Ohio Murder Victims May Have Put Up a Fight

Autopsies show some had soft tissue bruising
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2016 6:29 AM CDT
Ohio Murder Victims May Have Put Up a Fight
One of the crime scenes being investigated in Pike County, Ohio.   (Lisa Marie Miller/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

While authorities say some of the victims of Ohio's "execution-style" killings died in their sleep, others may have put up a fight. Autopsies show some members of the Rhoden family had soft tissue bruising, suggesting they resisted their killer or killers, the Pike County Medical Examiner said Tuesday, per NBC News. A 911 caller who reported "blood all over the house" noted it looked like someone had "beat the hell out of" at least one victim. The autopsies confirmed all eight victims—three women, four men, and a 16-year-old boy—were fatally shot; one victim was shot once, one was shot twice, and the remaining victims were shot three or more times, including one person who had nine wounds.

Authorities have yet to present a motive, though marijuana-growing operations were found at three of the four crime scenes. Sources say 200 plants recovered were worth about $500,000, reports CBS News. Birds were also found in "small, segregated cages," which is "consistent with cockfighting," says a rep for the Ohio attorney general, per NBC New York. A prosecutor tells the Columbus Dispatch that the family was previously known to police for "altercations with people, that sort of thing ... nothing like this." Police have received 300 tips, sent 79 pieces of evidence for analysis, and are still serving search warrants, reports the AP. (Police say the youngest victim had been threatened on Facebook.)

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