Marijuana, murder and rape - what Danelle Geier said on the stand

The woman accused of conspiring to murder a 56-year-old Penn State professor testified about her interactions with the professor, the man also accused of murdering the professor, police, her past life experiences and more on Thursday.

Danelle Geier, 34, testified she met George Ishler Jr. on Feb. 16, 2015. She testified the date was memorable because she saw all of her family members for the first time in a while. Later that month, Geier, her son and her ex-boyfriend moved in with Ronald Bettig.

"We didn't have a very good relationship to be honest," Geier testified.

The relationship ended when she and Bettig witnessed him having sexual intercourse with another woman in Bettig's basement. After he was kicked out of the home, Geier testified she and Bettig began a sexual relationship.

Deborah Lux, defense attorney for Geier, then questioned her about the June 2016 trip she took to Delaware with both men and her son.

"We went there to get drugs. We went there because that's where George said his connects (connections) were," Geier testified.

She and Bettig injected heroin and crystal meth for the first time, but neither found it to be an enjoyable experience so they agreed to never do heroin or crystal meth again when they returned to Pennsylvania, according to her testimony.

District Attorney Bernie Cantorna pushed back on her testimony and Geier eventually testified she had injected heroin in Williamsport before doing so with the professor.

The group went back to Delaware in August 2016.

Geier testified Bettig gave Ishler $80 to purchase marijuana. She said Bettig became frustrated because he thought it was taking Ishler far too long to return with the marijuana.

Previous testimony revealed Geier sent Ishler a text that read, "So ready I am pissed off," when Ishler was allegedly attempting to purchase marijuana.

The Commonwealth argued the text meant she was ready to kill the professor. She testified she sent the text because Bettig was yelling at her while she was defending Ishler.

"I was tired of sticking up for George and getting yelled at for it. I do it all the time and I'm tired of it," Geier testified.

When Ishler returned without marijuana, that allegedly made Bettig "furious." The two continued to argue and Ishler said he was willing to sell his truck and share the marijuana he was growing at an abandoned quarry.

After leaving Delaware, she testified the four of them went to a quarry she had never seen before. She said Ishler and Bettig ran into some bushes near the top of the quarry. Ishler allegedly returned without Bettig and said the professor was still at the top of the quarry replanting the marijuana plants.

Ishler, Geier and her son went back to Bettig's house because Ishler said Bettig needed specific tools to replant, according to her testimony. When they got back to the house, she testified she noticed pebbles in Ishler's knee.

"He told me that he argued with Ron up there because he was wondering where the pot plants were," Geier testified. "He sat there and told me different stories. One story that he argued with him, one story that he pushed him, one story that he didn't push him and one story he walked backward and went off the cliff."

When she asked Ishler why he did it, he allegedly told Geier, "That he had to. That he was yelling at him and calling him stupid."

Geier continued to question Ishler and asked if Bettig was OK.

"He said he was dead. He said he didn't think he survived the fall and I believed him. I believed every word he said to me," Geier testified.

She also said she didn't call police because Ishler said he was going to kill her and her son if she told anyone what happened. Geier also testified Ishler raped her after the alleged murder.

As she continued to testify, she said Ishler admitted to killing his mother with fentanyl a long time ago and nobody knew because he "got away with it."

When she finally felt she was safe to share her information with police, she testified officers did not believe her and were not respectful or professional with her.

"Every time I said anything, they said I was lying because George told them a different story," Geier testified. "They turned everything toward me. They kept repeating everything over and over. George said this, George said that."

She also testified one officer accused her of having a sexual relationship with Ishler, which she denied in her testimony.

"I've been through a lot in my life. Been through a lot of sexual abuse in my life, too. I was abused by my stepfather, my brother and my mom's boyfriend. So I've been abused a lot in my life," Geier testified. "I've been raped a bunch in my life, too. I've had a lot done to me."

An audio recording was played by Cantorna, which was of a conversation between lead investigator Brian Wakefield and Geier.

In the recording, Geier told Wakefield about a plan she and Ishler created to take Bettig to Rehoboth Beach with the purpose of drowning him in the ocean. When that did not happen, Geier told police Ishler spoke of another plan he had to kill Bettig.

The second plan was to lure Bettig to the top of the quarry, which is where Ishler allegedly had marijuana plants growing. If Bettig did not fall on his own, Geier told Wakefield that Ishler was prepared to "help" Bettig.

The end of the recording featured a muffled statement from Geier, which Cantorna asked her to clarify.

"Were you going to say you wished you didn't listen to George Ishler?" Cantorna asked.

"Yes, sir," Geier testified.

The trial is scheduled to continue Friday.

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Marijuana, murder and rape - what Danelle Geier said on the stand."