2nd Person Charged In Death Of Professor Found In Quarry
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP/KDKA) - A second person has been charged in the death of a Penn State professor who police say was pushed off a cliff at a quarry and fell 80 feet.
The Centre Daily Times reports that 32-year-old Danelle Geier, of Lemont, was arraigned Saturday on charges of first- and third-degree murder, conspiracy, aggravated assault and evidence-tampering.
Thirty-nine-year-old George Ishler Jr., of Pennsylvania Furnace, had previously been charged in the death of 56-year-old Ronald Bettig, an associate professor of media studies whose remains were found Thursday.
According to a criminal complaint, Geier was living with Bettig at his home at the time of his disappearance.
Authorities say the two plotted to kill Bettig because they believed they would gain financially from a will Bettig recently signed. According to the criminal complaint, Geier said she and Ishler initially planned to drown Bettig in the ocean while the three were on a trip to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, but they later changed their plans. Geier told state police she and Ishler told Bettig that Ishler grew marijuana plants near a quarry in Potter Township and they could harvest them. Once there, Geier said Ishler pushed Bettig off a cliff while she waited in the car.
The criminal complaint also mentions that Geier said Bettig was making comments to her about how she was raising her son, which upset her, and she texted Ishler, saying, "So ready [for Ishler to kill Bettig] I am [expletive] off."
Court documents don't list an attorney for Geier; a listed number for her couldn't be found Sunday. Attorney information for Ishler also wasn't available.
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