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Hundreds of pot plants found at killing scenes

An aerial photo shows one of the locations being investigated in Pike County, Ohio, as part of an ongoing homicide investigation.Lisa Marie Miller/The Columbus Dispatch via Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio prosecutor said Monday that investigators found what appeared to be several hundred marijuana plants at some of the homes where eight relatives were found shot to death last week.

Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk told the Columbus Dispatch that some of the plants were found indoors. But he added: ‘‘It wasn’t just somebody sitting pots in the window.’’

Authorities are trying to determine who killed the eight family members at four homes in rural southern Ohio on Friday. They have refused to discuss many details of the crime, including weapons, suspects, and a possible motive. Several search warrants have been issued.

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Officials haven’t said whether the marijuana might have had anything to do with the deaths. Marijuana seizures are common in Pike County, where authorities said a 2012 seizure could be connected to a Mexican drug cartel.

Attorney General Mike DeWine has described the killings near the small community of Piketon as ‘‘a sophisticated operation’’ and a planned execution. Seven adults and one teenage boy were found shot in the head; three young children were not harmed.

The Ohio attorney general’s office said the last autopsy of eight slain family members was completed.

More than a dozen counselors, clergy, and school psychologists were on hand Monday to help at a southern Ohio school district, where one of eight people killed was a high school freshman.

Scioto Valley Local School District Superintendent Todd Burkitt said 16-year-old Christopher Rhoden Jr. was a student at Piketon High School. He says the teen’s siblings — 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden and 20-year-old Clarence ‘‘Frankie’’ Rhoden — also were once students there.

Investigators have interviewed between 50 and 60 people in hopes of finding leads, and a team of 38 people is combing wooded areas around the shooting scenes to ensure no evidence was missed.

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The other victims were identified Saturday as 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; 38-year-old Gary Rhoden; 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; 20-year-old Clarence ‘‘Frankie’’ Rhoden; 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; and 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden.

Hanna Rhoden was in bed with her newborn baby nearby, authorities said. The infant was 4- or 5-days old. The newborn, Hannah Gilley’s 6-month-old baby, and one other small child were not hurt.