Pike County suspect George "Billy" Wagner III appeared in court Wednesday for a status hearing.It was the first hearing for former Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge Alan Corbin who will preside over the trial. The Ohio Supreme Court appointed Corbin to hear the case following the retirement last month of Pike County Common Pleas Judge Randy Deering.During Wednesday's hearing, Corbin alluded to a possible trial date in early 2024. He said that will give counsels time to gather documents and records from the trial of Billy's son, George Wagner IV, including the transcript from that trial, which could top 15,000 pages. Earlier this year, one of Billy Wagner's attorneys said the 51 year-old looks forward to taking his case to trial and said the trial will be much different than that of his son, George.In November, a jury found George Wagner guilty of 22 counts, including eight aggravated murder charges. The verdict came after less than eight hours of deliberations, ending a nearly three-month-long trial. George Wagner was sentenced to life in prison without parole on all eight counts of aggravated murder for each victim in the Pike County killings.He was also sentenced on counts of conspiracy, aggravated burglary, and tampering with evidence. Those sentences ranged from 10 months to eight years.In addition, the now retired Deering sentenced George Wagner to 81 years on firearms specifications, to be served consecutively with his prison sentence on his charges. Billy's wife, Angela, and their other son, Jake, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and other charges in a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.Investigators say the murders were motivated by a custody dispute between the Wagner and Rhoden families.

Billy Wagner is charged in connection with the deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family in Pike County five years ago.While it appears Wagner will avoid the death penalty because of a deal his youngest son cut with the state, his attorneys spent Thursday arguing that should be a guaranteed outcome right now."It would become unwieldy. It would become prejudicial to start this case as a death penalty case and then only after the subjectivity of how Jake Wagner proceeded at trial, that the state would then remove the death specifications," defense attorney Thomas Haney said.The request made by Haney and fellow attorney Mark Collins stemmed from the plea agreement Wagner's son, Jake, reached with prosecutors in April. As part of the deal, Jake has agreed to testify about the 2016 murders. In exchange, the state will remove death as a possible outcome for Jake, his brother George, and their parents Billy and Angela Wagner.Angela accepted a plea deal in the case last week.Billy Wagner's attorneys asked Judge Randy Deering to remove the possibility of death now instead of waiting to hear what Jake says in court, saying prosecutors agreed to a contract."He signed an agreement 'to testify' truthfully, and 'to plead' guilty. He’s pled guilty – and ‘to’ testify; that’s what he’s agreed to, your Honor," Collins said.Special Prosecutor Angela Canepa said the death penalty only goes away if Jake actually speaks out in court."The plea agreement states specifically that it’s dependent upon him fulfilling that agreement," Canepa said.Canepa's argument ended up winning the day, as Deering denied Billy Wagner's request. Wagner is due back in court Nov. 17.The fatal shootings at three trailers and a camper near Piketon in April 2016 terrified residents in a stretch of rural Ohio and launched one of the state’s most extensive criminal investigations, which led to the Wagners’ arrest more than two years later.Most of the victims were repeatedly shot in the head, and some showed signs of bruising. Three young children at the scenes were unharmed.The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna; Clarence Rhoden’s fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.’s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.Prosecutors say the Wagner family planned the killings for months, motivated by a dispute over custody of the daughter Jake Wagner had with Hanna Rhoden.The Wagners used guns with homemade silencers, allowing them to kill their victims as they slept, according to one of the lead prosecutors.