After 8 killings, fate of Rhoden children, property still to be resolved

If you think the Rhoden family criminal case has been confusing, you haven't seen anything yet.

What is sure to be a flurry of probate court action launches with a filing expected today in Pike County. The nature of that action was not public Tuesday. But it likely signals months, if not years, of future court hearings and legal arguments focused on two primary questions left in the wake of the slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family on April 22:

• What happens to the minor children of three victims?
• Who is legally entitled to the 74 acres – and other assets – left after the deaths of Christopher Rhoden, 40, and members of his family?

Neither question comes with easy answers, legal experts say. The issue of inheritance in a case where so many family members died is highly complex.

Probate court proceedings are rarely simple and often fraught with family squabbles – even in the best of circumstances. In this case, a criminal case is underway with no known suspects and no disclosed motive amid a swirl of supposition.

"This is certainly unusual. It's rare to have multiple deaths at the same time,'' said Bernie McKay, a probate lawyer at Frost Brown Todd who specializes in wills, estates and trusts. "This is going to be a very complex case with a lot of attorneys."

Who will raise the children?

Found shot to death in four residences on family-owned property: Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his former wife, Dana Manley Rhoden, 37; their three children, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20, Hanna Rhoden, 19, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his cousin Gary Rhoden, 38; and Frankie Rhoden's fiancee Hannah Gilley, 20.

Found alive and unharmed were: Kylie Rhoden, the 5-day-old daughter of Hanna Rhoden; Ruger Rhoden, the six-month son of Frankie Rhoden and Hannah Gilley; and Brentley Rhoden, the 3-year-old son of Frankie Rhoden. Hanna Rhoden's older daughter, Sophia Wagner, 2, was with a relative the night of the massacre.

Sophia and Brentley remain in the care of relatives. Legally, a surviving parent usually takes custody of a minor child, which would likely be the case for Sophia and Brentley McKay said.

Ruger and Kylie remain in the custody of children and protective services, family members have said. Both of Ruger's parents were killed. Leonard Manley, great-grandfather to both children, said he does not believe a father's name is listed on Kylie's birth certificate.

Manley said he and his wife, Judy Manley, have hired a lawyer to begin the process to seek custody of the children. He declined to elaborate further.

Other family members have declined to discuss the case or the surviving children.

A will or no will?

In a surreal scene, the Ohio Attorney General's Office moved the three trailers and one camper where the homicides occurred into a secure warehouse nearly two weeks ago to safeguard each as evidence. The acres of real estate where the trailers resided for years, at 4077 and 4091 Union Road, 3122 Union Hill Road and one near 799 Left Fork Road, also have been released to the family.

Dan Tierney, a spokesman for that office, said Tuesday it is too early to discuss the future of the Rhoden land or property.

On a mobile device? Read an interactive timeline of the case.

"We have released the scenes. It will be up to the probate process,'' he said.

Christopher Rhoden Sr. solely owned more than eight acres as well as the three trailers, according to Pike and Scioto county court records. He was also the majority owner of another 66 acres in Pike County with his brothers. At least 45 acres of that land was inherited from his father in 2011, according to court records.

Who may inherit the parcels hinges on many unknowns to be determined both by federal and state law and judges, McKay said. The first step will be to enter a will, if there is one, into probate court for each adult. If there is no will, an administrator would have to be appointed to execute the estate. Debts and court-related expenses would have to be paid to creditors first. Whatever is left would then go to survivors.

If the survivors are minors, a guardian of the estate would need to be established. Under Ohio law, a minor can not receive assets to an estate until they turn 18, McKay said.

"Typically, you would hire a lawyer,'' he said. "The court is the ultimate guardian."

Investigation remains focus

But other issues may come into play because the land remains entangled in the criminal investigation, he said.

Attorney General Mike DeWine has said that evidence of three marijuana grow sites were found at two of the scenes. There was also evidence of cockfighting. That could mean the government could go to court to take the land through a process known as forfeiture. The government can legally move to take any property proven to be used in a crime or been paid for with money made in criminal activity.

Tierney said Tuesday it was premature to discuss if the state of Ohio would start or even consider forfeiture proceedings: "Our focus is on the investigation, gathering the evidence necessary to identify a suspect or suspects in the case," he said.

Read all of the Enquirer's Pike County coverage here.

Chris Graves is the Enquirer's local columnist. She has written extensively about the Pike County slayings. You can reach her at cgraves@enquirer.com or Twitter @chrisgraves.