Is warehouse where Rhoden trailers are stored secure?
A Fox19 (WXIX-TV) investigation is raising questions about the security of a Waverly, Ohio warehouse where evidence in the Rhoden family massacre is being stored.
The trailers and camper, the scenes of the April 22 slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family, have been stored at Relevant Compounding property in Waverly since May 12 when authorities won a court order to move them from family land. The warehouse was also site of the police command center until mid-summer. Dozens of cars, trucks and other equipment towed from the scenes are also being stored at the site.
A security guard was stationed outside the fenced-off area in the first weeks of the investigation, but after the command center moved that guard was rarely — if ever — stationed there. Often the fence was seen open and on at least three occasions the bays in the back of the warehouse were wide open.
Failing to keep the area guarded could raise important questions about chain-of-evidence — a crucial element of evidence protection and preservation — if and when the case goes to trial. None of the trailers nor the camper appeared sealed; however the windows and doors appeared to remain boarded.
Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader, who is running for election in November, told Fox19 reporter Jody Barr that he no longer has the manpower to guard the building 24 hours a day.
Fox19 is a media partner of The Enquirer.
Former Prosecutor: Family massacre evidence 'virtually useless'
However, Reader has said multiple times that Pike County commissioners have approved his requests for overtime pay when he needed it to investigate the multiple homicides.
Dan Tierney, spokesman for Ohio Attorney Mike DeWine, declined to discuss security in and around that building when contacted by The Enquirer two weeks ago.
But some forensic science and crime scene experts have questioned DeWine and Reader's decision to move the trailers and store them off-site.
The Fox19 report would be the second time authorities have admitted mistakes in the case. The first came in July when Crime Stoppers of Southern Ohio announced they had authorized a $10,000 reward 10 weeks earlier but no one had publicly announced it. Reader said he learned of the reward watching a televised news report. He said he was never told of the reward, nor did he inquire about one.
Killed in the massacre were: Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife with whom he was reconciling, Dana Rhoden, 37; their sons, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; and their daughter, Hanna Rhoden, 19; his brother Kenneth Rhoden, 44 and a cousin, Gary Rhoden, 38. Also slain was Frankie Rhoden's fiancee Hannah Gilley, 20. Authorities have said the killings were well-planned, taking place in the dark of night inside the trailers and the camper while many of the victims slept.
No one has been arrested nor have authorities discussed any potential motive in the investigation, which is the largest and among the most complex in Ohio's history.
Through the end of August, authorities had received and investigated more than 700 tips, collected and analyzed more than 100 pieces of evidence and interviewed more than 150 people in the case. There are currently three sealed court orders and 26 sealed search warrants in the case.
Reward offered
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers at 740-773-TIPS. Anonymous tips are still being taken at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 855-BCI-OHIO (224-6446) or the Pike County Sheriff's Office at 740-947-2111.
Chris Graves is the Enquirer's local columnist. She has covered the Pike County case from the very first day. You can email her at cgraves@enquirer.com.