PIKETON (AP) — Authorities in rural southern Ohio are urging residents to be cautious as the search continues for whoever fatally shot eight members of a family at four different properties.
The victims found Friday include seven adults and a 16-year-old boy. They were found in homes near Piketon, about 60 miles south of Columbus.
UPDATE: Authorities released the names of the victims Saturday afternoon: They are Kenneth Rhoden, 44; Christopher Rhoden, Sr., 40; Gary Rhoden, 38; Dana Rhoden, 37; Hannah Gilley, 20; Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden and Hanna Rhoden, both 19, and Christopher Rhoden, Jr., 16.
According to a release from Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine’s offi e, the bodies of the victims have been transferred to the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office where, 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.
Authorities say all of the victims were shot in the head and that it appeared some were killed as they slept, including a mother in bed with her 4-day-old baby nearby. The infant and two other small children were not harmed.
The victims were slain “execution style,” DeWine (at podium) said.
No motive for the slayings was released but the surviving members of the Rhoden family were warned to take precautions and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said area residents should be wary while the suspects remain at large.
“This is really a question of public safety, and particularly for any member of the Rhoden family,” DeWine said.
Reader said investigators met with about 100 relatives and friends of the family at a nearby church but DeWine dismissed reports that any of them were a person of interest.
The FBI in Cincinnati said was monitoring the situation and was prepared to provide assistance if it was requested.
DeWine and Reader are requesting that anyone with information regarding the eight individuals found deceased in Pike County today to call 1-855-BCI-OHIO (224-6446) or the Pike County Sheriff’s Office at 740-947-2111.
Spokesman Dan Tierney in DeWine’s office says Reader’s office requested state help at 8:20 a.m. Friday after bodies were discovered at three locations on rural Union Hill Road.
An eighth body was found later at an additional location.