Surviving Rhoden: 'You probably know more than we do'
Tony Rhoden hopes new color posters he and his family started distributing Wednesday will spark new information in Ohio's most complex homicide investigation.
The full-color poster asks one simple question as the case inches closer to the year anniversary with no arrest: Do you know who murdered us on April 22, 2016?
It's the same question Tony Rhoden and his siblings, as well as relatives and those who knew the Rhoden, Gilley and Manley families have asked for nearly a year without an answer. Authorities continue to say they are actively investigating the 8-person homicide that, to date, has only fueled rumor and speculation about possible motives. And just last week, one family member said she again submitted to a lie detector test.
Pictures of Tony Rhoden's family members, each shot to death in trailers on family land, are displayed prominently in the posters. Christopher Rhoden, Sr., and his former wife, Dana Manley Rhoden; and their three children, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, Hanna Rhoden and Chris Rhoden, Jr.; Christopher Rhoden's older brother, Kenneth, and their cousin, Gary Rhoden, were all found shot in the head in their trailers. Also killed was Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden's fiancee, Hannah Hazel Gilley.
Tony Rhoden and other family members met with officials from the Attorney General's Office and the Pike County Sheriff's Office Wednesday afternoon, as they have each month since last April. The meetings are meant to answer their questions and provide information, but Tony Rhoden said there hasn't been a lot of information lately.
"You probably know more than we do,'' Tony Rhoden said, adding that he and his family understand the secrecy around the case is necessary to make an arrest and ultimately win a conviction. And while the lack of information is frustrating, the family supports law enforcement efforts.
"It's a long road, we understand that,'' he said. "We have to be patient."
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has repeatedly said the case was complex and that it would take time to solve. Neither he or Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader, have discussed a possible motive or if they have a suspect in the case. DeWine has said there is more than one killer and the killers likely knew the family.
It's unclear if anyone from the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which has at times had as many as 90 detectives, analysts and forensic scientists assigned to the case, remains in Pike County.
However, last week the woman who discovered four of the victims submitted to her second polygraph test, she said. Bobby Jo Manley said during an interview at her home Wednesday that a BCI agent drove her to Columbus on March 14 to take the test. She said she passed the test.
It's the second time she has taken the test and passed, she said. The first test was in Waverly, the seat of Pike County, and took hours, she said. Manley is the younger sister of victim Dana Rhoden. She said she didn't know if anyone else had been asked to take the tests, which are not admissible in court.
"I keep telling them I don't know who did this ...'' she said. "I wish I did."
Manley said she is worried that the land her trailer sits on, which was owned by Christopher Rhoden, will get sold as part of the probate actions.
But paperwork filed in Pike County Probate Court only lists assets for Christopher Rhoden Jr., Hanna Rhoden and Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden so far. Each had a $25,000 life insurance policy. A 2000 Ford Super Duty pickup truck is listed as an asset in Clarence Rhoden's probate action.
The value of it, though, is unknown because it remains in state custody "due to (the) circumstances of this matter."
Wilma McCoy, Tony Rhoden's sister, implored anyone with any information to contact police.
"Please, please come forward,'' she said. "And if anyone would like to donate, please donate to Crime Stoppers to raise the reward for our loved ones."
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 855-BCI-OHIO (224-6446) or the Pike County Sheriff's Office at 740-947-2111. There remains a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and a conviction in the case.