PIKE COUNTY, OHIO — Eight members of the same family were massacred at four homes in Ohio last week in what local authorities are calling a pre-planned, "sophisticated operation."
A relative was the first to find Christopher Rhoden dead in the bedroom of his Pike County, Ohio home on Friday morning and promptly called the police. Upon investigation, officers found six others from the same family killed at three separate homes in the county. According to CBS News, an eighth family member, Kenneth Rhoden, was found at a fourth residence by a cousin that afternoon.
While all eight members of the family were shot execution-style, two infants and a 3-year-old child were spared. One mother was killed while her 4-day-old baby lay beside her, reported CNN.
Authorities are now examining a Facebook death threat mentioning Christopher Rhoden Jr., the youngest member of the family to die.
Investigators found that the Rhoden family had a marijuana grow operation, which included some 200 plants estimated to have a value of $2,000 each for a total of nearly $400,000. A source told CBS News that the size of the operation indicated that marijuana was being grown commercially, rather than for personal commercial use. There's still no evidence that the family's murders were drug related, however.
A law enforcement officer told CBS News that investigators are looking into the possibility of a Mexican drug cartel connection, a possible drug turf war or a family feud.
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