WAVERLY, Ohio — The only defendant still awaiting trial in the 2016 Pike County killings will remain represented by his current court-appointed attorneys after a visiting judge denied his request for new counsel.
Visiting Judge Jonathan Hein rejected a handwritten motion filed by Wagner last month in which Wagner alleged that attorneys Mark C. Collins and Thomas E. Hayes had a conflict of interest. Because Wagner is unable to pay for private representation, Collins and Hayes were appointed to defend him, according to the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.
Ohio courts generally require a defendant seeking new appointed counsel to show that the attorney-client relationship has deteriorated to the point that effective representation is jeopardized. Hein concluded Wagner had not met that standard.
The judge found that Wagner’s allegations were not supported by enough specific facts to justify replacing his attorneys.
One of Wagner’s complaints involved what he described as incorrect advice about when his case could go to trial. Hein wrote that the death-penalty specifications attached to the charges meant the case was never realistically subject to a trial within the ordinary statutory speedy-trial period. The judge also found Wagner had not identified any specific way the delay had damaged his defense.
Wagner also raised concerns about communication with his legal team. Hein acknowledged that some difficulty was understandable because of the distance between Wagner’s place of confinement and his attorneys’ offices, but found no evidence that communication had broken down beyond repair.
The judge also emphasized the experience of both defense attorneys. Collins and Hayes each have more than three decades of criminal law experience, and Hein said finding replacement counsel with comparable backgrounds would be difficult.
Replacing the defense team at this stage would also likely force the trial to be postponed because new attorneys would need significant time to review the case and prepare, the court said.
Hein additionally addressed Wagner’s ability to represent himself. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Faretta v. California, the judge noted that if Wagner makes a clear and timely request to waive counsel and represent himself, the court would be required to determine whether that decision is knowing and voluntary before allowing him to proceed without an attorney.
Wagner faces multiple aggravated murder charges with death-penalty specifications stemming from the April 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County.
Four members of the Wagner family were charged in connection with the killings. Wagner is the only one who has not yet gone to trial.
He remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
