Source: Photo courtesy of WALB News 10 / Lilyana Rose Wagner.
Lilyana Rose Wagner, 16, has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the 2024 killing of her mother, Rachel Suzanne Wagner, 51, according to an Aug. 25 press release posted to Facebook by Patrick Warren, district attorney for the Tifton Judicial Circuit. Wagner admitted to shooting her mother in the back of the head while she was lying in bed inside the family’s home on East 18th Street in Tifton, Georgia, according to WALB News 10.
Lilyana Rose Wagner Trial: What happened to Rachel Suzanne Wagner?
The case began on Nov. 19, 2024, when Tifton Police were notified by law enforcement in Crawford County, Georgia, that Wagner, then 14, had been involved in a vehicle crash and was the only person inside the vehicle.
Wagner told officers that she lived alone with her mother. Tifton police then went to the family’s East 18th Street home to conduct a welfare check after Rachel failed to show up for work and could not be reached by phone.
Inside the home, officers found Rachel deceased in her bed. Investigators determined that she had suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Read more about the Lilyana Rose Wagner trial after the flip.
Investigators say Lilyana Rose Wagner had a fascination with school shooters and mass shootings.
As the investigation continued, authorities said they uncovered Wagner’s growing interest in school shooters and mass shootings. Investigators described her online activity and social media presence as extensive, saying she had developed a reputation among online contacts as someone interested in planning and carrying out a mass-casualty attack.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents and Tifton Police Department investigators Sydney Greene and Chris Knight spent months examining information recovered from Wagner’s phone. According to prosecutors, the material showed that Wagner had used various apps to communicate with anonymous individuals who encouraged her to plan and commit murder.
Authorities said Wagner continued communicating with those individuals after her mother’s death, including while she was being treated at a hospital in Crawford County. Investigators also noted that one of the apps she used did not have keyword or content-monitoring software capable of flagging the conversations for review before the killing of Rachel Suzanne Wagner occurred.
Investigators also determined that Rachel had purchased the firearm used in the killing from a Valdosta pawn shop about a month before her death. According to the district attorney’s office, Rachel allowed Wagner to keep the pistol and ammunition in her bedroom.
In a handwritten confession, Wagner said, “This whole thing was a last-minute choice. I was going to commit a school shooting at my old middle school but chose this instead. Although I didn’t commit a school shooting, the whole event was inspired by these people.” She then listed the names of six school shooters she knew from memory.
District Attorney Patrick Warren used the case to issue a warning to parents about the influence children can encounter online.
“Parents, I urge you to never underestimate the influence that exists behind your child’s screen. In the courtroom, I see the consequences after the messages and the online encouragement from strangers have already turned into real-world crimes,” Warren said in part. “By then, remorse for your actions cannot erase the damage, and a prosecution cannot give victims back what was taken. It is your duty to know who is influencing your child, and it is your duty to know what they are being taught to believe is acceptable. Most importantly, please keep the door open for them to come to you as the best time to intervene is before an online influence becomes a criminal record.”
Warren also thanked the investigators and law enforcement officers whose work contributed to the investigation, prosecution and resolution of the case. He specifically recognized the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, members of the Tifton Police Department and TPD investigators Sydney Greene and Chris Knight for their efforts throughout the case.
Wagner will spend the remainder of her life in prison under the sentence, with a minimum of 30 years to be served before she becomes eligible for parole.
