Oxygen Media, which has become a “multi-platform crime destination brand” — who knew? — will host a two-hour special on the 2016 Rhoden family murders in rural Piketon, Ohio, (about two hours east of Cincinnati) this Sunday (March 31) at 7 p.m. Hosted by Beth Karas, The Piketon Family Murders will “take viewers inside the largest criminal investigation in Ohio’s history.”
You can watch the trailer below and check out the description here:
For more than two years, the residents of Piketon lived their lives in fear, hoping day in and day out that law enforcement would find the individuals responsible for the killings as rumors started swirling the town. Then, this past November, a series of arrests were finally made that further rocked the town. Shockingly, four members of a prominent family in Piketon, the Wagners, were charged with first degree murder. In this tight knit and private community, the residents became torn between a developing feud among two families no one saw coming. Through the eyes of local community members, family, friends, local law enforcement and journalists, “The Piketon Family Murders” pulls back the curtain from the frantic 911 call all the way up to the pre-trial hearings as bombshell revelations are brought to light.
For those interested in the murders, Cleveland Plain Dealer investigative reporter John Caniglia has been following the case closely. Last Sunday, the PD published his long feature based on an interview with the Wagner’s family matriarch, Fredericka, who professed her belief in her family’s innocence. Fredericka Wagner’s son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons are currently in jail awaiting trial for the execution-style murder of eight members of the Rhoden family in April 2016, which has received a massive amount of coverage from Cincinnati media.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Cleveland Scene.
This article appears in Mar 20-27, 2019.