Prosecutor: George Wagner helped plot to kill Rhoden loved ones
Thirty-year-old George Wagner IV is the first person to stand trial in connection with the 2016 Pike County massacre.
Wagner was arrested four years ago, along with his brother Jake and their parents, Billy and Angela on a host of charges, including aggravated murder.
The explosive allegations -- coupled with confessions last year by Jake and Angela -- have made the case the talk of Ohio and beyond.
But George Wagner's attorney said during opening statements Monday his client is being unfairly lumped in with his three co-defendants.
"There's no physical evidence George was at any of those murder scenes. There's no DNA. There's no prints," said Wagner's attorney Richard Nash. "They have nothing on George."
Nash spent 30 minutes Monday outlining what Wagner's defense will look like.
His opening statement came after prosecutor Angela Canepa spent nearly four hours helping jurors connect multiple dots in a case that involves multiple victims and multiple crime scenes.
"There was blood 바카라 게임 웹사이트 lots and lots of blood," Canepa said.
Canepa emphasized the brutal nature of the crimes and highlighted Jake Wagner's confession, saying it will show his brother was a planner and participant.
"At some point in the middle of this trial or certainly by the end of this trial, it will dawn on you that these murders should have never happened. It was the result of a series of misguided decisions by the defendant and his family," Canepa said. "This is not guilt by association... This is guilt by participation."
Canepa said the motive for the crimes centered on Jake Wagner's desire to have control over a young daughter he and Hanna Mae Rhoden had together. Canepa said Hanna Rhoden refused to submit to Jake or his family, adding that "her crime was not returning the love of Jake Wagner."