WAVERLY, Ohio (Court TV) — A man awaiting trial on charges he killed eight members of an Ohio family is now asking to represent himself, saying he has no faith in his attorney “putting forth his full potential” in a letter to the judge.
George ‘Billy’ Wagner III appears in court. (Paul Weeden/WCPO)
George “Billy” Wagner III, 54, is charged with aggravated murder, conspiracy, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence in the deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family, who were killed at four different sites on April 22, 2016.
The trial has seen years of delays, as the cases against three co-defendants were resolved first: Billy Wagner’s son, George Wagner IV, was sentenced to eight life terms and 121 years in prison for the same crimes; Billy Wagner’s wife, Angela Wagner, and his other son, Jake Wagner, both pleaded guilty and testified at George Wagner IV’s trial.
Prosecutors said the murders stemmed from a custody dispute between Jake Wagner and his ex-girlfriend, Hanna Rhoden. Rhoden, her mother and younger brother were killed in their home; Rhoden’s father and his cousin were killed at another home, Rhoden’s uncle was killed in a camper and Rhoden’s older brother and his fiancee were killed in their home. The only survivors were two children — an infant in Rhoden’s arms and Rhoden’s older brother’s child — who were found alive at the scenes of the killings. Investigators said each victim was killed “execution-style.”
Billy Wagner sent a letter to the judge this month asking to dismiss his attorney:
Now comes the defendant George Wagner III (pro se) with a motion to dismiss counsel due to a conflict of interest as my current counsel does not believe in my innocen[ce], nor will he file any paperwork on my behalf or do anything I’ve ask[ed] of him to file. I have no faith in him putting forth his full potential in my case as he is proving his own guilt even before my case can be heard in light of my reasoning behind this motion and request so I can prepare for my trial! Fruits of a poisonous tree. This is also a request for an immediate hearing please.
This is the second letter the defendant has sent to the judge; a previous letter sent in August complained, “No one explains anything to me. I can’t hear. I’m legally deaf in my left ear. The only thing anybody tells me is a bunch of lies.”
The judge scheduled a hearing on Oct. 1 to discuss the issue.
Questions loom surrounding Billy Wagner’s upcoming trial, which is scheduled to start in January, in part because the judge has ordered the trial’s venue not to be disclosed, even to the attorneys or victims’ families. The judge denied requests to reconsider his ruling.
