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Penn State Professor’s Girlfriend and Her Uncle Push Him Off Cliff · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Ever wonder what pushes someone over the edge, Like what
• 0:03
  makes a person commit murder?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: Is it like some well thought out plan or just
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  pure desperation? Right, Well, today we're going to take a
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  deep dive into a case that really makes you think
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  about those questions.
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  Speaker 3: Interesting.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to be looking into the mysterious death of
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  doctor Ronald Betdig. He was a professor at Penn State
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  and his life just kind of took this dark turn
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  after he lost his wife. We've got some excerpts from Snapped,
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  that true crime TV show. Yeah, yeah, so get ready,
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  this is going to be a wild one.
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  Speaker 3: I'm excited.
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  Speaker 1: What I find so fascinating about this case is how
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  things start out so normal, Yeah, but then it all
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  unravels into this crazy web of lies and manipulation.
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  Speaker 3: Right. It's like you think you know someone exactly.
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  Speaker 1: It's all about how looks can be deceiving. Doctor Betig
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  was this respective professor, right Yeah, like a real pillar
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  of the community, and he was trying to rebuild his
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  life after his wife died. He was fifty five, you know,
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  maybe feeling a little lost, struggling with the grief, and
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  then enters Danell Geyer. This thirty four year old woman
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  who says she's down on her luck and their relationship.
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  It moves so fast, like lightning speed. Geyer moves into
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  Beddeg's house just seven months before he disappears.
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  Speaker 3: Wow, that's quick.
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  Speaker 1: So here we have this woman who's lost custody of
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  her son and she's in serious financial trouble, and then boom,
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  almost like magic, she meets this well off professor. You
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  gotta wonder coincidence?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, or is there something darker going on? Especially
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  when you consider it was her uncle, George Isshler, who
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  introduced them.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, so the uncle's involved too.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And to make things even more complicated, Oh, there's more,
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  Geyer had a really rough past, like struggling with money,
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  losing custody of her first son.
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  Speaker 3: Man, that's tough.
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  Speaker 1: So many red flags popping up already, right, Yeah, for sure,
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  Betty vanishes. Who do you think is the first one
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  to call the police?
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  Speaker 3: Hmmm, I don't know Geyer?
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  Speaker 1: Nope, Oh really it was George Issler, the uncle, the
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  one who brought them together in the first place.
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  Speaker 3: That's kind of suspicious.
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  Speaker 1: Right he goes straight to the police and points the
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  finger right at Geier.
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  Speaker 3: Wow, trying to frame her totally.
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  Speaker 1: He even hints that there were problems between the couple
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  and suggests that maybe Geyer was seeing someone else.
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  Speaker 3: Classic deflection, right.
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  Speaker 1: Like he's trying to control the story from the very beginning.
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  Speaker 3: It makes you wonder what he's hiding.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely raises questions about his motives. Sure, and Geier, Oh,
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  she doesn't just sit back and take it. No, she
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  comes back swinging and she's the real victim here. Oh wow,
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  And she puts all the blame on Isler for Beteg's death.
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  Speaker 3: So it's a blame game now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, a total tangled mess of accusations.
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  Speaker 3: And I bet it gets even crazier.
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  Speaker 1: Oh does, because then they find Betting's body where at
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  the bottom of a ninety foot quarry?
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  Speaker 3: Oh my god?
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  Speaker 1: And get this what he didn't die from the fall.
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  Speaker 3: He survived.
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  Speaker 1: The pathologist said he lived for two whole days.
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  Speaker 3: That's insane. But how did he.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, how did he end up at the bottom of
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  the quarry if he survived the fall?
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  Speaker 3: Right, what happened during those two days?
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  Speaker 1: So many questions?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that detail changes everything.
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  Speaker 1: It's the key to figuring out this whole mystery.
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  Speaker 3: Definitely.
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  Speaker 1: Wait, so you're telling me he survived the fall.
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  Speaker 3: But then, what's so bizarre?
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  Speaker 1: Someone push him or did he try to climb back
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  up and fall again? It's possible was he like held
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  captive down there?
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  Speaker 3: We need more information, Yeah, for sure. We got to
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  look at.
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  Speaker 2: The forensic evidence, like what did the pathologist find? Were
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  there's signs of a fight, defensive wounds, toxicology reports? Yeah,
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  the good points through some details, but they could help
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  us separate an accident from something intentional.
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  Speaker 1: That makes sense.
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  Speaker 2: We need to figure out what really happened, and that's
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  where Ishler and Geyer's confessions come in. But their stories
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  they're completely different, like night and day.
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  Speaker 1: Oh man, this is getting good.
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  Speaker 3: It is okay, So let's get into these confessions. Starting
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  with Ishler.
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  Speaker 2: Right, he just drops this huge bombshell, confesses to killing Bedig.
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  Speaker 1: Whoa.
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  Speaker 3: But he says Geyer manipulated him into doing it.
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  Speaker 1: So he's saying he's not the mastermind exactly.
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  Speaker 2: He's saying Geyer is the one who planned it all.
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  Oh wow, claims she was driven by greed, thought Betig
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  had a ton of money in disney stock.
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  Speaker 1: Wait disney stock. Yeah, apparently this is starting to sound
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  like a bad movie.
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  Speaker 3: A little bit right, Well, but it gets worse. Oh no,
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  Ishler says. Betig even signed a will a week leaving
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  his house to Geyer, really and naming Ishler as the executor.
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  Speaker 1: So they were using him for his money this whole time.
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  Speaker 3: That's what it sounds like like.
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  Speaker 1: Their relationship with doctor Begig was all fake.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe they saw him as a way to get rich.
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  Speaker 1: And when he found out about the credit.
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  Speaker 3: Card charges, oh right, they were using his credit cards too.
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  Speaker 1: It totally threatened to expose their whole plan.
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  Speaker 3: Makes sense.
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  Speaker 1: They had to silence him. And that trip to Delaware.
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  Speaker 3: The one where Ishler said he was collecting money, Betig
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  was owed. Yeah, maybe that was just another way to
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  try and get money.
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  Speaker 1: From him, and when that didn't.
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  Speaker 3: Work, things went bad at the quarry.
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  Speaker 1: It all ends up.
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  Speaker 3: But then Geyer tells a totally different story.
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  Speaker 1: Oh really, what did she say?
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  Speaker 2: She claims Ishler killed Betig because he was angry, angry,
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  and then threatened her and her son to keep quiet.
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  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, it's a classic, he said, she said, situation.
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  Speaker 3: So who's telling the truth.
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  Speaker 1: We have to try and figure that out.
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  Speaker 3: This is like a messed up game of chess, each
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  one trying to outsmart the other.
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  Speaker 1: Even though their plan totally blew up in their faces.
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  Speaker 3: So how do we even start to unravel this?
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  Speaker 1: We need to look at their motives? Right, What did
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  Ishler and Geyer each stand to gain from Betig's death?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, let's start with Geyer, right. We know she really
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  wanted to get her son back. Yeah, and she was.
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  Speaker 2: Strugg financially, right, Maybe she saw Bettig as her way
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  to a better life.
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  Speaker 1: I mean it's possible like he was her ticket out.
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  Speaker 3: And remember the prosecutor thought that's exactly what it was.
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  Speaker 1: That Geyer wanted her son back so badly.
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  Speaker 3: Does she do anything to get him?
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  Speaker 1: Wow?
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  Speaker 3: It makes you think about how far a parent would
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  go for their child.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, powerful could.
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  Speaker 3: Be a strong enough reason to kill someone.
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  Speaker 1: But we can't be sure that's the only reason, right.
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  Speaker 3: We can't just assume that Ishler.
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  Speaker 1: Said it was all about the money. Yeah, he kept
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  talking about the will.
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  Speaker 3: The one where Geyer got the house.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, so maybe Geyer was greedy too.
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  Speaker 3: We can't rule that out.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So what about Isler then? Was he just being
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  used by Geyer or.
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  Speaker 3: Did he have his own reasons for wanting Betig dead.
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  Speaker 1: Good question.
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  Speaker 2: Remember he was the one who went to the police first.
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  Oh yeah, trying to make Geyer look guilty.
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  Speaker 1: Right from the start.
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  Speaker 3: So maybe he was trying to control the story to.
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  Speaker 1: Protect himself exactly and when he can fast.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, saying Geyer made him do it.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe that was just to make himself look less.
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  Speaker 3: Guilty, hoping for a shorter sentence.
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  Speaker 1: He also admitted that Betig knew about their credit card scheme.
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  Oh right, so he had a motive to want Betig gone. Definitely,
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  I want to get caught.
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  Speaker 3: Greed and self preservation powerful motivators. They both had them.
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  Speaker 1: And they were both found guilty of first degree murder.
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  Speaker 3: The jury didn't buy Ishler's story, so it was planned.
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  Speaker 1: Seems like two people driven by greed and desperation.
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  Speaker 3: Each blaming the other.
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  Speaker 1: This is so confusing.
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  Speaker 3: It's a tough one.
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  Speaker 1: We might never know exactly what happened, who did what.
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  It's frustrating. We want answers, the clear truth.
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  Speaker 3: But sometimes the truth is hard to.
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  Speaker 1: Find, especially in cases like this.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're left with so many questions.
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  Speaker 1: Did they plan this from the beginning or did it.
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  Speaker 3: Just spiral out of control.
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  Speaker 1: It's crazy to think how greed and desperation can lead
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  to something so tragic it really is. Speaking of motives, yeah,
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  let's think about the investigation for a second. Okay, imagine
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  you're the detective on this case. Two people pointing fingers.
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  Speaker 3: At each other, each with their own story.
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  Speaker 1: Where do you even begin?
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  Speaker 3: Well, first, you got to see if their stories.
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  Speaker 1: Check out, corroborate their claims exactly. Were there any witnesses
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  who saw them.
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  Speaker 3: Together at the quarry? Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: Did they leave any evidence.
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  Speaker 3: Behind, fingerprints, DNA, anything like that.
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  Speaker 1: The police would be looking for anything to connect them
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  to the crime scene for sure. And what about the forensic.
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  Speaker 3: Evidence, Oh yeah, that would be huge.
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  Speaker 2: Like the pathologists report, if there were signs of a struggle.
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  Speaker 1: Defensive wounds, anything.
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  Speaker 3: That showed Bedigg didn't just die from.
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  Speaker 1: The fall, that would prove it wasn't an.
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  Speaker 3: Accident, right, someone did something to him.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, And what about motive?
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  Speaker 3: That's key?
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  Speaker 1: How would they figure that out?
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  Speaker 3: They'd look into their finances.
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  Speaker 1: See if there were any weird transactions, debts, anything that
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  shows they had a financial reason to kill.
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  Speaker 3: Them, right, And they'd talk to people.
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  Speaker 2: Who knew them, friends, family, colleagues to build a timeline and.
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  Speaker 1: See if there were any conflicts or.
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  Speaker 3: Reason why someone might want Betig dead.
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  Speaker 1: It's like a puzzle, yeah, finding all.
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  Speaker 3: The pieces to tell the story.
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  Speaker 1: So let's say they've got all this.
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  Speaker 3: Evidence, They've talked to everyone, analyze.
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  Speaker 1: The forensic reports, they think they've got a case.
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  Speaker 3: What's next, Well, they take it to the.
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  Speaker 2: District attorney, okay, and the DA decides if they're going
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  to press charges, and if.
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  Speaker 3: They do, then it goes to trial.
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  Speaker 1: In this case, both Ischler and Geyer were found guilty.
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  Speaker 3: Of first degree murder.
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  Speaker 1: And they got life in prison.
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  Speaker 3: So the justice system did its job.
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  Speaker 1: But we have all the answers I don't know. We
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  still don't know for sure who actually killed.
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  Speaker 3: Betig or exactly what happened.
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  Speaker 1: It's weird, right, We have a guilty verdict, yeah, but
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  we still have all these questions.
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  Speaker 3: It's like those missing puzzle pieces.
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  Speaker 1: He just keep bugging you.
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  Speaker 3: You know, you think you've got it all figured.
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  Speaker 1: Out, and then there's this gap.
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  Speaker 3: And those gaps, the unanswered.
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  Speaker 1: Questions, they're the ones that stick with.
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  Speaker 3: You long after the case is closed.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you think about people.
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  Speaker 3: And the choices they make, like how could.
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  Speaker 1: This happen exactly.
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  Speaker 3: You have This professor seems so ordinary.
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  Speaker 1: Than this young woman who's struggling and her uncle. Like
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  it should be a straightforward story. Yeah, but it's so
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  much more complicated.
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  Speaker 3: Real life is messy like that.
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  Speaker 1: It really shows how hard it is to understand people.
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  Speaker 2: You can look at the evidence, the motives, trying to
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  make sense of it all, but the why, that's the
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  hardest part.
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  Speaker 3: We may never fully grasp it.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what I think is so important for our
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  listeners to remember. What's that how deceptive appearances can be. Yeah,
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  the people we see every day, they could have secrets,
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  hidden motives that we'd never even guess.
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  Speaker 3: It's like that's saying.
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  Speaker 2: Still waters run deep, so true, you never really know
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  what's going on beneath the surface.
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  Speaker 1: It's scary, It is a little bit and it makes
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  you wonder about what about how far people will.
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  Speaker 2: Go for money, for love, for power like in this case, financial.
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  Speaker 1: Desperation, personal ambition.
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  Speaker 3: They were powerful sources.
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  Speaker 1: Pushing these people to do tear things.
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  Speaker 3: Guyer wanting her son back.
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  Speaker 1: And thinking Betig's money would solve.
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  Speaker 3: Everything, and Ishler with his own money problems.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe being manipulated by Guyer too.
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  Speaker 3: It's like one person's desperation.
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  Speaker 1: You trigger this whole chain of events.
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  Speaker 3: With horrible consequences.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you think about your own life, doesn't It
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  Like even small choices could have a huge impact on
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  ourselves and others.
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  Speaker 3: It's a reminder to be careful.
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  Speaker 1: Think about the consequences.
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  Speaker 2: But also we can learn from cases like this, what
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  do you mean? We can be more aware of manipulation, deceit,
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  desperation in our own lives and the lives of those
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  around us.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not just about protecting ourselves, it's about understanding
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  people and what might drive them to do these awful things. Yeah,
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  to be a little skeptical.
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  Speaker 3: Not to distrust everyone, but to be smart realize that
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  things aren't always what they seem.
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  Speaker 1: Well said. Thanks, This deep dive into doctor Begig's death
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  has been intense. Yeah, it reminds us that truth is slippery.
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  Speaker 3: And motives are complicated.
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  Speaker 1: But it's also been fascinating.
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  Speaker 3: We've explored the dark side of human nature.
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  Speaker 1: The things that can push people to the edge. Hopefully
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  it's made you think about the world around you.
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  Speaker 3: And the choices we all make.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for listening.
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  Speaker 1: We'll see you next time for another deep dive into
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  the mysteries of the human experience.