Ohio Appeals Court hears arguments in convicted Pike Co. massacre defendant's case
George Wagner IV wants new trial after jurors found him guilty in 2022
George Wagner IV wants new trial after jurors found him guilty in 2022
George Wagner IV wants new trial after jurors found him guilty in 2022
Twenty-five minutes each 바카라 게임 웹사이트” that's how long an attorney for George Wagner IV and prosecutors had on Thursday to argue for and against a new trial for the 33-year-old convicted killer.
"George's trial was unfair from beginning to end," said defense attorney Louis Grube.
Questions about the fairness of Wagner's 2022 murder trial were raised repeatedly during oral arguments in Chillicothe before Ohio's Fourth District Court of Appeals.
A jury in neighboring Pike County found Wagner guilty in connection with the execution-style murders of eight members of the Rhoden family in 2016.
On Thursday, Grube told judges on the appeals court that his client's trial was full of missteps by the judge and prosecutors.
Grube argued the state's case was flawed from the start because Wagner's conviction and the fact that he didn't get the death penalty were tied to confessions from George's brother, Jake Wagner, and their mom, Angela Wagner, and their subsequent testimony.
"The state put itself in a position to be the decider, to be the decider of what is true, what is not true; whether or not Jake and Angela had truthfully testified," Grube said. "That is, of course, the role of the jury."
Prosecutor Steve Taylor said the plea deals reached by Jake and Angela Wagner were wholly appropriate.
"Truthful testimony provisions are very common, and they've been upheld. It's just par for the course to have a truthful testimony provision in a cooperating defendant's plea deal," Taylor said.
After Thursday's oral arguments, Grube claimed George Wagner's case was ripe for mistakes.
"It was one of the longest cases that I'm personally aware of," Grube said. "There was a mountain of evidence in this case. There wasn't a mountain of evidence implicating George. And that was the problem in this case."
The two appeals judges and a third, who watched Thursday's hearing via video, will spend time considering the arguments they heard in court before making a decision.
A fourth person charged in the Pike County massacre case 바카라 게임 웹사이트” George Wagner's dad, Billy Wagner 바카라 게임 웹사이트” has yet to stand trial. He's due back in Waverly next week for a pretrial hearing.