgeous skin. Meaningful Beauty makes powerful and
effective skincare simple, and it's loved by millions of women.
It's formulated for all ages and all skin tones and types,
and it's designed to work as a complete skincare system,
leaving your skin feeling soft, smooth, and nourished. I recommend
(33:42):
starting with Cindy's Full Regiment, which contains all five of
her best selling products, including the Amazing Youth activating melon serum.
This next generation serum has the power of MELANIAF stem
cell technology. It's MELANIAF stem cells encapsulated for freshness and
released onto the skin to support a visible reduction in
the appearance of With thousands of glowing five star reviews,
(34:02):
why not give it a try. Subscribe today and you
can get the amazing Meaningful Beauty system for just forty
nine nine five That includes our introductory five piece system,
free gifts, free shipping, and a sixty day money back guarantee.
All of that available at meaningful beauty dot com. In
(34:25):
May twenty seventeen, with the investigation in full swing, officials
searched the farm of a piked In resident named Bernard Brown.
Mike Allen filled us in on why police may have
been interested in the property agents searched his farm. I
guess he's a friend of the Wagoners, knew them for
a long time. I guess they fixed cars together, A
lot of cars on the lot. I guess Jake had
(34:47):
stored some cars and some other things on the property.
And I'll tell you what cars and vehicles and equipment
are all over these farms that have been searched. So
I mean maybe something could have been hidden somewhere, as
somebody must have given law enforcement a tip that there
could possibly be something there, or they wouldn't have searched it.
(35:12):
Bernard Brown was not charged with anything. Authorities searched two
large trailers and took one smaller utility trailer owned by
the Wagners from his property. According to Brown, Jake Wagner
sometimes worked for him fixing cars. Brown said that the
Wagners had dropped items off at the property a week
prior to the search. It was clear that investigators were
(35:32):
becoming more interested in the Wagners. By the spring of
twenty seventeen, the family had been interviewed several times by authorities.
It should be noted that Jake and Angelo were interviewed
five times, Billy three times, and George once. Deray spoke
to Jeff about a conversation she had with Angela Wagner
as police narrowed in on her family. One day, she goes,
(35:53):
I can't believe it. They just won't leave us alone.
They just will not leave us alone, because it's terrible.
She was We're starting to get really worried that we're
going to be arrested. So they felt that coming yeah,
because they wouldn't leave everybody alone. Rumors of the Wagner's
potential involvement in the road and massacre quickly spread, and
(36:15):
soon they were being targeted not only by police, but
by Pike County residents as well. Everybody had started basically
attacking them the community, accusing them of murdering those people,
like if they were in town and people identified their vehicle,
they would throw pot bottles at them. Angela had actually
(36:39):
went into a store one day and some woman had
actually flewed up behind Angela as she was coming back
out of the store and through a glass key bottle
a her and it busted her in the back. In
May twenty seventeen, as the community continued to turn against them,
Angela Wagner took to social media to publicly to clare
(37:00):
her family's innocence. Here's Jeff reading from her post. Okay,
I have decided to tell you all a couple of
things about me and my family. What has happened to
us in the past few weeks has been devastating and
it will follow us for the rest of our lives.
Hannah was a daughter to me. I loved her dearly.
Her laws still hurts to this day, especially when I
see her every day and my granddaughter. We did not
(37:21):
do anything to hurt Hannah's family. We want justice just
like everyone else. It is real disturbing if you really
want to know what you guys are doing. Your accusations
now will hurt Sophia later in life when she really
understands what happened. Let's try to find the real monsters
who've done this. So let's really unpack this for a moment,
because if Angela Wagner is in fact a martyr and
(37:44):
had been targeted by the town, I mean having a
bottle thrown at you, if you did not commit these
crimes would be hideous, especially the town that you love
so much. Angela and her husband lived there for generations.
That had to be really difficult. However, if they did it,
they just went about their lives, speaking to the press openly.
You know, when I look at her photo, I know
(38:05):
I've said this before, she looks like a mom, but
then she's also grimacing in her mug shot, and even
during her pre trial hearings, there's something sort of smug
about the way she presents herself. It also makes me
wonder could she possibly be at the center of this.
(38:26):
Facing violent backlash from locals and increasing attention from authorities,
the Wagners did something that left everyone and piked and stunned.
Here's Steph Winkler again. Their lawyer had said that they
would be primary suspects, and so it was around that
time May twenty seventeen that the whole family emptied out
a few cargo facilities that they had, some sheds and whatnot,
(38:50):
loaded all up and then up and moved to Alaska.
When they left for Alaska, I was like, oh wow,
they're running. And then I thought they all get away
with it. I'm the one that told them go to Alaska.
The suitable Ohio can not afford to extradite you from
Alaska back home. But the Wagner's relocation didn't hinder the investigation.
(39:14):
Investigators rated three properties in Adams and Pike Counties the
middle of May. We had previously reported those properties are
connected to the Wagner family. Now investigators say they believe
the family recently moved to Alaska. Investigators want any information
the public has about the family they moved to Alaska.
But then the very following month, law enforcement actually finally
searches the properties where the Wagners lived. That started to
(39:38):
tighten the noose in terms of the Wagners. More on
that next time. Reach out to us on our social
media outlets with questions where on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
at piked in Massacre. We look forward to answering your
questions and upcoming bonus episodes. Piked Massacre as executive produced
(40:01):
by Stephanie Leidecker and me Courtney Armstrong. Editing and sound
designed by executive producer Jared Aston. Additional producing by Jeff
Shane and Andrew Becker. The piked in Massacre is a
production of iHeartRadio and Katie Studios. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows. Interesting and relatable topics, knowledgeable guests,
(40:30):
highly entertaining and informative. Words that describe CNN's podcast Chasing
Life with Doctor Sanjay Gupta. As I talked to doctor Rich,
what really stood out to me was his approach to
treating his patients. The therapeutic goal of treatment for problematic
interactive media use cannot be abstinates. This is an essential
tool and essential skill of our time. Listen to Chasing
(40:53):
Life with Sanjay Gupta on the iHeartRadio app. Have you
cut the chord and are feeling bored with your dreaming services?
Curiosity Stream can help with thousands of documentary films and
TV shows. Let curiosity Stream put the science back in
your screen time, astound you with history, come to life
and wildlife that will reach out and grab you. We've
(41:16):
got the fix for your nonfiction fascination with monthly, annual,
unbundled plans. Find one for you at curiosity stream dot com.
How Deep does a Mother's Love Run? Now streaming only
on Hulu. Experience a race against time by four mothers
who went undercover. My ex partner abducted our six year
(41:37):
old son and took him out of the country. This
was a mother's worth nightmare, and we'll stop at nothing.
I knew something bad at for the children they love.
I was so scared, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
Mother Undercover. I wanted him to know you mess with
the wrong mother. Now streaming only on Hulu Search Mother Undercover.
(41:57):
When we protect the ocean, we protect the creatures we
love and ourselves, from sea otters to penguins to the
always grumpy looking giant sea bass. These animals need a
healthy ocean to thrive, and so do we. It takes
a community dedicated to nurturing our favorite places to ensure
these animals big too small, as well as other crucial
sea lifelike help anemones and jellies can flourish, and a
(42:18):
healthy ocean helps us all. Join our mission to inspire
conservation of the ocean by visiting us at Monterey Bay
Aquarium dot org, slash share your voice
How Deep does a Mother's Love Run? Now streaming only
on Hulu. Experience a Race against Time by four mothers
who went undercover. My ex partner abducted our six year
old son and took him out of the country. This
was a mother's worst nightmare, and we'll stop at nothing.
I knew something bad act for the children day Love.
I was so scared, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
(00:21):
Mother Undercover. I wanted him to know you mess with
the wrong mother. Now streaming only on Hulu. Search Mother
Undercover only on CNN. See It Loud The History of
Black Television of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of
black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black culture
(00:44):
has on all culture. See It Loud explores the best
history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July ninth at nine pm.
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa. But he'll never forget how
(01:06):
you invested in his future with the unstap Wow. Thanks Grandpa.
The unstap makes it easy for grandparents and family friends
to give funds to a child's investment account for a
limited time. Download the unst stapp and use the code
I Heart fifty at sign up to receive a fifty
dollar bonus when you find your account. That's code I
heart fifty when you sign up at un est dot
(01:26):
COO for fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at
unest dot coo. How long was Neil Armstrong actually on
the Moon? When did Europe start speaking English? Did Marco
Polo really go to China? Curiosity Stream is the streaming
service for all things history, plus science, wildlife and more.
What's the real story behind the Mona Lisa, We've got that.
What caused the collapse of Rome? We know? Where? Did
(01:48):
we find Mankind's earliest ancestor? Come find out? From Egypt
to Weinstein. Curiosity Stream is the place for history with monthly, annual,
and bundled plans. Find one for you at curiosity stream
dot com. Welcome to the Piked and Massacre, a production
of iHeartRadio and Katie Studios. It's been one year since
(02:09):
eight members of the Roden family were found murdered in
Pike County. Now, surviving members of the family have released
of lead for information. A year after eight members of
the Rodent family were ruthlessly gunned down in their homes,
Ohio authorities are on a relentless search for the killers.
Over eight hundred tips have been called into police of
the people of Pike County that day. We're not leaving
(02:32):
until we've solved it. Many different facets of law enforcement
collaborated to crack the case. The people that carried it out,
we're trying to do everything they could to make sure
that they didn't get caught. Law enforcement officials began tracking
down a series of leads that point them to another
group of potential suspects, the Wagners. The wagon shops and
(02:53):
local walmarts for ammunition, magazine, cliff and materials to build
grass catchers. According to the case indictment, the Wagners began
conducting what seems to be almost like reconnaissance on the Rodents.
What do you mean a camera was there? Was it
connected to something? I still do this day wonder why
she mentioned that and why that conversation wasn't allowed to
go any further. The revelations leave those closest to the family,
(03:15):
questioning their innocence. I know he was upset. Was he
upset because she had been murdered? Or was upset because
he's done it? This is the Pikedon Massacre, Episode six.
The investigation. In this episode, we're going to dive into
(03:38):
law enforcements, investigation, into the road and murders, how the
Wagner's allegedly pulled off this gruesome massacre and why. I'm
Courtney Armstrong and I work at Katie Studios with Stephanie
Ladecker and Jeff Shane. We produced a documentary about the
case for NBC Universal's Oxygen Network in twenty nineteen and
have been following the evolution of the investigation since then.
(04:00):
To understand the crime and the possible motivation of the
family that may have committed it, we want to look
at the months leading up to the murders and authorities
movements after. By any objective standard, it was a long,
arduous investigation spanning two full years. During that time, many
different facets of law enforcement, the FBI, the DA, the
Pike County Sheriff's Office, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal
(04:21):
Investigation all collaborated to crack the case. Police received over
eleven hundred tips, They conducted over five hundred interviews, tested
about seven hundred pieces of evidence, served close to two
hundred church warrants, subpoenas and other things. So this was
something that was huge. That's Mike Gallen, a defense attorney,
(04:42):
former Ohio County prosecutor, and legal analyst for Cincinnati news
station Fox nineteen. The Attorney General Dwine at the time
said it was a pretty sophisticated operation and the people
that carried it out, we're trying to do everything that
they could to make sure that they didn't get caught.
Attorney General Dwine and Sheriff Reader, they both said that
(05:03):
the investigation was going to be a long one and
a lengthy process, and Boyd sure has played out that way.
But how exactly did investigators circle in on the Wagners
as suspects and eventually compile enough evidence to make arrests.
In previous episodes, we discussed some of the conflicts between
the Wagners and the Rodens. In twenty sixteen, there was
a custody battle between Jake Wagner and Hannah Roden and
(05:26):
a physical altercation between Billy Wagner and Chris Roden. Senior.
It seemed like the relationship between the two families was
reaching a fever pitch and the months leading up to
the murders. But these two families didn't always have such
ill will towards one another. Here's journalist Jeff Winkler. I
think early on people wanted to paint the sort of
(05:47):
few between the Rodens and Wagners and something like the
Hatfields of McCoys, just because it was sort of heels
of Appalachia blackwoods and kind of thing. But I it
really wasn't lighted right like people like to say the
Hatfields and McCoy's. But I think they were probably closer
and friendlier than that version of it, right, Yeah, they
(06:07):
I mean the fact that they were family most just
sipilating their time between the two houses. The fact that,
you know, the Wagner's had been in the area for
a long time as well, just as the Rodents had.
It's just you had two families who were intertwined by
both blood and work. We got some more intimate observations
from Deray. She's Billy Wagner's cousin and Frederica Wagner's niece.
(06:30):
Deray spoke to Jeff about how she saw the relationship
between her family and the Rodents. Do you know anything
about Billy and Chris Roden Senior. My aunt said that
they were very good friends, and of course he was
the grandfather of Sophia, and so was Billy. Billy is
Sophia's grandfather. I mean, it's like they're in lass. They're related.
(06:55):
I mean they're two grandfathers and the same little girl.
She's adorable. Did Angela and Dana got along in the
same way? Do you know? It looked to me like
they were clearly getting along. And she never said anything
bad about the Rodents. She never spoke one negative thing
about it, just about the children about you know, they
went fishing and they were over at Frederiquez and you know,
(07:18):
small talk, right, like normal talk you'd have with another
mom about raising kids, right exactly, and it's just like
that's all it is. It's just family talk. We of
course know that Hannah and Jake Wagner had an intense relationship,
but through the ups and downs, most would say they
were in love and their relationship brought the two families together.
(07:40):
Here's producers Stephanie. When we started doing our research, I
personally became a bit obsessed with better understanding the intersection
between these two families and really struggle with the motivation
what could possibly cause one family, the Wagoners, to allegedly
murder eight people that they knew so well they knew
them Intimately, we came across a photograph taken in twenty
(08:02):
twelve at George Wagner, the eldest son's wedding, and the
Rodens and the Wagners are both in this photo seemingly
so happy. The only person not there is Dana Rodin,
and she said to maybe be taking the photo because
she later posted it on her MySpace page. But it's
mind blowing. The people in the photo do not look
(08:23):
like killers posing with there would be victims, but sure enough,
in four years, the majority of the people in this
picture would be dead and the others would be standing
trial for their deaths. Throughout this series, we've been talking
to a relative of the Wagners who's chosen to remain anonymous.
(08:43):
She spoke to Jeff about her family's reaction in the
wake of the Roden murders. What was the feeling like
in the family after that happened. Angela was upset because
it was the mother of her granddaughter. She was just
really sad, you know, that that had happened, I thought,
And I was telling him like, I'm so sorry, you know,
like if there's anything I can do, please tell me.
(09:04):
And Angela she did ask me m at one point,
probably about a month after the murders had happened, if
I could come down and pick up Lafia and Jake
and Kake Satia to a friend's house and stuff. So
I did, and in that time, we you know, me
and Jacob said. He and in the car and he
was an absolute rick rank And of course I did
(09:27):
not know. I didn't know how to react. I didn't
know what to ask him. I didn't know what to say.
I was kind of just letting him just have his moment.
And he was absolutely devastated. I mean, he couldn't talk,
he couldn't breathe he was having like a football page
attack in my car. And I'm like, oh my gosh,
you know, like I don't know what to say. So
(09:48):
of course, when I find out that they were the
ones to done this, um, I keep thinking back to
that time and you know, in the car and I'm like,
oh my gosh, like I know, he was upset. But
was he upset for you know, all right reasons? I
guess was he upset because she had been murdered? Or
was uet because you know, he's done it and he knew.
(10:09):
I don't know. It was just an awful, eerie feeling.
It really truly was Pike County massacre. It's the title
of what has happened out here, the tragedy that we've
been covering. The victims ranged in age from sixteen to
forty four. Each were shot anywhere from once to nine times.
It's just, you know, a grizzling scene in a bristling situation.
(10:33):
Let's rewind to summer twenty fourteen. Hannah and Jake's daughter,
Sophia is eight months old. Here's producer Stephanie. This is
why this case is so complicated, because just when I
think the Wagners could be innocent, I read something like this.
Around this time. According to the case indictment, the Wagners
began conducting which seems to almost be like reconnaissance on
(10:54):
the Rodent family. For the course of the next two years.
They allegedly began hacking into the rodents personal computers, their phones,
even their social media accounts. They even reportedly use surveillance
cameras to spy on the Rodents. But why would they
do that, Especially, according to most accounts, Jake and Hannah
were very much still dating and very much in love
at this time, So why would they be spying. Was
(11:17):
Angela Wagner the mom obsessed with her youngest son, Jake
Wagner's relationship with Hannah Rodin. Were the dads Chris Rodin
or Billy Wagner Senior embroiled in something big? Were the
Wagner's simply trying to get familiar with the family patterns
and better understand the Rodin property? Why would they possibly
be spying. Here's investigative reporter Jodie Barr. He's talking about
(11:42):
a conversation he had with Kendra Roden, the daughter of
one of the victims, Kenneth Roden. Rod brought up with
me in our discussions, she mentioned a few times that
they were cameras set up around Chris Senior's home. Wow,
so Kendra Rodin actually saw cameras on the property that
now it seems as if allegedly the Wagners had put there. Yeah,
(12:03):
she told me that at Christian Years Home that there
was a camera home that property, and she said it
was in sort of a not in the wooded area,
but sort of the field, like it hadn't been mowed,
but it was right near the garage of Christian Years Home.
And of course naturally you start questioning her about the
(12:24):
cameras and you know, what do you mean a camera
was there? What was it connected to something? Did you
did you look? Did you try to investigate? It was
a very strange encounter, you know, when she mentioned that
and then the conversation wouldn't no further. Well, she was
probably scared, right, possibly, I mean, but she's talking to
a reporter. That was always something that I've wondered about
(12:46):
because she never got an answer to and it was
so strange and I still to this day wonder why
she mentioned that and why that conversation wasn't allowed to
go any further. Yeah, what I find so like the
most screwed up thing about it is at that time,
summer in twenty fourteen, is when Jake Wagner and Hannah
rode in were like hot and heavy and planning a wedding.
And to know that he was then also sort of
(13:07):
maybe planning her murder at the same time, or starting
to at least spy on her in some way. It's
like just very dark. I mean, there's a lot of
interest obviously still in this case. And you know, with
every criminal prosecution, you know, the state they have their
version of facts and the defense will have its virgent
of facts. But if this turns out to be true, man,
what a story. I mean, what a terribly tragic ending
(13:30):
to these lives, to everything that was going on. If
we are to believe that the prosecution as alleged, you know,
this paints a very dark picture. We're going to take
a quick break here, we'll be back in a moment.
(13:52):
Like many of us, you might think identity theft will
never happen to you, but consider this. There's a new
identity theft victim every three secs in the US. That's
over fifteen million people by the end of this year,
equal to the populations of New York, Los Angeles, and
Chicago combined. Even worse, identity theft victims often don't even
know they're victims. That's why LifeLock identity theft protection helps
(14:15):
you identify threats, even the ones that don't show up
on a credit report, like data breaches, fraudulent bank transactions,
loan and credit card applications, and crimes committed in your name.
If your identity is stolen, your own dedicated LifeLock US
based restoration specialist will work to fix it. No one
can prevent all identity theft, but LifeLock protects you in
(14:37):
ways that you simply can't on your own. Save up
to twenty five percent your first year at LifeLock dot
com slash iHeart. That's LifeLock dot com slash iHeart to
save up to twenty five percent. Identity theft protection starts
here only on CNN. See It Loud The History of
Black Television, a five part docuseries he celebrating the achievements
(15:01):
of black actors and creators, examining the historical impacts black
culture has on all culture. See It Loud explores the
best history of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July nine at nine pm.
(15:23):
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa, But he'll never forget how
you invested in his future. What the unst app Wow,
Thanks Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, give them
a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and
(15:44):
family friends to contribute to your child's future. What the
un stapp. Unst is an investment account for kids that
makes it easy to gift funds that can be used
for college tuition, their first home, and more. Just by
sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party
invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download
(16:04):
the unst at and use the code iHeart fifty at
sign up to receive a fifty dollar bonus when you
fund your account. That's code iHeart fifty when you sign
up at une st dot coo for a fifty dollar bonus.
See terms and conditions at unest dot coo. Curiosity Stream
is the streaming service built by and for people who
(16:26):
want to know more more about our world and beyond.
Curiosity Stream has the best collection of documentary films and
TV shows about everything from the history of human migration
to the future of space travel. With thousands of titles,
curiosity has something for everyone science, wildlife, travel, human stories, culture,
(16:49):
and pretty much anything you're curious about. Watch Curiosity Stream
on your TV or any digital device all around the world.
Just go to curiosity stream dot com to sign up
download the app. Now you'll have access to brand new
titles dropping every week, filled with new discoveries and new
stories that will open your eyes to the world around us.
And with monthly, annual, and bundled pricing plans, it's easy
(17:12):
to find one that works for you and your budget.
Go to curiosity stream dot com to satisfy your curiosity
and sign up today. It seems that the Wagoners became
obsessed with getting soul custody of Sophia after Jake and
(17:33):
Hannah broke up, But how exactly did they think they
would gain control? As laid out in the indictment, the
Wagoners began methodically plotting a scheme that would take several
months to actually carry out. Here again is Jodi Barr.
So when you read these indictments, you know they were
talking about the Wagoners movements even months before these murders happened,
and that the investigators believe that they were planning this
(17:56):
for quite some time before that. The indictment says that
the Technos League that planning began January one of twenty sixteen,
the murders happened April of twenty sixteen, so you've got
four months of planning that's alleged to have happened here,
four months to plan this out. I mean, if that's
every day for four months, that's the full time job.
(18:19):
So what exactly went into the planning? In previous episodes,
we talked about how in April twenty sixteen, the Wagner's
presented Hannah Roden with custody documents. But what Hannah didn't
know then and what police later uncovered, is that the
supposedly legal documents were fake and that Angela Wagner's mother,
Rita Joe Nucam, was allegedly at the center of the deception.
(18:41):
I spoke to my Gallan about it. So Rita Joe
numb Angela's mom, she faces three counts of forgery, a
kind of perjury, and she's a notary. Can you speak
to like what power does a notary have or how
does that come into play? In Ohio? Notaries don't have
a lot of power. They are allowed, obviously to odorized signatures.
(19:02):
You know, they have to make sure that the oath
is administered properly. When they are notarizing something they're kind
of hard to come by here in Ohio. But I'm
certain that because of this, she'll probably lose that notary's license,
if she hasn't already. Moving forward a bit in time,
prosecutors ultimately claimed that Rita lied about the authenticity of
(19:25):
these documents to a grand jury, but in an unexpected twist,
Nwcombe agreed to a plea deal with the prosecution. She
pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business
in exchange felony charges of forgery and perjury were dismissed.
Here's Newcomb's speaking in court. I just feel that it's
not a good thankful and it's difficult to hear her
(19:50):
because of the recording, but she says, I just feel
that it's not a good Christian thing to lie, and
I couldn't live with it no more. Jodi Barr thinks
there could be ulterior motives Newcomb's deal. The prosecutor said
in court, though, that a hand writing expert concluded that
Rita Newcombe did not sign the documents herself. Newcombe admitted
to falsely telling a grand jury and investigators that she
(20:13):
did so only because her daughter, Angela Wagner, who was
among those charged with the killings, told her to do so.
I mean there were some heavy charges dismissed, you know,
where investigators trying to squeeze the grandmothers to get some
information out of them. Mike Allen seems to think so.
Now there's a lot of speculation, and in the normal case,
(20:36):
the first thing you'd think of is Okay, you know,
they gave her a reduced charge in return for cooperation,
and I would not be surprised if that's not the case.
But again, you know, we won't know until we get
closer to trial. Can you be compelled to testify for
the prosecution? Sure, I mean they received a subpoena unless
(21:01):
there's some kind of legal reason why you know they couldn't. Yeah,
I mean the prosecutor could issue the subpoena. If there's testimony,
the prosecutor would probably ask the court designate that person
as a hostile witness and then they can use leading questions.
According to court records, the documents appointed a guardian Frigid
(21:23):
and Hannah's daughter in the event of their deaths. When
police later searched the Wagner home, this document was found
in a box belonging to Angelo Wagner labeled important stuff.
I asked Mike Allen about the legal ramifications of these
forged documents. How does it appear that these documents were
forged on April third? It was nineteen days before the murders.
(21:44):
I'll tell you what, I've been doing this for a
long time and I've never seen anything like this. It's
strong evidence for the prosecutor. The defense attorney has to
find a way to explain that, a way which is
probably next to impossible. But yeah, that's strong evidence from
a prosecutor's perspective. As we've discussed before, it was around
(22:06):
this time that Chris Roden Senior and Billy Wagner got
into a fight as well. Here's Mike Allen recapping that confrontation.
Back in mid April two thousand and sixteen, Supposedly there
was a fight between Chris Senior and Billy Wagner. Nobody
seems to know what the fight was about or what
caused it. Things were obviously becoming strained between the two families,
(22:29):
but the beginning of April also brought a lot of
joy for the Roden family. That month, Hannah celebrated her
nineteenth birthday. Here's Roden family friend Stephane. It was a
happy occasion, you know, it was family get together and
lots of fun, you know, because they were fun. They
were always having you know, get together's, birthday parties, anything
(22:49):
like that. They were a great family unit. But as
the Roden family was celebrating, the Wagners allegedly were busy
planning their murders. The Wagner has already had a cachet
of firearms, but around this time they began making their
own silencers. If the Wagners did do it, it seems
likely that these would have been used on the night
(23:10):
of the murders. The family also bought ammunition, a magazine clip,
a bug detector, and materials to build brass catchers. Jodie
Barr filled us in on what some of this equipment
is used for. The brass catcher is a bag that
hooks on the side of a firearm. It will catch
spent cartridges, so every time you pull this trigger, cartridges
(23:34):
is ejected. And if you were really interested in not
leaving anything behind as far as ballistic evidence, this sounds
like a great story. This bag will collect the shell casing,
so there's no evidence left. Behind the bug detector, so
purely that helps someone find listening devices and sometimes create
white noise to muscle sounds or discussion. The indictment also
(23:58):
includes a reference to a specific pair of shoes that
the family purchased from Walmart. But why would they need
a particular pair of shoes to pull off from murder?
Here's Stephanie. One such theory is that the Wagoners were
trying to frame Danta Roden's brother, James Manley. He's significant
because if you recall, Dana Roden's sister, Bobby Joe, made
(24:19):
the first discovery of bodies and called nine one one.
She also called her brother, who rushed to Dana Roden's
house and also found their bodies. His prints were allegedly
at the crime scene. However, just one day before the murders,
the Wagoners drove two and a half hours to a
specific Walmart to buy a particular pair of boots. They're
(24:39):
seen on surveillance buying these boots and then the same
kind of boots known to be worn by James Manley.
Why would they do that? Here's reporter Jodie Barr from
the dyingment. I mean, there's a lot of assertion by
the prosecution that they have evidence that, you know, these
boots were purchased to James Manley, a family member for
(25:02):
the murder, and that James lived the closest to Dana,
and that James ended up being one of the first
to discover Dana and you know in Hannah's bodies that morning, right.
So the idea is that they went and bought these
specific boots knowing that James Manley wore them, and then
they would in theory wear them the night of the murder.
So it looks to police like he was the one
(25:23):
walking around, and it sounds like for a period of
time investigators might have believed that to be the case,
because James Manley was one of the first people brought
in and interrogated given a polygraph. I mean, if you're
to believe what's written in that indictment, it sounds like
they may have been pretty close to pulling this all on.
(25:45):
It was so detail oriented. Yeah, and you and you
wondered this too. It's like it seemed like a lot
of details planning to preplan that. I don't really know
what to think of it. Again, I don't know anybody
who's capable of doing that and we know it happened
pulled off by somebody, But I mean, if they really
bought boots to try to frame James manly Man again,
(26:08):
this is a heck of a story. Who drinks this up?
Who thinks this up? In April twenty sixteen, the same
week as Hannah's birthday, her mother Dana, threw a baby
shower to celebrate the upcoming birth of her new baby girl, Kylie.
It would be the last time the Rodent family all
gathered in one place. Becky Ryder was a close friend
of Dana Roden's. She told Jeff about the excitement surrounding
(26:31):
the baby's arrival. Dana felt overwhelmed with joy, happiness. I
guess she's getting another grand baby that she can love
and spoil. She always loves her grandkids, if yeah, deeply? Yeah,
And like Hannah must have been happy too, because she was.
She had a new boyfriend at that point who was
not Jake Wagner, and she was about to have a
new baby and kind of start a new chapter of
her life. Right, Oh yeah, absolutely. In photos from this event,
(26:54):
Hannah smiles with her daughter Sophia. We also see other
family members in the photo, including Frankie and his fiance
Hannah Gilly. In just a few days, eight members of
the Rodent family would be dead. But Deray's recollection of
the events leading up to the birth of Kylie is different.
She says at that point that things were still going
(27:15):
well between Jake and Hannah. I believe they may have disagreements,
and I think there was disappointments, but I don't think
there was any any hate. We've discussed in previous episodes
how the people have pikedon were immediately affected by the
murders and the shroud of fear that hovered over the
small town. I just don't understand why happened here. He
(27:37):
has a really wondering thing, like, is so like mafia
or anything like that, because it's just crazy. If I
lived down there, I wouldn't stay there. I would be
so afraid. But in the wake of the murders, many
news outlets were portraying Jake Wagner as almost a sympathetic figure.
This is how the Cincinnati Inquirer describes him in a
July twenty sixteen article, A full time single dad with
(27:58):
mounting legal bills, with a new job that pays half
of what he was making to ensure he is close
to Sophia, but close still means the twenty three year
old makes a daily commute to Cincinnati, a two and
a half hour daily drive. Anybody was connected to this family,
you know, there was a lot of emotion from the
public involved your because of these children. So it's no
(28:20):
surprise that Jake, you know, a lot of people felt
for Jake. I mean, he's left there with that very
young daughter and he's deciding to get her back. But
it's what the family did in the wake of the
murders that raised some suspicion. We know that just six
days after the Rodents were killed, Jake Wagner filed for
custody of two and a half year old Sophia, his
(28:40):
daughter with Hannah Rodin. In a previous episode, we talked
to Ohio criminal defense attorney Mike Allen about how this
looks from a legal perspective. That's extremely strong evidence for
the prosecution. I mean, six days, less than a week
after the killings to go ahead and file. It can
take months, you know, maybe a year, a little bit more,
(29:02):
a little bit less. It's not something that goes quickly
at all. And I think that that is going to
be some evidence that's problematic for the defense doing it
that quickly after the murders. It was around the same
time that Angela Wigner suggested her son create a go
fund Me campaign to help cover the custody expenses to
(29:23):
the tune of twenty thousand dollars. Jake wrote a personal
message on the page, saying these were not expenses I
was supposed to have. I was just supposed to be
able to spend time with her and give her a
happy childhood. Sophia and I are just asking enough to
settle the fees that we acquired due to the horrific
tragedy to her mommy. He finished, I hate seeing my
(29:44):
daughter cry. We want to get our lives back. But
these legal actions seemed unusual to many in the community.
He was an investigative reporter. Jodi Barr. I do remember
seeing that in the Rodent massacre Facebook group, you know,
people talking about that, you know, they were there was
a lot of angry comments about it that you know,
(30:05):
a lot of people in those groups have already convicted
the Waggers. They already believed they did it and they're guilty,
and you know, so to see that and how vocal
the wagoners were on social media, it seemed to rubble
people in that group the wrong way, that that was
the wrong message um that they believe the Wagoners should
have been sending at that point in time. But you
(30:27):
know a lot of people saw it as the brazen um,
the people wrapped up in this to make a move
like that, to ask for help. Let's stop here for
another quick break. We'll be back in a moment Only
(30:47):
on CNN. See It Loud The History of Black Television
of five part docuseries celebrating the achievements of black actors
and creators, examining the historical impacts black claw culture has
on all culture. See It Loud explores the best history
of black television through iconic performances and sitcoms, comedy, drama, unscripted, variety,
(31:10):
and sci fi. Premiering Sunday, July nine at nine pm.
He'll forget about the video game you gave him on
his birthday. Wow, Thanks Grandpa. But he'll never forget how
you invested in his future with the unst app Wow.
Thanks Grandpa. Don't just give them any gift, Give them
(31:34):
a gift that can grow with them. Invite grandparents and
family friends to contribute to your child's future with the
un stapp. Unst is an investment account for kids that
makes it easy to gift funds that can be used
for college tuition, their first home, and more, just by
sharing the link or include a UNSQR code on party
invitations for birthdays and holidays. For a limited time, download
(31:58):
the unst app and use a code I Heard fifty
at sign up to receive a fifty dollars bonus when
you fund your account. That's code I Heart fifty when
you sign up at uneest dotzo for a fifty dollars bonus.
See terms and conditions at uns dot coo. Curiosity Stream
is the streaming service for people who want to know
(32:20):
more more about our world and beyond. Curiosity Stream has
the best collection of documentary films and TV shows and
now check out Curiosity's new series The Real Wild West.
Rowan Stone Magazine says it's the history of the West.
They usually don't teach you that an mythology of the
West left out a lot of the people. American West
(32:40):
is far more different, far more diverse. Peo would say
they've never seen a black cowboy. Well, we've been there.
We've been doing it. I never really learned about the
Hispanic Mexican aspect of the story. This is the history book,
but did you know about these other facts? Watch The
Real Wild West now on Curiosity Stream. Just go to
curiosity stream dot com to sign up or download the
(33:01):
app now. With new titles dropping every week, you'll never
run out of things to watch, and with monthly, annual,
and bundled pricing plans, it's easy to find one that
works for you when your budget. Go to curiosity stream
dot com to satisfy your curiosity and sign up today. Now,
I'd like to introduce you to Meaningful Beauty, the famed
(33:21):
skincare brand created by iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford. It's her
secret to absolutely gorgeous skin. Meaningful Beauty makes powerful and
effective skincare simple, and it's loved by millions of women.
It's formulated for all ages and all skin tones and types,
and it's designed to work as a complete skincare system,
leaving your skin feeling soft, smooth, and nourished. I recommend
(33:42):
starting with Cindy's Full Regiment, which contains all five of
her best selling products, including the Amazing Youth activating melon serum.
This next generation serum has the power of MELANIAF stem
cell technology. It's MELANIAF stem cells encapsulated for freshness and
released onto the skin to support a visible reduction in
the appearance of With thousands of glowing five star reviews,
(34:02):
why not give it a try. Subscribe today and you
can get the amazing Meaningful Beauty system for just forty
nine nine five That includes our introductory five piece system,
free gifts, free shipping, and a sixty day money back guarantee.
All of that available at meaningful beauty dot com. In
(34:25):
May twenty seventeen, with the investigation in full swing, officials
searched the farm of a piked In resident named Bernard Brown.
Mike Allen filled us in on why police may have
been interested in the property agents searched his farm. I
guess he's a friend of the Wagoners, knew them for
a long time. I guess they fixed cars together, A
lot of cars on the lot. I guess Jake had
(34:47):
stored some cars and some other things on the property.
And I'll tell you what cars and vehicles and equipment
are all over these farms that have been searched. So
I mean maybe something could have been hidden somewhere, as
somebody must have given law enforcement a tip that there
could possibly be something there, or they wouldn't have searched it.
(35:12):
Bernard Brown was not charged with anything. Authorities searched two
large trailers and took one smaller utility trailer owned by
the Wagners from his property. According to Brown, Jake Wagner
sometimes worked for him fixing cars. Brown said that the
Wagners had dropped items off at the property a week
prior to the search. It was clear that investigators were
(35:32):
becoming more interested in the Wagners. By the spring of
twenty seventeen, the family had been interviewed several times by authorities.
It should be noted that Jake and Angelo were interviewed
five times, Billy three times, and George once. Deray spoke
to Jeff about a conversation she had with Angela Wagner
as police narrowed in on her family. One day, she goes,
(35:53):
I can't believe it. They just won't leave us alone.
They just will not leave us alone, because it's terrible.
She was We're starting to get really worried that we're
going to be arrested. So they felt that coming yeah,
because they wouldn't leave everybody alone. Rumors of the Wagner's
potential involvement in the road and massacre quickly spread, and
(36:15):
soon they were being targeted not only by police, but
by Pike County residents as well. Everybody had started basically
attacking them the community, accusing them of murdering those people,
like if they were in town and people identified their vehicle,
they would throw pot bottles at them. Angela had actually
(36:39):
went into a store one day and some woman had
actually flewed up behind Angela as she was coming back
out of the store and through a glass key bottle
a her and it busted her in the back. In
May twenty seventeen, as the community continued to turn against them,
Angela Wagner took to social media to publicly to clare
(37:00):
her family's innocence. Here's Jeff reading from her post. Okay,
I have decided to tell you all a couple of
things about me and my family. What has happened to
us in the past few weeks has been devastating and
it will follow us for the rest of our lives.
Hannah was a daughter to me. I loved her dearly.
Her laws still hurts to this day, especially when I
see her every day and my granddaughter. We did not
(37:21):
do anything to hurt Hannah's family. We want justice just
like everyone else. It is real disturbing if you really
want to know what you guys are doing. Your accusations
now will hurt Sophia later in life when she really
understands what happened. Let's try to find the real monsters
who've done this. So let's really unpack this for a moment,
because if Angela Wagner is in fact a martyr and
(37:44):
had been targeted by the town, I mean having a
bottle thrown at you, if you did not commit these
crimes would be hideous, especially the town that you love
so much. Angela and her husband lived there for generations.
That had to be really difficult. However, if they did it,
they just went about their lives, speaking to the press openly.
You know, when I look at her photo, I know
(38:05):
I've said this before, she looks like a mom, but
then she's also grimacing in her mug shot, and even
during her pre trial hearings, there's something sort of smug
about the way she presents herself. It also makes me
wonder could she possibly be at the center of this.
(38:26):
Facing violent backlash from locals and increasing attention from authorities,
the Wagners did something that left everyone and piked and stunned.
Here's Steph Winkler again. Their lawyer had said that they
would be primary suspects, and so it was around that
time May twenty seventeen that the whole family emptied out
a few cargo facilities that they had, some sheds and whatnot,
(38:50):
loaded all up and then up and moved to Alaska.
When they left for Alaska, I was like, oh wow,
they're running. And then I thought they all get away
with it. I'm the one that told them go to Alaska.
The suitable Ohio can not afford to extradite you from
Alaska back home. But the Wagner's relocation didn't hinder the investigation.
(39:14):
Investigators rated three properties in Adams and Pike Counties the
middle of May. We had previously reported those properties are
connected to the Wagner family. Now investigators say they believe
the family recently moved to Alaska. Investigators want any information
the public has about the family they moved to Alaska.
But then the very following month, law enforcement actually finally
searches the properties where the Wagners lived. That started to
(39:38):
tighten the noose in terms of the Wagners. More on
that next time. Reach out to us on our social
media outlets with questions where on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
at piked in Massacre. We look forward to answering your
questions and upcoming bonus episodes. Piked Massacre as executive produced
(40:01):
by Stephanie Leidecker and me Courtney Armstrong. Editing and sound
designed by executive producer Jared Aston. Additional producing by Jeff
Shane and Andrew Becker. The piked in Massacre is a
production of iHeartRadio and Katie Studios. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows. Interesting and relatable topics, knowledgeable guests,
(40:30):
highly entertaining and informative. Words that describe CNN's podcast Chasing
Life with Doctor Sanjay Gupta. As I talked to doctor Rich,
what really stood out to me was his approach to
treating his patients. The therapeutic goal of treatment for problematic
interactive media use cannot be abstinates. This is an essential
tool and essential skill of our time. Listen to Chasing
(40:53):
Life with Sanjay Gupta on the iHeartRadio app. Have you
cut the chord and are feeling bored with your dreaming services?
Curiosity Stream can help with thousands of documentary films and
TV shows. Let curiosity Stream put the science back in
your screen time, astound you with history, come to life
and wildlife that will reach out and grab you. We've
(41:16):
got the fix for your nonfiction fascination with monthly, annual,
unbundled plans. Find one for you at curiosity stream dot com.
How Deep does a Mother's Love Run? Now streaming only
on Hulu. Experience a race against time by four mothers
who went undercover. My ex partner abducted our six year
(41:37):
old son and took him out of the country. This
was a mother's worth nightmare, and we'll stop at nothing.
I knew something bad at for the children they love.
I was so scared, and that's when all hell breaks loose.
Mother Undercover. I wanted him to know you mess with
the wrong mother. Now streaming only on Hulu Search Mother Undercover.
(41:57):
When we protect the ocean, we protect the creatures we
love and ourselves, from sea otters to penguins to the
always grumpy looking giant sea bass. These animals need a
healthy ocean to thrive, and so do we. It takes
a community dedicated to nurturing our favorite places to ensure
these animals big too small, as well as other crucial
sea lifelike help anemones and jellies can flourish, and a
(42:18):
healthy ocean helps us all. Join our mission to inspire
conservation of the ocean by visiting us at Monterey Bay
Aquarium dot org, slash share your voice
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.