TITUS AND RYAN ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH MURDER

[Calmus]

Originally Posted by El Patron

From the information I have read, because he is a convicted two-time felon - the prior convictions may have bearing in the sentencing - if convicted here - especially with the arson charge - he could very easily be facing a death penalty.

I reviewed numerous death penalty cases in the state of Nevada in which individuals convicted of murder had prior felony convictions - most of them only one prior - and they were given the death penalty. One case in particular - the convicted murderer had a prior arson conviction (set fire to his own garage) - and he is now facing the death penalty - and the prior arson felony conviction was a contributing factor in the death penalty decision.

Out of all the information I have read, I would say with the information out there on this case now - you can draw a conclusion that things don't look good for Craig - but I'm sure the stories will change and new circumstances will pop up as the months go on.

Given the current political climate, an ambitious DA might try to make a lot of hay with the prior drug convictions . . . The case has gotten a lot of publicity (Titus is now arguably on his way to being the third most famous bodybuilder in the US) everyone's seen the buffed-up pictures of Titus. His previous drug busts will play right into all this. Some DA with aspirations to clean up the state and then run for office might already be eyeing this case.

Someone suggested steroid abuse would be used as a defensive ploy, it's a lot more likely that the prosecution might try to draw a connection b/w 1997 and 2005. A jury is not going to understand the nuances of "going off."

[Schwarzenpecker]

Chad, didn't you help Titus with his preparation for the 2005 Ironman? What do you think led him to stop training and using recreational drugs? Or had he been doing drugs for years and just stopped working out? Was it his calf problem from a bad site injection? Chic said he was about 190 pounds at the USA's this year.

[Insulin_Shock]

That's real phucked up of "Mandy"/Amanda Polk to be on here and getbig to be droping hints when she's the one who went to the phuckin cops. Chit, if I was her I'd be asking for witness protection.

[Calmus]

post deleted.

[twixpix]

Originally Posted by Doggcrapp

For any legal experts on the board, does "accessory to murder" also usually carry a life sentence if found guilty? Or is it based on the circumstances? Someone give us some sentencing guidelines here and hypothetical situations.

According to the Nevada statute above, looks like 1-5 yrs for Kelly although that's for non-relations...so that works in her favor but buying the lighter fluid doesn't help.

David

Kelly in better days http://www.twixpix.com/contests/NW02/NW02-KR.html

[Insulin_Shock]

Another article I sound with a little bit more info...

A week before Craig Titus and his wife, Kelly Ryan, became fugitives, the professional bodybuilders met with Las Vegas homicide detectives about the dead woman who was found in Ryan's burned 2003 Jaguar.

Titus, 40, admitted to secretly having an affair with 28-year-old Melissa James, whose body was found in the trunk of the car. Titus and Ryan, 33, said James was their live-in personal assistant. They said that they had recently evicted her for embezzling from them, but that they had not filed a police complaint.

Advertisement

Both told investigators that James had stolen Ryan's car, though they did not report the theft to police.

Titus and Ryan made those comments Dec. 14, hours after James' body was discovered in the torched Jaguar off state Route 160, according to an arrest warrant filed in Las Vegas Justice Court. The warrant was issued for 23-year-old Anthony Gross, an alleged accomplice in the slaying. Gross is in custody.

But Titus and Ryan were set free after their interrogation because of a lack of evidence, and authorities presume the two have since fled, possibly to Greece.

Titus and Ryan have since been charged with murder and third-degree arson.

Maura James, who on Thursday marked her 51st birthday by remembering her daughter with relatives in Florida, said she hopes the fugitives will soon be caught.

"I find it hard to believe they had anything to do with it because she trusted them as friends," she said. "I was shocked. I never imagined they'd be capable of doing anything like this."

Witnesses told police that Titus had said he would flee to a country that would not extradite him.

Las Vegas police Lt. Tom Monahan said Titus "mentioned that he has been to prison and has no intention of going back."

Titus was convicted of conspiring to possess and sell Ecstasy and served a couple of years in prison in the late 1990s after he tested positive for steroids.

Las Vegas police say that Titus killed Melissa James and that Ryan and Gross helped dispose of her body.

Ryan told police that after discovering funds missing from her accounts, she kicked James out of her $470,000 southwest Las Vegas home. The eviction came Dec. 13, a day before James' body turned up in the remote desert.

James packed a suitcase and Ryan, a former Ms. Fitness America, dropped her off at a convenience store, Ryan told police.

But Ryan and Titus contradicted each other when police asked them separately which vehicle Ryan had used to take James to the store.

"Ryan told detectives she used her Jaguar to take James to the convenience store," a police officer wrote in the report. "Titus said she used his silver Dodge truck."

Maura James, who lives in New Jersey, said she last spoke with her daughter about 11:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Dec. 13. During the brief cell phone conversation, Melissa James said she was eating at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

Maura James heard her daughter ask someone what they wanted to eat. She asked her daughter whom she was with, but the question went unanswered.

A short time later, Melissa James wrapped up the call and said she would call back after lunch.

She never called back and never answered her mother's follow-up calls.

The next day, a Wednesday, Maura James went to the Newark airport before 9 a.m. She was scheduled to pick up her daughter, who was coming home for Christmas. She said her daughter was also considering moving home to New Jersey.

Melissa James' flight arrived, but she wasn't on it. Maura James called her cell phone and left messages. Airport officials issued a page over a public address system. Maura James eventually returned home alone.

She later called Titus' cell phone several times and left messages.

"I thought she had been in an accident or something," she said. "I started calling hospitals in Las Vegas. Nobody had her.

"Thursday night is when I got the call from the coroner. ... She had been strangled."

Maura James said her daughter never mentioned being romantically involved with Titus, who married Ryan in Clark County in June 2000. Melissa James, who was a model and former dance instructor, had lived with the bodybuilders in Southern California several years ago.

Titus asked Melissa James to move to Las Vegas about two months ago, and she accepted, her mother said.

In the days before her death, James told her mother that she and Ryan were not getting along. She said she was staying at a hotel.

"I said, 'Why?' She said, 'Well, Kelly is flipping out and acting crazy,'•" Maura James said.

Titus booked the hotel room for two nights, from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14, and paid for it with a credit card belonging to Emperor Enterprises, a company he and Ryan own, according to police.

"He said he had spent most of one night with James at her room," investigators said in the report, quoting Titus.

Titus also paid for James' plane ticket home, her mother said.

On Dec. 16, two days after James' body was recovered, Amanda Polk, a young bodybuilder who had moved to Las Vegas to train with Ryan, contacted police with a tip. Polk met with investigators the next day and told them that she had received a phone call from Titus on Dec. 15 "saying he was in a bad situation (and) needed to get out of town for a while," police said.

Titus and Ryan went to the home of Polk and her boyfriend later that evening. Ryan hugged Polk and said someone had found her Jaguar burned with a body inside. During a car ride to dinner, Ryan confided in Polk, she told police.

"Ryan proceeded to tell Polk she had found their roommate, Melissa, dead in her room from an overdose," police said. "Polk said Ryan told her Melissa had been dead for a few hours and couldn't describe what she looked like because it would traumatize Polk for life. Polk said Ryan proceeded to tell her" that her life was ruined "because she bought seven bottles of lighter fluid at Wal-Mart with her credit card" at 3:30 a.m.

Investigators say Polk confronted Ryan and asked her why she hadn't called police when she found the body.

"Ryan responded by saying Craig told her, 'No body, no crime,'•" police wrote in the report. "Ryan told Polk she just did what Titus told her to do, that she thought Titus got someone to get rid of Melissa and she didn't kill anyone."

Police say Titus met with business partner Gregory Ruiz at a Subway restaurant in the Las Vegas Valley on the morning of Dec. 17.

"Titus told Ruiz he had to leave the country," an investigator wrote, adding that Titus had traded in his Dodge Viper truck for a new vehicle and intended to meet a friend in Boston to liquidate his assets.

Police obtained cell phone records that showed Titus called Anthony Gross in the early morning of Dec. 14.

Gross told investigators that he left his apartment in pajamas, filled up a can with gas and drove west on Blue Diamond Road until he saw flashing headlights from a Jaguar.

He told police that he pulled up beside the Jaguar, rolled down his window and handed Titus a metal gas can. He said he did not know what Titus did with the gas can and, though he gave Titus a lift back into town, the two never discussed what had happened.

On Dec. 14, before 5 a.m., a trucker saw the Jaguar ablaze. In the trunk, authorities found a body with white fabric around its neck and duct tape across the face.

An autopsy revealed that James had likely died from asphyxiation.

Police used the license plate on the car to trace the vehicle back to Ryan.

"I think they had hoped the fire would completely consume the car so that it would be unidentifiable," Monahan said.

On Wednesday, however, Titus and Ryan -- who have been on the covers of bodybuilding magazines -- were being identified on television news broadcasts as murder suspects.

Neighbors recalled Thursday that Titus and Ryan often had visitors, some driving flashy cars -- Ferraris or Mercedes. One neighbor described Titus as friendly, adding that his physique was noticeably smaller these days.

Titus, who graduated high school at 140 pounds, has often competed in the 250-pound range or more.

Police say he is now down to about 225 pounds.

A neighbor who did not want to be identified because Titus remained on the loose, said he had noticed another change in the man: "He's smoking. Before, he was not smoking."

Monahan said police have evidence suggesting that Titus' loss of size was causing him to lose sponsorship contracts.

Maura James, meanwhile, recalled something her daughter had once mentioned about Titus, Ryan and steroids.

"She told me that since he was getting older, he was not going to be competing as much," James said. "She used to tell me, 'Yeah, they took them when they were getting ready for competitions. And they would go to the doctor quite a bit for checking organs and things like that.'•"

Monahan said he believes authorities will find Titus and Ryan sooner or later, in part because of their high profiles and flamboyance.

Their capture might bring a measure of consolation to a grieving mother.

"You know what's so hard?" James said. "They burned my daughter so that we can't even see her again before we bury her. She is so sweet. She is so sweet and beautiful. I can't imagine anybody doing that to her."

[Insulin_Shock]

That's a pic of the 3rd guy in the case... dunno if it'd been posted yet.

[bigoso404]

at the end of the day...what a sad story as it is any time life is lost....but g'damn how stupid of a criminal can one be?Sounds like they wanted to get caught

[Insulin_Shock]

Originally Posted by bigoso404

at the end of the day...what a sad story as it is any time life is lost....but g'damn how stupid of a criminal can one be?Sounds like they wanted to get caught

ppl can do some pretty irrational things when they're been high for quite some time, and CT doesn't always make wise decisions in the first place. I remember wayyyyy back in like '96 or so when CT was posting hundreds of messages on misc.fitness.weights the home phone of Debbi Halo after she cheated on him with vinny pazzienza.

[bfjet]

Originally Posted by PassionateBB

Cara,

I messaged with Mandy and she posted to try to make clear some facts and was reacting because Kelly was her friend. It may not have been the best move at the time. And she could have been in danger. But in the long run, she assisted law enforcement and that couldn't have been easy. So to me, she was very brave for getting involved in the correct direction.

Just my thoughts.

I agree. I think people should try and lay off her a bit.

[Live2Lift99]

if this hasnt been posted yet here it is ... if so, my bad ...

http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4283467

They found 'em ....

[fbbcara]

No matter how this turns out, if Kelly killed her or Craig or the other guy. They are all involved and should rot. Seperate lawyers for all, craig blames Kelly, Kelly blames craig, third guy blames the couple.

As for Kelly being this girl gone wrong because of craig. It is true to some sense. 90% of the fitness girls on this board would get caught up in the same thing, because they have low self esteem, a need to be involved with a "BB Player" to validate themselves in some sick way.

Geez Rhonda.....what a shocker there. (you had a crush on him). typical and pathetic

As far as Kelly goes. Im glad she is in jail now, sitting there sweating it out, in a cold bed and realizing she is a shell of a person physically now that she wont be getting to take her steroids anymore As far as self respect and charcter wise was void of that in the first place . She is getting what she deserves. Shes Weak.

[JWS]

Originally Posted by Rhonda

I was at that same seminar..(small world) I won that show in fact...the 2003 Empire Classic, right? Afterwards I had my pic taken with him..he was such a flirt! I even had a little crush on him..this is so strange hearing this.

Wow, small world eh? It was the Empire Classic. My training partner and I were just in awe to hear him speak. You probably don't remember, but the guy I train with was the one who asked "Are you going to talk about gear?" Then Titus asked the kids to leave! I was amazed that my bro even asked that, but more amazed the Titus was willing to oblige. I just remember being starstruck. Sounds corny huh? I must have rambled for days about it afterwards. I think my wife even got tired of hearing about it. Are you from WA? I see on your website that you just moved to NY. I moved in August to Texas and I really miss Spokane. Not a white Christmas here!!!

[smclen]

Originally Posted by t-muscle

3 or 4 lives litterally wiped out!! and that's not counting all the families grief .... incredably sad on many level's
God Bless All

Very true Tom. Sad indeed.

Surely Titus & Ryan deserve a Darwin award here (aside from the appropriate penalities if convicted).

From what I understand:

- Craig and Ryan committed murder

- purchased charcoal starter fluid and a barbecue tool set from Wal-Mart with their own credit card

- torched their own Jaguar with the body inside

- didn't claim that their Jaguar had been stolen

- told a friend last week that they planned to go to a country that does not extradite people to the United States

- Titus told a business partner that he intended to meet a friend in Boston, liquidate his assets and leave the country

- Ryan stopped to get her nails done, where they were eventually apprehended

[Ron Harris]

A lot of women had crushes on Craig because of his whole bad boy/tough guy persona. Then again, serial killers get marriage proposals all the time in jail. Sickening.

Oh yeah, the nail place was Touch Nails. My wife Janet and her sisters used to go there until theiir favorite nail tech, Lee, moved to a place just down the street. Stoughton is a town of only about 20,000 people and the 'downtown' area is only about five blocks long.

[squigga23]

Originally Posted by Ron Harris

A lot of women had crushes on Craig because of his whole bad boy/tough guy persona. Then again, serial killers get marriage proposals all the time in jail. Sickening.

Oh yeah, the nail place was Touch Nails. My wife Janet and her sisters used to go there until theiir favorite nail tech, Lee, moved to a place just down the street. Stoughton is a town of only about 20,000 people and the 'downtown' area is only about five blocks long.

Ron that's crazy that they were busted right near you. I have a buddy that lives in stoughton and lives right near there too....crazy stuff...I can't believe they made it all the way to mass.

[toolarge4u]

Originally Posted by Ron Harris

Last name of their friend starts with a "K," first name Matt. Those who know Craig know exactly who he is.

By the way, the supermarket parking lot they were busted in is where my wife and I shop, it's a half mile from my house, and I was supposed to drop by with my 6-year-old son after I picked him up to buy some bacon. (Janet is making some scallops wrapped in bacon crap for Christmas Eve dinner). I didn't end up getting it - maybe I would have been there at the same time it all went down.

And no, I am NOT going to see them or try to get an interview. I highly doubt 2 people charged with murder would talk to me now.

yes ron matt k..im suprised he would go there, ct got him ****ed up on drugs last i heard

[Ron Harris]

Squigga, is your friend a jacked Asian guy in his 30's with a bunch of tats, works out at Gold's in Stoughton? Not many bodybuilders around here at all.

[Most Muscular]

Originally Posted by smclen

Very true Tom. Sad indeed.

Surely Titus & Ryan deserve a Darwin award here (aside from the appropriate penalities if convicted).

From what I understand:

- Craig and Ryan committed murder

- purchased charcoal starter fluid and a barbecue tool set from Wal-Mart with their own credit card

- torched their own Jaguar with the body inside

- didn't claim that their Jaguar had been stolen

- told a friend last week that they planned to go to a country that does not extradite people to the United States

- Titus told a business partner that he intended to meet a friend in Boston, liquidate his assets and leave the country

- Ryan stopped to get her nails done, where they were eventually apprehended

I have been reading this thread since its conception and have been awe struck with some of the dumb moves this couple made (obviously they do not watch CSI - Las Vegas)... but to stop and have your nails done instead of laying low seems to take the cake.

nuff said...

[Most Muscular]

Originally Posted by smclen

- purchased charcoal starter fluid and a barbecue tool set from Wal-Mart with their own credit card

-

Okay they did a couple of things right and one thing wrong with this issue....

They purchased many can's of starter fluid.... doesn't that raise a few eyebrows at the checkout line?

They bought a barbecue tool set.... this plays for a good cover.

They make their purchases from Wal-Mart.... smart shoppers!

They make the purchase with their own credit card.... dumbasses!