MORE: Pike County murders: 8 deaths, 2 years, no answers
“We can now confirm there is no evidence to indicate that this questioned death is linked to the eight homicides of 2016,” spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said in an email Friday.
Violet Rhoden Taylor, 35, a cousin of the Rhodens, died Monday after her body was founded in a wooded area in Pike County.
Taylor’s cause of death has not been determined by the Pike County Coroner’s Office and remains under investigation, an official at the office said Friday.
FIRST REPORT (June 14):
A relative of the Rhodens — the Pike County family found dead in 2016 — was found dead Monday in a wooded area, prompting a state investigation, according to a report from the Chillicothe Gazette.
Violet Rhoden Taylor, 35, was pronounced dead Monday and her body was sent to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for examination. The Gazette reports she was a cousin to the Rhodens.
Taylor was in Montgomery County for an autopsy but was released to a funeral home on Wednesday, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, which said details of the case would have to come from Pike County.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office in Dayton often assists smaller counties with autopsies. This newsroom could not reach the Pike County Coroner by telephone Thursday afternoon.
A spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting. The spokesman did not confirm the name of the victim, and could not comment on if there was a connection between the woman’s death and the deaths of the Rhodens.
“On Monday, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office requested that BCI’s Crime Scene Unit and Special Investigations Unit respond to the 2500 block of Lapperell Road where the body of a woman was found in the nearby woods. This is currently being investigated by BCI as a questioned death and it is under investigation as to whether or not any foul play was involved,” the spokesman, Dan Tierney, said by email.
A “questioned death” means its not immediately clear to investigators whether a death was homicide, suicide or natural causes, Tierney said.
Hannah Rhoden, 19, Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; his ex-wife, Dana Rhoden, 37; their sons, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Clarence “Frankie” Rhoden, 20; Frankie’s fiancee, Hannah Gilley, 20; and relatives Kenneth Rhoden, 44, and Gary Rhoden, 38 died in the April 2016 shootings.
The shooting deaths remain unsolved. DeWine, who is running for Ohio governor, has said he hopes to solve the complex case before he leaves the attorney general’s office.
Contact this reporter at 937-259-2086 or email Will.Garbe@coxinc.com.
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