The Rev. Phil Fulton knew some of the eight family members who were shot dead near his rural southern Ohio community this week. The victims' shaken relatives, he says, are asking roughly the same question as police: Who would do this?
"Just heartache," Fulton said Saturday, describing the relatives' reactions a day after police said seven adults and a 16-year-old were found shot in the head "execution-style," most while they slept, in Pike County.
"You try to think (about) the whys and who, and no one has any idea why this would take place," said Fulton, pastor of Union Hill Church, which some of the victims had attended, in neighboring Adams County.The eight members of Rhoden family -- including a mother who investigators say was killed while her 4-day-old child lay beside her -- were found dead Friday at four crime scenes, authorities said. The newborn, along with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old, survived.
"You try to think (about) the whys and who, and no one has any idea why this would take place," said Fulton, pastor of Union Hill Church, which some of the victims had attended, in neighboring Adams County.The eight members of Rhoden family -- including a mother who investigators say was killed while her 4-day-old child lay beside her -- were found dead Friday at four crime scenes, authorities said. The newborn, along with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old, survived.
Hannah Gilley, 20; Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16; Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20; Dana Rhoden, 37; Gary Rhoden, 38; Hanna Rhoden, 19; and Kenneth Rhoden, 44.
The mystery of who killed the eight has not only moved people living in the area of Piketon, a town of about 2,000 residents 90 miles east of Cincinnati, but also drawn the attention of top state officials.
