WAVERLY, Ohio — George “Billy” Wagner III, the last defendant in the 2016 Pike County massacre case, told a court Thursday that he has been offered plea deals “a dozen times” and rejected every one, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Wagner, who has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of aggravated homicide in the execution-style killings of eight members of the Rhoden family, made the disclosure during a half-hour hearing in Pike County Common Pleas Court, where he sought to replace his lead attorney.
“They’ve come at me a dozen times,” Wagner said of the offers, according to the Enquirer.
The newspaper reported that Wagner did not explain — and was not asked — why he refused the deals.
Visiting Judge Jonathan Hein told Wagner he is not obligated to accept a plea deal but must consider any offers, the Enquirer reported.
“You have to hear the offers. (But) you don’t have to negotiate,” Hein said.
The hearing was held ahead of Wagner’s scheduled Jan. 11 murder trial. It centered on his Sept. 18 handwritten motion to dismiss lead defense attorney Mark Collins.
Wagner has said Collins “does not believe in my innocents” and will not file motions Wagner wants, according to the report.
Wagner also asserted that his wife, Angela Wagner, sent a letter recanting her confession. Both she and their son previously admitted guilt and remain jailed awaiting formal sentencing, the Enquirer reported.
Wagner also claimed the state has no evidence against him in the Rhoden family killings.
“It’s less than zero,” he said.
After the hearing, Collins told reporters the request for new counsel is “just part of the criminal justice process” and said he is confident the trial will begin Jan. 11 as scheduled, the newspaper reported.
Hein said he would issue a written response to Wagner’s request for new counsel. He also acknowledged he has yet to name a new trial location, nearly two years after granting a change of venue in the case.
