Patriarch facing death penalty in Pike County massacre; Father allegedly shoots sex offender – TCN Sidebar

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True Crime News

True Crime, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of True Crime News The Sidebar Podcast: Joshua Ritter breaks down the biggest cases making headlines across the nation. He discusses the death penalty back on the table for the prosecution of George “Billy” Wagner in the Pike County slayings that nearly eliminated the entire Rhoden family, Aaron Spencer’s gag order lifted as the father faces charges for shooting an alleged pedophile that he claims kidnapped his daughter, and tech millionaire Gordon Goodar accused of pushing his wife off a cliff to avoid a costly divorce. Tweet your questions for future episodes to Joshua Ritter using the hashtag #TCNSidebar. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by SimpliSafe.
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0:45.3	Hello and welcome to the sidebar presented by true crime news, taking you inside the courtrooms of high profile and notorious cases from across the country. I'm your host, Joshua
0:50.2	Ritter. I'm a criminal defense lawyer based in Los Angeles and previously an LA County prosecutor for over a decade.
0:56.5	We're recording this on Wednesday, January 28, 26.
1:01.1	In this week's episode, a father facing murder charges for allegedly shooting the man who had kidnapped his own daughter.
1:09.3	Plus, a wealthy tech CEO accused of pushing his wife off a cliff to avoid costly divorce
1:15.6	proceedings.
1:16.3	But first, the Wagner family patriarch again facing the death penalty for the fatal shootings
1:22.8	that nearly eliminated an entire family.
1:26.1	I'm solo today, so let's just jump right in. First, we go to
1:30.0	Pike County, Ohio, where the last remaining defendant in the Pike County Massacre will again
1:35.1	face the death penalty in his upcoming trial after an appeals court ruling. George Billy Wagner
1:42.0	saw the ultimate punishment removed from his case after a judge opted to speed up proceedings.
1:48.9	However, prosecutors quickly appealed putting the trial on hold for a higher court's decision.
1:54.9	The stage is now set for Wagner, the family's patriarch, after the conviction of his elder son George Wagner and the guilty pleas his wife Angela and younger son Jake both Angela and Jake are set to testify against Wagner in the trial for the fatal shootings that nearly wiped out the entire Rodin family the killings which took place in 2016 left eight people dead and incited a
	...

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