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'There's blood all over the house' - Manhunt after eight members of Ohio family 'executed'

Audio of a 911 call has been released by investigators.

CNN / YouTube

RESIDENTS OF THE rural southern Ohio community of Piketon are rattled by a rare major crime that took the lives of eight members of a tight-knit family known in the area as hard workers.

Authorities are still trying to find out who targeted the seven adults and teenage boy and why. Their bodies were found Friday at four different homes near Piketon, about 60 miles south of Columbus.

Kayla Hay said she got to know one of the victims, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden, when they both worked as nurse’s aides at a nursing home. Hay said she was shocked and saddened when she heard Rhoden was among those killed.

“I’ve never heard her say anything about being frightened or concerned about anything bad happening,” said Hay, who described Rhoden as outgoing and friendly.

“She was always in a good mood and was very bright, both in her personality and her intelligence,” Hay said.

All of the victims were members of the Rhoden family. The others were identified as Christopher Rhoden Sr (40), Christopher Rhoden Jr (16), Kenneth Rhoden (44), Gary Rhoden(38), Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden (20), Hannah Gilley (20), Hanna Rhoden (19).

It appeared some of the family members were killed as they slept, including Hanna Rhoden, who was in bed with her newborn baby nearby, authorities said. The infant was four or five days old, authorities said. The infant, Hannah Gilley’s six-month-old baby, and one other small child were not hurt.

Authorities said none of the injuries appeared self-inflicted. A search for the killer or killers continued yesterday, and investigators said they had interviewed more than 30 people.

APTOPIX Ohio Shootings This aerial photo shows one of the locations being investigated in Pike County, Ohio (Lisa Marie Miller / The Columbus Dispatch (Lisa Marie Miller / The Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch

Robin Waddell, who owns the Big Bear Lake Family Resort just south of Piketon, said Christopher Rhoden often did work for him as a carpenter and helped out with his excavation business. He said Rhoden was a nice guy whose kids sometimes visited him while he was working.

“It’s a large family,” Waddell said.

There’s a lot of them and they’ve been in this community for generations. So this is affecting a lot of people.

Kendra Jordan, 20, said she often worked nights at a nursing home with Hanna Rhoden and described her as outgoing, funny and always smiling.

“If you were having a bad day, she’d be the first one to come up to you to question you about what was going on,” Jordan said. “She was amazing.”

USA TODAY / YouTube

Todd Beekman, who owns an outdoors shop a few miles from the crime scenes, said at least one customer came in to stock up on ammunition after hearing about the shootings.

But Beekman and others hanging out there midday Saturday said they weren’t concerned for their own safety because it’s an area where residents know and look out for each other.

“The word spread pretty fast, as it does in any rural area,” Beekman said.

Everybody’s kind of their own brother’s keeper down here.

Phil Fulton, the pastor of Union Hill Church up the road from where some of the victims were found, described the Rhoden family as close-knit and hardworking. He said they were previously part of his congregation, though not recently. He said a crisis resource team was at the church to work with the family.

“They’re not doing well with this situation at all,” Fulton said. “A tragic situation like this …”

Michael Preston Lt. Michael Preston, of the Ross County Sheriff's Department. John Minchillo / PA John Minchillo / PA / PA

The exact timing of the shootings remains unclear. Authorities got the first 911 call shortly before 8am on Friday; the second came several hours later from another location.

Two of the crime scenes are within walking distance of each other along a sparsely populated, winding road that leads into wooded hills from a rural highway.

The third residence is more than a mile away, and the fourth home is on a different road, at least a 10-minute drive away, said the investigation’s leader, Benjamin Suver of the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

Authorities refused to discuss many details of the crime, including the search operations.

Officials said a Cincinnati-area businessman put up a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of the killer or killers.

Read: 14 dead after two shooting rampages in one day >

Read: At least eight dead in “execution-style” killings >

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33 Comments
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    Mute Joe Bloggs
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    Apr 24th 2016, 10:57 AM

    And yet America doesn’t have a gun problem….

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:03 AM

    Guns are perceived as a solution, not a problem, by many in the USA. It’s an example of mass delusion.

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    Mute Socrates Is Alive
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:12 AM

    Guns are seen as a solution to other people with guns…..idiotic

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    Mute Mick Power
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:14 AM

    We aren’t perceived to have a gun problem. Yet that doesn’t seem to stop innocent people being shot down in the street.

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:50 AM

    Criminals the world over will always have guns Mick but in good old US of A many parents buy their kids a semi automatic for their birthday or maybe left under the xmas tree?.

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 12:47 PM

    William, any statistics behind that claim?

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Apr 24th 2016, 12:49 PM

    Have a look at this Jason eye opener even for your entrenched status on gun toting,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5NrEb1Wx0A

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 1:05 PM

    Joe. The Police on the ground said that this was a professional assassination. Ergo carried out by a Professional Assassins. How many of them would have any problems obtaining guns no matter how stringent the Gun Laws? As we have seen here in Ireland, Drugs Gangs and Terrorists can obtain any type of firearm they desire despite us having some of the world’s toughest Firearms legislation.

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Apr 24th 2016, 1:18 PM

    And of course Jason the comments on the link are the usual predictable laughable responses from the redneck ammosexual neanderthals.

    12
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    Mute Shawn Rahoon
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    Apr 24th 2016, 1:37 PM

    “Guns are perceived as a solution”. My hero Padraig Nally, had the right solution.

    17
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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 1:45 PM

    William. Guns are freely available in the US. That is not going to change. And with all children especially young boys they are fascinated by guns. They play cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers and Soldiers with toy guns. Now is it not better to have a youngster trained in all the safety aspects of handling a real gun under supervision rather than having the child getting hold of a real gun, having no knowledge as to firearm safety and protocol and possibly shooting themselves or someone else by accident.
    A child that is trained will not see firearms as something exciting and illicit to touch but will be fully aware of the do’s and don’ts

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    Mute Matty Reese
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    Apr 24th 2016, 2:35 PM

    You keep repeating that to yourself mick and maybe it will come true in your head. The reality is the murder rate in the US is 5 times that of other western democracies with guns being the weapon of choice. This ignores all the other accidental and “justified homicide” gun deaths.
    And please stop saying there is no evidence to suggest……. blah blah blah. There statistical evidence is there and it is pretty damning.

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    Mute Peter Fechter
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    Apr 24th 2016, 3:37 PM

    Mick..completely true..i habituated my kids with rifles from very young ages…all are very respectful of weapons,2 are very skilful in their use but only 1 has any real interest..and hes as careful as i am.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 4:14 PM

    Matty. It is not me that is denial. Far to many people in the US own legitimate firearms for the Federal Government to even attempt to control. And added to those legitimate firearms are the millions of illegally held ones. Wishing the Genie back in the bottle is not going to make it so. Therefore one must accept the premise that guns in the US are here to stay. And as for tighter gun control in the US. One only has to look at Chicago. It has the strictest gun laws in the US but also has the highest gun murder rate.

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Apr 24th 2016, 6:30 PM

    Mick Chicago were left with no choice but to introduce stricter gun control but that was hardly going to fix the problems as the criminals were already armed to the teeth, and anyway I wouldn’t say it would be very hard to stock up again from out of state?.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 9:09 PM

    Precisely my point. 98% of all gun murders in the US are Gang/Drugs related carried out in poor urban areas with unregistered firearms. In 2013 we here in Ireland with a Population of 4.5 miĺlion had more gun murders than the entire UK with a Population of 60 million. Would you say we have liberal gun laws?

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    Mute William Boyd
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    Apr 24th 2016, 9:42 PM

    Lets ignore the criminals Mick and try this for size,

    “The U.S. is home to 5% of the world’s population, but has had 31% of the public mass shootings worldwide between 1966 and 2012.
    The U.S. ranks first in gun ownership in the world, with surveys suggesting the rate to be 88.8 firearms for every 100 people in America, or 270 million total firearms within borders. (At a distant second is Yemen, with 54.8 firearms per 100 people; the numbers tumble after that.) There have been 292 public mass shooters who have killed a minimum of four people between 1966 and 2012. And when you narrow shootings down to just those that occur at school and work, American incidences account for 62% of global cases.

    And these stats only cover up to 2012, there has been loads more mass shootings in good old US of A since then!.
    And this doesn’t cover the many other shootings incidences in the US ie accidental shootings and the mass shootings that are not recorded as mass shootings because the death toll wasn’t 4 or more, for instance if a gunman shoots six work colleagues and there are only 2 fatalities and 4 injured that to me is still a mass shootings as the original intention was to kill as many as he could?.

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    Mute Eugene H. Krabbs
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    Apr 24th 2016, 9:47 PM

    Fiona, there are countless occasions the media doesn’t report where guns do more good than bad. You, the public are being deluded to believe guns are bad when in reality, they are a key element of life in the states a and save countless numbers of lives. You have been played like a deck of cards by the media, you need to do what everybody does before they start their day, wake up.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 10:03 PM

    William. With so many guns per head of Population and with such a large population the incidences of mass shootings involving ordinary members of the public (ie: those not involved with or related to members of the criminal fraternity) is actually very small. US gun policy is not the problem. It is a societial problem. Serbia has the highest gun ownership per capita in Europe yet it doesn’t have the murder rate that the US has. Why do you think that is?

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    Mute Alan Dooley
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:18 AM

    Steven Avery is still in custody right? Surely they could put this on him too.

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    Mute grace
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:09 AM

    And Obama is worried about England leaving the eu!!!!!!Time to get his priorities in order

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 12:49 PM

    What can he do, really? There’s nearly a gun for every person legally held in the US and probably another 0.5 illegally held. How could he possibly do anything about it at this stage?

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    Mute Just Some Guy
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    Apr 24th 2016, 2:06 PM

    Grace,

    If you bothered to keep up with the news you will find out it is Britain who voting on whether to stay in or leave the EU. Not England. Stupid woman

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    Mute grace
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    Apr 24th 2016, 3:21 PM

    Jesus calm ur tits mate I only posted a comment!!!!are u offended that I didn’t call it Britain? Sincerely yours stupid woman

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    Mute karl
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    Apr 24th 2016, 1:01 PM

    Usually at this time some gun nut moron in the states says if everyone had a gun in the house this would never have happened !

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    Mute Matty Reese
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    Apr 24th 2016, 2:36 PM

    I’d wager there was at least one gun in everyone of those houses, unfortunately the sleep setting was broke.

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    Mute Marg murphy
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    Apr 24th 2016, 3:37 PM

    Funny how this article becomes all about gun control. If some one wants to kill me, I’d prefer it was a gunshot to head with a GUN than a rope around my neck or eviserated with a knife. If someone is hell bent on killing me then I would prefer if he had a gun. Killers are going to kill. Taking away their guns is just going to make them find another way. The gun isn’t the problem, it’s just one of many weapons a killer can choose, the killer is the problem.

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Apr 24th 2016, 6:32 PM

    I’d rather no one killed me!!

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:01 AM

    Whats the story with Ohio. Nearly every week there is a multiple shooting there.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Apr 24th 2016, 11:05 AM

    Perhaps guns may be partially implicated.

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Apr 24th 2016, 3:31 PM

    Guns are culturally embedded in the USA.

    Even in Ireland you will find men who are consumed by their interest in and fascination for guns, exchanging technical and abstruse information about guns in the way that small boys talk about favourite toys. It’s primarily a male fascination. Fortunately, only some men are afflicted by this fatal fascination.

    Never try to reason with a gun lover. Gun lovers are loyal and totally faithful to their guns. They even try to rationalise their love for these human killing instruments. They are irrational victims of their gun lust. Leave them to it.

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    Mute Lynne Anthony
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    Apr 24th 2016, 5:27 PM

    God help America.

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    Mute Eugene H. Krabbs
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    Apr 24th 2016, 9:44 PM

    More false flags…

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