Introducing: The Piketon Massacre

On the night of April 21, 2016 in rural Piketon, Ohio - eight members of the Rhoden family were viciously murdered execution style in their homes. Two years later in 2018, their neighbors, the Wagners, were arrested and charged with committing the largest massacre in Ohio’s history. Shocked by the arrests, this once close-knit and religious community remains divided and unable to cope. Was a respected and reputable Piketon family responsible for this unimaginable murder spree? Our team will examine the deep ties that connected both families. We’ll examine the evidence and possible motives for the crimes. For the first time we’ll speak with townspeople, psychological experts, respected investigators, friends and members of both families. Are the Wagners responsible for the murders, and if convicted, will they be executed? Or is it possible that there is still a murderer at large waiting to kill again?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Answer is dead. It was an unimaginable crime. It was
the second biggest mass murder in twenty sixteen, behind the
Pulse nightclub shooting. Eight people dead, all from the same family.

(00:24):
It would become the largest criminal investigation in Ohio's history.
Fike County Sheriff's requested state help immediately after they got word.
In the early morning of April twenty, twenty sixteen, eight
members of the Rodent family were brutally murdered, shot to
death execution style in their homes. Eight victims twenty four

(00:45):
gunshot wounds. Three children left alive at the scenes. This
is the Piked and Massacre. Listen to The Piked and
Massacre starting July twenty ninth on the Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.