A man charged in connection with the killings of eight people in Pike County will not face the death penalty if he's convicted.
On Wednesday, Pike County Judge Jonathan Hein dismissed death penalty specifications in the indictments against George "Billy" Wagner III.
A court entry said prosecutors and lawyers for Wagner had been drafting an agreement to drop the death penalty specifications.
But deadlines the judge and attorneys set were missed without finalizing the agreement.
The judge wrote that at a Nov. 20 pre-trial hearing, he heard the same assurances from lawyers that there would be an agreement.
The judge wrote that he couldn't wait any longer because the trial date was only six weeks away.
"At this late hour, the Court expects — and needs — clarity regarding the nature of the charges, procedures for the trial and potential outcome," Hein wrote.
Wagner faces eight aggravated murder counts, plus other charges in the 2016 deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family.
The shootings stemmed from a child custody dispute.
On Monday, Hein approved a motion to move Wagner's trial to another county because of pre-trial publicity.
Wagner's is the final trial in the case.
His wife, Angela, already has pleaded guilty to helping to plan the killings and will be sentenced on Dec. 17.
Their youngest son, Edward “Jake” Wagner, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and agreed to testify against his brother and their parents in a deal to help the family avoid potential death sentences. He will also be sentenced on Dec. 17.
The couple's other son, George Wagner IV, was found guilty in 2022 and was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences.
