The “execution-style” killings of eight family members in rural Ohio continues to be a big mystery, although authorities revealed a bit of information that could at the very least hint at a motive. Ohio’s Attorney General Mike DeWine revealed Sunday night that law enforcement agents had found marijuana “grow operations” in three of the four places where the murders took place. Although very little information about these “grow operations” was released, one official tells CNN the amount of marijuana it involved hinted at some sort of commercial purpose. “This operation was not for personal use,” the source said. “It was for something much bigger than that. It was a very sophisticated operation.”
Authorities would not say whether the “grow operations” played a role in the killings. But truth be told, authorities really don’t seem to know much of anything when it comes to the “execution-style” killings of eight members of the Rhoden family. When he was asked about the number of attackers, DeWine said authorities have no idea: “I don’t know if it’s a bad guy or bad guys. It could be one, two, three, four. I don’t think we know.” One thing that is clear though is that the killings were far from spontaneous. “This was very methodical. This was well planned. This was not something that just happened,” said Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader.
The sheriff also had some advice for relatives of the victims who may fear for their safety: arm yourselves. “I cautioned them they are a target and I cautioned them, ‘Be armed,’” he said. And the same goes for everyone in the community: “If you are fearful, arm yourself.”
