‘SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL’

Stone-Faced Pike County Massacre Planner Sentenced to Life Behind Bars

George Wagner IV, 31, was convicted of assisting in the execution-style murder of eight members of the Rhoden family in April 2016.

An Ohio man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday for his role in planning the grisly 2016 execution-style murders of eight members of another family. George Wagner IV reportedly stared straight ahead and exhibited no emotion as a Pike County judge read the details, according to NBC News, ordering him to serve eight consecutive life sentences with an additional 121 years. Wagner, 31, helped to kill the family, with the assistance of his parents, over an alleged custody dispute between his brother Edward “Jake” Wagner and one of the victims, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden. The Wagners systematically targeted and gunned down the girl’s parents and family members in four rural homes across the southern half of the state before attempting to cover up the crime. “There's a special place in hell for you and your entire family,” said Bobby Jo Manley, Rhoden’s aunt, while addressing the court. “I hope your life is long and miserable. I hope you think of my family and what you have done every day for the rest of your miserable existence.”