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DeWine: Killers of 8 in southern Ohio knew about family, area
By Chris Graves
WAVERLY
The killers who systematically shot to death eight members of a southern Ohio family in April were familiar with their homes and the area, Attorney General Mike DeWine said.
Many family and community members have speculated the killers had to have intimate knowledge of the rural areas in Pike and Scioto counties where the Rhoden family members lived, including details about their homes and their routines.
But DeWine’s statement was the first time officials have publicly acknowledged this as a likelihood. It comes two weeks after Pike County Sheriff Charlie Reader said investigators are looking for more than one killer.
In an exclusive interview with The Enquirer recently, DeWine also said federal agencies, including Homeland Security, are working with the army of state and county investigators in an effort to solve the complex case, which will enter its fifth month without resolution. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI have also been called in to help with the case, he said.
DeWine declined to discuss if the expertise of Homeland Security might lend credence to early speculation that a Mexican drug cartel could be involved.
“The FBI has had some involvement; the DEA has had some involvement, and that involvement is ongoing,” he said during an hourlong interview at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. “Both agencies have assets and sometimes they have information that we do not have. And so it’s important for us to work closely with them, and we will continue to do so. I know the FBI has been helpful, and contacts continue between our investigators and Homeland Security.”
James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University in Boston and author of 18 books including “Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder,” said that Homeland Security might have some expertise that local investigators don’t. He did not want to speculate.
Killed in the April 22 homicides were: Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his former wife, Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; their three children, Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20, Hanna Rhoden, 19, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38; and Frankie Rhoden’s fiancee, Hannah Gilley, 20.
Three children, a 5-day-old girl, a 6-month-old boy and his 3-year-old half brother, were found alive and physically unharmed in two locations.
DeWine did not offer further details on the probe that has baffled family members and perplexed this tight-knit community where families have roots dating back generations. It is a proud Appalachian culture that largely relies on its own, not often asking or seeking outside help. That leads many people here to be deeply suspicious of outsiders – including law enforcement.
DeWine hinted that culture might be slowing investigators’ efforts.
“I believe that there’s information out there that somebody has in Pike County or people have in Pike County that might be helpful that we do not have yet,’’ DeWine said. “That’s not a criticism, it’s just my guess.’’
The lack of information law enforcement has shared with the community and family members is not easing the inherent distrust.
Tony Rhoden, brother to Christopher Rhoden Sr. and Kenneth Rhoden, said it has felt like a one-way street of information. Family members have met monthly with investigators and victim advocates, but little to no information is shared with them. And many of his brothers and sisters, and his mother, Geneva Rhoden, are growing weary, he said.
Criminologist Fox said the cops aren’t trying to be difficult: “Families are often frustrated. That’s not just true in the mountains of Appalachia. That’s just how cops do their job. They just need to protect the information that only the killers would know.”
DeWine said he appreciates the family’s frustration. Withholding information is necessary to catch the killers and to take the case to trial, he said.
Investigators have received more than 700 tips, analyzed more than 100 pieces of evidence and conducted more than 150 interviews since April 22.
DeWine declined to say if three commercial marijuana grow operations found on two of the Rhoden properties in April are central to the investigation.