Expert: Unsolved killing of 8 members of Ohio family may have been a ‘professional hit’
In 2016, eight Ohio family members were shot to death in one of the state's most notorious crimes. The coroner’s preliminary report is shedding new light into the brutal, unsolved mass murder.
"It has aspects of a professional hit, but I don't think it was a cartel hit or anything like that," said Dr. Jennifer Murray, who is an associate professor at Indiana State University.
Murray studies mass killings.
"They're not usually this cleanly done. Usually, you can see right away who did it," she said.
Seven adults and a teenage boy, all from the Rhoden family, were found in April 2016 in three trailers and a camper on the same rural property in Pike County, Ohio. They had all been shot to death.
The autopsies describe in detail how many times the victims -- Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20; Dana Lynn Rhoden, 37; Gary Rhoden, 38; Hanna May Rhoden, 19; Hannah Gilley, 20; Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16 – were shot.
Most of the victims were shot multiple times, according to the new report.
Christopher Rhoden Sr. was shot nine times. reports he was among the first killed and that he was awake when he was confronted by at least one person with a gun. One gunshot wound was a defensive wound to his right forearm.
The report for victim Christopher Rhoden Sr. also notes without explanation that his body was decomposed “more than all the others.”
Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, was shot five times in the head. Any one of the shots would likely have killed her.
"When you get that after they're dead, that's showing even more aggression," Murray said.
The killers spared three young children, who were unharmed.
Investigators have not named a suspect but said they were focused on the Wagner family, who knew the Rhodens and had a connection through a child of one of the victims.
Murray said whoever was responsible may have had professional help.
"It's two years later and they haven't indicted anybody. So, they did a pretty good job, and I don't think the average family typically knows how to do that. So there's a potential they may have hired someone," Murray said.
Authorities said the killers covered their tracks, making the largest homicide investigation in Ohio history even more complicated.
"Nobody's seen anything like this," Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk said Wednesday.
As of April 2018, investigators had received nearly 1,000 tips, conducted nearly 500 interviews and processed more than 100 pieces of evidence.
The office of Attorney General Mike DeWine has said Christopher Rhoden Sr. had "a large-scale marijuana growing operation," leading some to speculate the killings were drug-related.