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Penn State Professor Allegedly Pushed to Death Off Quarry Ledge by Pair Who Thought They Were in His Will

A Penn State University professor is dead and two suspects – including a women the professor allegedly proposed to twice – are in custody over an alleged murder plot for money, police say.

The body of Ronald Bettig, 56, an associate professor of communications, was discovered Aug. 17 at the bottom of a quarry in Centre County, Pennsylvania, two days after he was reported missing by one of the suspects.

George Ishler Jr., 39, allegedly told police in that missing persons report that he and Danelle Geier, 32, were friends of the victim. He allegedly said Bettig, of Lemont, Pennsylvania, was last seen on the evening of Aug. 12 when he left for dinner after all three had returned together from a trip to Rehobeth Beach, Delaware.

But as police dug deeper, Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Thomas Stock tells PEOPLE, the accounts of Ishler and Geir began to splinter and diverge.

Now Ishler and Geier are in jail, charged with first- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. Geier is facing a separate charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

They have not yet entered a plea, and are due in court Aug. 31. It could not be determined if either has consulted with an attorney.

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“They were basically using him for his money,” Stock alleges. “His bank account was emptying and his credit card bills were going up.” Although Geier was living with Bettig at the time of his death, “he was going to cut ties with them and kick her out of the house.”

According to a criminal affidavit obtained by PEOPLE: “Geier and Ishler agreed to these crimes in hopes of financial gain of a ‘will’ that Ishler had written and claims that Bettig had signed.”

First Alleged Plot Fell Through

The pair’s allegedly murderous plans took shape on Aug. 10 – first, with a decision that Ishler would drown Bettig in the ocean on that trip to the beach, and when that didn’t occur, for Ishler to push Bettig off a ledge into the quarry where the trio reportedly had stopped to harvest marijuana plants, according to the criminal affidavit.

“Ishler and Geier were known to law enforcement,” Stock says. “They were known drug users.”

Stock tells PEOPLE that Ishler was the first to befriend Bettig and then he introduced the professor to Geier, who moved in with Bettig about six months ago. “It started out as just a friendship relationship, but it turned into a romantic relationship,” he says, “apparently to the point where Mr. Bettig allegedly asked her to marry him two times. That’s what [Geier] says.”


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Although Ishler lived in a nearby town, “he was always over at Mr. Bettig’s residence,” Stock says.

Sometime after Bettig indicated that he wanted Geier to move out, “the two of them came up with a plan to kill Mr. Bettig on a trip down to Rehobeth Beach,” Stock says. “The plan was for Mr. Ishler to drown Mr. Bettig while they were out in the ocean swimming. That plan fell through.”

Stock declined to specify why the alleged plot fell through, saying only, “There’s just some conflicting statements on why that fell through.”

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Second Alleged Plot Involved Ruse of Marijuana Plants

On the way home to Pennsylvania from that beach trip on Aug. 12, Ishler and Geier allegedly devised a Plan B while sitting in a gas station: According to authorities, they told Bettig that along the way they needed to detour to a quarry in Centre County, Pennsylvania, “under the ruse that they would be able to harvest some marijuana plants” that Ishler was growing there, Stock says.

Ishler allegedly said the plants were close to the 80-foot high ledge. “The plan was to push him off the edge,” Stock says.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Geier stayed in the car with her son while the two men got out and walked toward the quarry.

“Ishler said he heard Bettig’s body 'crunch’ once he impacted with the quarry floor,” the document states. “Later Ishler returned to the vehicle and Geier had asked Ishler if he had really done it. Ishler acknowledged that he had pushed Bettig over the ledge.”

The document continues: “The two agreed to later return with the victim’s vehicle and leave it parked at the scene along with other items Ishler placed” – water bottles, a flashlight, a small hand rake and a bag, all taken from Bettig’s home – “to make it appear that Bettig was alone at the quarry.”

In an Aug. 19 interrogation, Ishler allegedly told police that Bettig recently had signed a new will “and there was a possibility of financial gain for both Geier and Ishler if Bettig was deceased,” according to the affidavit. Ishler allegedly told police he had the original copy.

During the trio’s trip to Rehobeth Beach, Geier “became upset with Bettig making comments to her about how she was raising her son and she texted Ishler stating that she was 'So ready I am pissed off,’” the affidavit alleges. “Geier admitted that 'So ready’ was in reference to her ready for Ishler to kill Bettig.”

The pair allegedly conspired to wait three days after the Aug. 12 incident at the quarry before calling police on Aug. 15 to report Bettig missing. Local police issued a missing persons alert on Aug. 16. Bettig’s body was discovered Aug. 17, after a caller reported spotting Bettig’s maroon Ford Focus on a roadside near the quarry.

Asked if either Geier or Ishler had expressed remorse, Stock says, “None.”