Two “friends” of a Penn State professor have been charged with his murder after they pushed him off an 80-foot cliff into a quarry after believing they were named in his will. They were not.
The body of 56-year-old Ronald Bettig, a media studies professor at Penn State since 1988, was found last Wednesday in a quarry after Danelle Geier, 32, and George Ishler, 39, convinced Bettig to go there to scope out a spot to potentially harvest marijuana, according to the Daily Mail.
Bettig, who a colleague said would be referred to as the ‘nutty professor’ for his relentless questioning of the status quo, was reportedly friends with the couple, who police coined as ‘known drug users.’
Geier and Ishler originally plotted to have Ishler drown Bettig in the ocean during a trip to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, but conjured up the quarry plan later. During the trip to Rehoboth, Geier texted Ishler ‘So ready I am pissed off’, which police believe was in reference to being ready to kill Bettig after he criticized how she was raising her son.
After pushing the professor off the quarry wall, the couple reportedly tried to stage the scene as if it were an accident. Per Daily Mail,
Geier told police that she and Ishler also agreed to stage the scene with items such as Bettig’s car to make it appear as if he was alone, and they agreed to report him missing three days later, according to court documents.
They put Bettig’s water bottles, flashlight, hand rake and a bag near the quarry in an attempt to stage the scene.
Bettig disappeared on August 12 and the two waited until August 15 to tell police the scholar was missing.
The two were eventually arrested after officers found glaring inconsistencies in their stories.
The following statement was issued by Marie Hardin, the Dean of the College of Communications:
‘We are deeply saddened by the loss. He was a part of the fabric of this College for many years.
‘All except our very newest faculty and staff members very likely knew Ron, who was one of our longest-tenured faculty members.
‘Ron was the kind of teacher who connected powerfully with students, who found his classes in political economy – at both the undergraduate and graduate levels – transformative.’
Geier faces charges for murder, aggravated assault, evidence-tampering and conspiracy while Ishler had already been charged with first-and third-degree murder on Friday.
[h/t Daily Mail]