Cops: Empower worker shot in car as child slept

By Jennifer Cox

    In an event that has shocked and saddened media people across the country, a young media professional met a violent end during the holiday season, shot to death in her car as her 7-year-old daughter napped in the back seat.
     Cassandra Betts, a 25-year-old marketing manager at Empower MediaMarketing in Cincinnati, was murdered just days before Christmas, on Dec. 21. Her former boyfriend, Tony Ringer, has been arrested and charged with murder.
    Betts, who was four to six weeks pregnant at the time of her death, was reportedly shot in the head in the front seat of her car, which was parked outside an auto-repair shop in Woodlawn, a Cincinnati suburb. She was discovered by her daughter, who awoke to find her mother bleeding and unconscious.
    The murder has sent waves of grief through the agency where Betts worked for the last two years.
     "It’s a terrible loss," says Debbie Korcykoski, vice president and local media director at Empower. "She was outstanding and will be severely missed."
   Korcykoski, who at one point was Betts’ supervisor, says her death has shaken everyone in the 35-person office.
    "She was a wonderful mother," she says. "She had a bubbly personality and strong morals."
     Grief counselors have been brought into the agency, and Korcykoski notes that a number of sales reps from other markets have traveled to Cincinnati to attend the funeral services, which take place today.
     "She was a total joy to work with," Korcykoski says. "I’m sure if she was able to stay with us she would have continually climbed the ladder."
    Ringer was arrested on Dec. 23 and charged with two counts of aggravated murder for the death of Betts and her unborn child. He had plans to marry another woman the day of the arrest.
    A barber and the owner of Positive Image Barber Salon in downtown Cincinnati, Ringer was initially released from custody after posting a $500,000 bail bond. He was helped in making bail by some of his wealthy clients, including professional athletes from the Bengals and the Reds, according to reports in local newspapers. 
    Ringer was later rearrested for the second count of murder and released after midnight on Dec. 30 after posting another $500,000 bond.
   The police have not yet found the gun used in the shooting and have released little information about the case. 
    What is known, however, is that the former couple had a history of violence.
    Betts obtained a restraining order against Ringer in October. In a statement, Betts said Ringer had thrown her down a flight of stairs and kicked her repeatedly.
     She also told the court that following their breakup Ringer had continued to call her and show up at her office and home. In court documents, Betts said she feared her ex-boyfriend would harm her and possibly her daughter. Only weeks later Betts dropped the complaint.
    Ringer also accused Betts of domestic violence in 1998. That charge was also later dismissed.
    Ohio law makes it a crime to harm an unborn child at any stage of fetal development except in legal abortions. This will reportedly be the first time in recent memory that the law will be applied in a murder case.

-Jennifer Cox is a staff writer for  Media Life.

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