GUILTY PLEA

Eight Members of Ohio Family Were Killed Over Custody Dispute, Prosecutors Finally Reveal

Hanna Rhoden was shot in 2016 after she told a friend she’d never sign custody papers to give her child over to Edward ‘Jake’ Wagner.

Edward “Jake” Wagner pleaded guilty to all charges against him this week, nearly five years after eight people—including the mother of his child—were found dead in four homes across Pike County, NBC4 reports. After the plea, prosecutors finally revealed a motive for the massacre. Wagner and his family had hacked a Facebook account and took screenshots of messages that Hanna Rhoden had sent a friend, saying she would never sign custody papers to give her child over to Wagner, the child’s father. With the help of his family, Wagner forged a signature on a document that designated him as the kid’s custodian if Rhoden were to die. The document was created to seem like it was signed a year before. Three other Wagners have been charged for their involvement in shooting Rhoden and seven of her relatives.