The Bettie Jenifer murder remains unsolved. On May 10, 2019, the 44-year-old Maryland businesswoman was shot and killed in the parking lot of her Greenbelt office building. Investigators soon learned she was legally married to two men at the same time: Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh and imprisoned Baltimore drug trafficker Kedrick “Pretty Ricky” Jenifer. No suspect has been publicly identified or charged in the available record.
What Happened in the Parking Lot
Jenifer left her office in the 6300 block of Ivy Lane in Greenbelt at about 5:10 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2019.1The Washington Post. Woman Fatally Shot Outside Office Building in Greenbelt2NBC Washington. Woman Killed in Greenbelt Was Married to Two Men3Fox 5 DC. Police Casting Wide Net in Investigation Into Death of Ghanaian Actor’s Wife in Greenbelt She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting happened in daylight in front of roughly ten witnesses.4WTOP. Police Release Sketch of Suspect in Death of Woman in Greenbelt Parking Lot The gunman fled in a blue vehicle.5WTOP. Woman Shot, Killed in Greenbelt After Being Chased Through a Parking Lot Greenbelt Police spokesperson George Mathews called the attack “very brazen” and said investigators did not believe it was random. It was the city’s first homicide of the year.3Fox 5 DC. Police Casting Wide Net in Investigation Into Death of Ghanaian Actor’s Wife in Greenbelt
Jenifer lived in Bowie, Maryland, in a home that had belonged to Kedrick Jenifer, and she owned an employment staffing agency on the first floor of the Ivy Lane building where she was killed.2NBC Washington. Woman Killed in Greenbelt Was Married to Two Men6WJLA. Maryland Murder Victim’s Husbands: Drug Kingpin and Ghanaian Actor
Married to Two Men
The detail that turned the case into national news was Jenifer’s marital status. She had married Kedrick Jenifer in Baltimore in March 1999.7WJLA. More Details Emerge in Greenbelt Homicide Case Nearly two decades later, without having divorced him, she married Chris Attoh in a ceremony in Accra, Ghana, in October 2018.2NBC Washington. Woman Killed in Greenbelt Was Married to Two Men Coverage of the Ghana wedding did not mention her first marriage.
Kedrick Jenifer, known as “Pretty Ricky,” led a Baltimore cocaine trafficking organization that moved product from Houston to Maryland using vehicles with hidden compartments. He pleaded guilty in October 2015 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, admitting responsibility for at least 450 kilograms.8U.S. Department of Justice. Leader of Jenifer Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty In March 2016, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced him to 20 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.9U.S. Department of Justice. Leader of Major Baltimore Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 20 Years At the time of Bettie’s death, he was about three years into that sentence at Fort Dix in New Jersey, with a projected release date of December 4, 2031.10WSLS. Slain Maryland Woman Had Two Husbands
Attoh is a well-known Ghanaian actor and television host. He and Bettie had been married roughly seven months when she was killed.6WJLA. Maryland Murder Victim’s Husbands: Drug Kingpin and Ghanaian Actor Police confirmed he cooperated with investigators.11People. Police Seek Gunman Accused of Killing Woman Married to Two Men
Divorce Filings Weeks Before the Killing
Both marriages were coming apart in the spring of 2019. Prince George’s County court records show Kedrick Jenifer filed for divorce on April 9, 2019, citing adultery and his incarceration. Bettie cross-filed six days later, on April 15, also citing adultery.7WJLA. More Details Emerge in Greenbelt Homicide Case She was killed less than a month later, and the divorce was never finalized. Mathews called the dual-marriage situation “highly unusual” and said it “adds to the complexity of this case for the investigators.”12KATV. Maryland Murder Victim’s Husbands: Drug Kingpin and Ghanaian Actor
The Investigation and Unsolved Status
Witnesses described the gunman as a middle-aged Black male with a thin build and black hair, wearing a black sleeveless top and dark pants.13Fox 5 DC. Greenbelt Police Release Sketch of Suspect in Ivy Lane Homicide On May 24, 2019, Greenbelt police released a composite sketch based on those accounts.14CBS Baltimore. Police Release Sketch of Suspect in Bettie Jenifer’s Murder
Greenbelt investigators worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration on the case, a pairing that pointed to the possible tie between the killing and Kedrick Jenifer’s cocaine operation.7WJLA. More Details Emerge in Greenbelt Homicide Case Police said they had not determined whether either husband had any involvement in Bettie’s death.10WSLS. Slain Maryland Woman Had Two Husbands As of late May 2019, investigators were still searching for both a suspect and a motive.14CBS Baltimore. Police Release Sketch of Suspect in Bettie Jenifer’s Murder Nothing in the available reporting indicates an arrest was ever made.
A Later Development in Kedrick Jenifer’s Case
Kedrick Jenifer later sought compassionate release from federal prison, arguing that changes under the First Step Act of 2018 would produce a lower mandatory minimum today and that his rehabilitation justified a reduction. Judge Bennett denied the motion on March 1, 2022, noting that the 20-year sentence was already a downward variance from advisory guidelines of roughly 24 to 30 years, driven by the volume of cocaine involved and Jenifer’s role as the organization’s leader. The court also cited “concerning information” about a post-conviction attempt to threaten one of the prosecutors in the case but stopped short of a formal finding. The ruling did not mention Bettie Jenifer’s murder.15GovInfo. USCOURTS-mdd-1-14-cr-00411