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The eight victims, aged 16 to 44, were found shot dead at four crime scenes in and around the small town of Piketon on April 22, 2016. At one of the crime scenes, the police found four old baby lying next to his murdered mother. This child, along with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old, survived the massacre.
The suspects "have spent months planning the crime," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
More than two years later, authorities on Tuesday arrested four members of the Wagner family, accused of killing members of the Rhoden family. Two grandmothers of the Wagner family have also been charged with alleged concealment of the crime, DeWine said.
He refused to identify a motive, but said that the custody of a child "plays a role in this case".
"We believe that the Wagner conspired together to develop an elaborate plan to kill the eight victims under cover of darkness and to carefully hide their tracks," DeWine said. "The killers knew the territory and planned these murders carefully."
George "Billy" Wagner III, 47 years old; his wife Angela Wagner, 48 years old; and their sons, George Wagner IV, 27; and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26, was charged Monday by a grand jury of several leaders, including eight counts of aggravated murder with the death penalty.
Edward "Jake" Wagner has also been charged with unlawful sexual behavior with a minor for having sexual contact with a victim, Hanna May Rhoden, at the age of 15 and at 20, prosecutors said.
He is the father of the eldest daughter of Hanna May Rhoden, who was staying with the Wagner on the night of the murder.
The Wagners are also accused of falsifying custody documents, prosecutors said.
The Wagners come from South Webster, about 30 km southeast of Piketon, the community inside and around the scene of the killings.
Angela Wagner's mother, Rita Newcomb, 65, of South Webster, Ohio, and Wagner's 76-year-old Wagner's mother-in-law, Fredericka Wagner, also face to charges of obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators, prosecutors said.
The six are in custody in Ohio and Kentucky, authorities said.
In addition to Hanna May Rhoden, 19, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his brother Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; and Christopher's ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, 37 years old. Three of the Rhodens' children, Clarence "Frankie", Rhoden, 20, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, were also killed. Hannah Gilley, 20, fiancée with Clarence "was also killed Frankie" Rhoden and Gary Rhoden, 38, a cousin.
Piketon is a city of about 2,000 inhabitants, located 90 kilometers east of Cincinnati.
"We promised that the day would come when arrests would be made in the Pike County massacres," DeWine said. "Today is this day."
Darran Simon and Janet DiGiacomo from CNN contributed to this report.
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