WAVERLY, Ohio (WCMH) — The trial for the final defendant accused of killing eight members of a Pike County family could be delayed until next year.

Now presiding over the case, Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Alan Corbin, alluded to the possibility that the trial for George “Billy” Wagner III may not take place until 2024, according to WLWT.

Wagner is the patriarch of the family, three of whom either pleaded guilty or were convicted of multiple charges over the last seven years in connection with the 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family. In particular, he is facing 22 charges related to the killings, including eight counts of aggravated murder.

Corbin was appointed to the case after former Pike County Judge Randy Deering retired in February. Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk was to take his place, but couldn’t due to Junk’s prosecution of other Wagner family members.

Wagner’s son, George, was found guilty in November 2022 by a jury on the same charges, and in December 2022 sentenced to life in prison without parole eligibility. 

In 2021, Wagner’s wife Angela pleaded guilty to 14 charges, excluding murder charges, while Wagner’s other son Jake pleaded guilty to all charges. Both were spared the death penalty in exchange for testifying against George and Billy Wagner.

On the night of April 21 and the morning of April 22, 2016, Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Dana Rhoden, 37; Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20; Hanna Rhoden, 19; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Hannah Gilley, 20; Kenneth Rhoden, 44; and Gary Rhoden, 38, were all found shot and killed. Prosecutors have said the motive behind the massacre stemmed from a custody battle between Jake and Hanna Rhoden over their daughter.