Police guard funeral home of one Ohio "massacre" victim
PIKETON, Ohio -- Grieving family members will gather for funeral services in the days ahead to remember eight of their own who were killed in what authorities are calling a "cold-blooded, calculated massacre" in rural Ohio.
A visitation was held for one of the eight Wednesday night at a funeral home in Kentucky, about 30 miles south of where the victims were fatally shot.
Gary Rhoden, 38, was among those killed.
Mourners spent hours at the funeral home while local police and sheriff's deputies stood watch, a reminder that the killer or killers are still on the loose.
Meanwhile, mental health professionals say they will stay in Pike County as long as they're needed, reports CBS Columbus, Ohio affiliate WBNS-TV.
Experts say the communities surrounding the horrific crime scenes could have difficulty processing the tragic deaths of eight people.
Authorities haven't made any arrests or confirmed a motive for the slayings. They remain tight-lipped about the investigation.
"I assume the person or the people who committed these murders are watching the news reports about Pike County," state Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "I do not intend or want to broadcast any information that would let them know details about this investigation."
"This was an old-fashioned, calculated massacre of eight human beings," DeWine said.
The bodies of seven adults and a teenage boy were found in their homes in the hills near Piketon, about 80 miles east of Cincinnati, on Friday.
The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr., 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden and 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; their cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden, and 20-year-old Hannah Gilley, whose 6-month old son with Frankie Rhoden was unharmed.
Two other children, Hanna Rhoden's 4-day-old daughter and Frankie Rhoden's 3-year-old son, also were unharmed.
A coroner said seven members of the Rhoden family were shot multiple times, and one had nine gunshot wounds. Some victims also had bruising.
Earlier Wednesday, DeWine and other officials visited the four homes where the family members were killed.
"It's absolutely shocking, some of these scenes," Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said at a news conference with DeWine.
DeWine stressed that authorities would do whatever is necessary to solve the crimes, while warning the investigation could be lengthy.
"We are going to find whoever did this," he said.
The state crime lab is examining nearly 80 pieces of possible evidence recovered from the scenes, according to WBNS. Detectives have interviewed more than 60 people, CBS News confirmed.
Investigators also spoke with an Ohio man named Rusty Mongold, apparently about a Facebook post that appeared to threaten the youngest murder victim, the 16 year old, Christopher Rhoden Jr.
A law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News that investigators found some 200 marijuana plants inside an indoor grow operation found in some of the homes where the shootings took place.
The size of the operation, according to the source, indicates the marijuana was being grown for sale and not for personal use.
DeWine couldn't say with certainty whether that may have been a factor into the murders.
Investigators are also looking at the possibility a Mexican drug cartel is behind the pre-planned execution of the family.
But an expert told WBNS that's not likely.
Sam Quinones, author of the book "Dreamland," which chronicles the opiate epidemic, told WBNS, "It is extraordinarily rare for Mexican drug traffickers to commit public notable violence particularly against people who are not Mexican and people who are not involved in the Mexican drug trade," he said, adding that the cartels aren't known for killing non-Mexicans in the U.S.