Angela Wagner made the claim during her testimony Tuesday in the slaying trial of her 31-year-old son, George Wagner IV, who could face the death penalty if convicted. He was expected back on the stand Wednesday. The killings stemmed from a child custody dispute involving another of Angela Wagner’s sons and one of the victims, authorities said. Angela Wagner said her youngest son, Jake, wanted to kill the mother of his child, but that her husband, George “Billy” Wagner III, objected because he believed the woman’s family would seek revenge. “They’ll find out and then they’re coming for Jake. He would be shot, if not all of us,” Angela Wagner said her husband told her. He also said the rest of the woman’s family “had to be murdered,” he testified. Angela Wagner pleaded guilty in September 2021 to 14 charges and agreed to testify against her oldest son and her husband. In exchange, prosecutors dropped eight counts of aggravated murder and agreed not to seek the death penalty. Jake Wagner pleaded guilty in April 2021 to shooting five of the victims, saying he had no choice but to kill the mother of his then-young daughter. George Wagner IV – who is accused of helping to plan the killings – is the first person to stand trial in the killings. His father has pleaded not guilty and likely won’t stand trial until next year. Mark Collins, an attorney representing George “Billy” Wagner III, declined to comment Wednesday citing the judge’s ruling in the case. The four members of the Wagner family were arrested more than two years after the murders. The dead were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr. his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr. and 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden, mother of Jake Wagner’s daughter. Clarence Rhoden’s fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley. Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden. and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.
