On a Friday evening in Greenbelt, Maryland, 44-year-old Bettie Jenifer left her office in the 6300 block of Ivy Lane and walked toward her car. It was shortly after 5 p.m. on May 10, 2019, when a man armed with a handgun approached her in the parking lot. A sense of dread must have washed over her as she tried to flee, but her pursuer gave chase, firing multiple rounds. At least one of the bullets struck her in the head, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooter, described as a Black male with a thin build, fled in a blue vehicle and remains at large.
The investigation into Bettie's death quickly uncovered a complex personal life. At the time of her murder, she was married to two men simultaneously. Her marriage in October 2018 to Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh came less than a year after his divorce from his first wife. However, she was also still legally married to Kedrick Jenifer, a convicted Baltimore drug lord serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for importing large quantities of cocaine. Court records revealed that both Kedrick and Bettie Jenifer had filed for divorce just a month before her death, with his filing on April 9 and hers six days later. This tangled web of relationships led investigators to believe that her killing was a targeted attack and not a random act of violence.
In the wake of the shooting, police released a composite sketch of the suspect based on witness descriptions, but an arrest has yet to be made. The investigation has been wide-ranging, with authorities looking into all aspects of Bettie's life for clues. At one point, her husband, Chris Attoh, was considered a suspect, and he was questioned by police. He has publicly denied any involvement in his wife's murder and stated that he was cooperating fully with the investigation. The case has drawn considerable media attention due to the shocking nature of the crime and the victim's connections to both the entertainment world and organized crime. As of now, the motive for Bettie Jenifer's murder remains unsolved, and her killer has not been brought to justice.
