911 Calls Released Of 8 Ohio Family Members Shot Dead [UPDATED]

UPDATED; 5:33 P.M. April 23

Work at the four crime scenes has been completed where the execution style killing of eight family members occurred in Pike County. The names and dates of birth of the victims are as follows:

• Hannah Gilley, DOB 02/28/1996
• Christopher Rhoden, Sr., DOB 09/17/1975
• Christopher Rhoden, Jr., DOB 11/04/1999
• Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, DOB 08/10/1995
• Dana Rhoden, DOB 08/29/1978
• Gary Rhoden, DOB 12/19/1977
• Hanna Rhoden, DOB 04/07/1997
• Kenneth Rhoden, DOB 03/30/1972

Recordings of the 911 calls made to the Pike County Sheriff's dispatcher on April 22 have also been released. The bodies of the victims have been transferred to the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. At the request of the Pike County coroner, the same pathologist will perform all of the autopsies. Due to the number of victims, this process is expected to last through the weekend.

UPDATED; 2:35 P.M. April 23

A $25,000 reward is being offered by Cincinnati-area businessman Jeff Ruby for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any person(s) responsible for the execution style killing of eight family members in Pike County. Anyone with information can contact 1-855-BCI-OHIO or the Pike County Sheriff's office at 740-947-2111.

UPDATED; 12:10 P.M. April 23

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has been briefed by the Attorney General on the investigation in the execution style killing of eight family members in Pike County. Investigators worked through the night and evidence from the crime scene will be processed and analyzed over the weekend. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information can contact 1-855-BCI-OHIO or the Pike County Sheriff's office at 740-947-2111.

UPDATED; 5:10 P.M.

An eighth body, a male relative, was found in another location, according to police. All were shot in the head.

Two babies survived the attack on the family, as did a 3-year-old child, police said. One mother was shot in the same bed as her 4-day-old child slept next to her.

No one is in custody. The terrible scene was discovered near Peebles, Ohio, a rural area about 75 miles east of Cincinnati and home to about 1,500 people. The shootings likely took place at night, according to police, because some of the victims were in their beds.

"There is a strong possibility that any individuals involved with this are armed and extremely dangerous," said Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader Friday afternoon. "We are taking every precaution."

Leonard Manley, who told the Cincinnati Enquirer he is grandfather to some of the victims, said his daughter found the bodies when she went to the homes to feed dogs and chickens.

The slain have been identified by a local pastor and relatives as Dana Rhoden, her children, some grandchildren and her ex-husband.

Police would not say whether one weapon or several weapons were used. The sheriff said he suspected this family was targeted specifically, but he advised all residents to be cautious and keep their doors locked.

"None of the eight individuals committed suicide," Attorney General Mike DeWine said, responding to a question about the state of the crime scenes. "We have one house that was an outlier in the sense of time. ... We have one person who is armed and dangerous and there may be more than one.

"We just don't know how many people we may be talking about at all."

Agents with the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) have been asked to lead the investigation at the request of the Pike County Sheriff. The call for assistance came at 8:30 a.m.

BCI is actively working four crime scenes and will be at the homes overnight. Two houses are within walking distance, one is less than a mile away and the fourth is about a 10-minute drive away.

4 P.M. PRESS CONFERENCE FEED

DeWine, at a press conference Friday, said the surviving family members have been advised to be cautious because the killer or killers remain at large.

Lt. Michael Preston from the Ross County Sheriff's Office told fox19.com that officers will fully search the houses once the request for multiple warrants has been filled.

The bodies of six adults and one teen-ager were found inside three houses near each other on Union Hill Road, authorities say. The body of an eighth person was found later in the day at another home. All were shot in the head.

Two babies survived, a Pike County victims advocate told the Columbus Dispatch, and were taken to a local hospital.

One is four days old, and the other is 6 months. Their condition has not been released. Police said a 3-year-old child also was found in one of the homes.

Pastor Phil Fulton, of Union Hill Church, told Cincinnati.com he learned from a family member and law enforcement the victims included a grandmother, her adult children and grandchildren.

"Dana loved her family. She worked hard," Fulton told reporters. "What a tragic thing, a tragic thing."

About 20 family members gathered at the church waiting to hear information. Pike County victim's advocate Dave Dickerson told WLWT the family has been given little information so far.

Nearby Peebles High School went on lockdown after the first bodies were found, but that was lifted within hours.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich offered his support through Twitter.

"Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension. We'll continue to monitor this closely and the state will work w/ local law enforcement however we can." --@johnkasich

The Cincinnati FBI is also monitoring the situation in Pike County:

More than a dozen agents from BCI's Special Investigations Unit, Crime Scene Unit, Criminal Intelligence Unit, and Cyber Crimes Unit responded to the scene.

Patch will report more as information becomes available.