The last suspect in Ohio's infamous 2016 Pike County massacre says he needs a new lawyer – because his current one doesn't believe he's innocent.
Just weeks after complaining that "no one explains anything to me," Pike County murder suspect George "Billy" Wagner III filed a motion seeking a new attorney.
In a Sept. 18 handwritten motion in his case, Wagner seeks to dismiss Mark C. Collins as his attorney because "he does not believe in my innocents" (sic) and will not submit court filings that Wagner wants.
"I have no faith in him putting forth his full potential in my case," said Wagner, who has entered a not guilty plea to eight counts of aggravated homicides and 14 other charges in the 2016 slaughter of a Pike County family.
Wagner's motion asks
for an immediate hearing on his request.
Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The special prosecutor in the case, Angela Canepa, declined comment.
Collins on case since its start
Collins signed on as Wagner's attorney Nov. 15, 2016, two days after Wagner was arrested in Lexington, Kentucky, in connection with the shooting deaths of seven members of the Rhoden family and one future member.
Wagner has been jailed since his arrest, held in Butler County through September 2024 and in Pickaway County since then.
His trial is set to start Jan. 11, delayed by multiple challenges to rulings from Jonathan Hein, the visiting judge appointed to the case in May 2024.
Activity in the case has picked up in recent weeks, even with its venue still not known:
- Hein announced the trial date on Aug. 3, noting that pretrial hearings were anticipated.
- On Aug. 17, Wagner wrote the judge, saying "the only thing anybody tells me is a bunch of lies." He asked for a hearing in that matter, too, which has not been scheduled.
- Since then, Hein has rejected a request from the Rhoden family to disclose the venue and one from Canepa to keep the trial in Pike County. Collins sought and won a request to move the trial out of Pike County in late 2024, arguing that publicity in the case would make it impossible to seat an unbiased jury.
Collins 'proving own guilt,' Wagner alleges
In August, Wagner said a fellow inmate drafted his hand-written letter to Hein, noting that he "cannot read and write well."
The new filing, also handwritten, appears similar to the first, but Wagner does not state who wrote it.
The new filing accuses Collins – who Wagner does not mention by name – of "proving his own guilt" and being "fruits of a poisonous tree."
Wagner said he wants the court to dismiss Collins "so I can prepare for my trial!"
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: With trial looming, Pike County massacre suspect demands new lawyer
