Jury selection begins for death penalty case in slaying of 8

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The first trial in the case of eight members of a single Ohio family shot to death more than six years ago has begun. Defendant George Wagner IV was charged in the 2016 fatal shootings of the Rhoden family near Piketon in southern Ohio. Jury selection started Monday in county court in Waverly, about 65 miles south of Columbus, with opening statements next week. Wagner’s parents and his brother, Jake Wagner, were also charged. Authorities say the shootings of seven adults and a teenage boy stemmed from a dispute over custody of a child that Jake Wagner had with one of the victims.