Lilyana Rose Wagner sentenced to life for mother's murder

Lilyana Rose Wagner, 16, has pleaded guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault in the death of her mother, Rachel Suzanne Wagner, 51. Following the plea, Wagner was sentenced to life in prison.

The incident occurred on November 19, 2024, when Wagner was 14. Law enforcement became involved after Wagner was involved in a vehicle wreck in Crawford County, Georgia. During a subsequent welfare check at her residence in Tifton, officers discovered Rachel Wagner deceased in her bed from a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.

District Attorney Patrick Warren stated that investigations by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Tifton Police Department revealed Wagner had developed an obsession with mass shootings. Digital evidence from her phone showed she communicated with anonymous individuals who encouraged her to commit murder. Officials noted that the specific application used for these communications lacked keyword and content analysis software, which prevented the conversations from being flagged prior to the crime.