News

A defense attorney claims Wagner IV had no reason to help in killing Rhoden family members

By:
Posted on:

< < Back to a-defense-attorney-claims-wagner-iv-had-no-reason-to-help-in-killing-rhoden-family-members

WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — A defense attorney for an Ohio man accused of helping his family kill eight members of another family says he had no reason to take part. George Wagner IV’s attorney said Tuesday during closing arguments in his trial that he wasn’t even there when the killings took place.

Wagner, his brother and parents were charged in the 2016 slayings of seven adults and a teenager from the Rhoden family.

Authorities say the Wagner family spent months planning the attack.

Prosecutors say the 31-year-old Wagner knew what would happen and participated in the plans.