Author Topic: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa  (Read 6681 times)

Ron

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12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« on: December 01, 2006, 10:06:08 AM »
MURDER CASE: Defense claims new witness
Statement will exonerate Titus, attorneys say

By GLENN PUIT
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The defense team for slaying suspect Craig Titus claims it has uncovered a witness who will help the famous bodybuilder fight the charges against him.

Titus and his wife, fitness champion Kelly Ryan, are charged with killing their live-in personal assistant, Melissa James, at their southwest Las Vegas residence a year ago, then burning her body in the desert.

A co-defendant, Anthony Gross, is charged with helping the couple drive the remains into the desert. Gross told police that he was duped into participating in the scheme and that he never knew he was helping Titus and Ryan get rid of a dead body.

But defense attorneys said that in a statement given to Titus' private investigator, Tom Dillard, in September, witness John Darrin Allen, 22, of Las Vegas said that he was housed at the Clark County Detention Center with Gross in December 2005 and that Gross contradicted his account to police.

"I said, 'Is it true or not that he (Titus) killed her, and what happened?'" Allen said he asked Gross.

"And he came out with, 'No, he didn't kill her,'" Allen said. "(Gross said) 'Craig Titus called me at my house, told me that this lady died, uh, OD'd in my (Titus') house, can you help me?'"

Allen said Gross told him that he drove to Titus and Ryan's house and duct-taped James' dead body, and that he then came up with the idea of burning the body in the desert.

"He (Gross) said, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of this,'" Allen said.

"(Gross) taped her up in a ball, picked her up, put her in the trunk, and then drove off to wherever they burnt the car," Allen said.

"When he (Gross) took the body and put it in the trunk, he told Craig Titus, 'No body, no crime,'" Allen said.

Several months later, Allen said, he met Titus in the Clark County Detention Center and told him what Gross had said.

Titus asked him, "Will you testify for me?"

"I said, 'Yeah, I'll testify for you,'" Allen said. "And then we left it at that."

Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas said Thursday evening that Allen's statement was not credible.

The prosecutor noted that Titus, in a taped statement to police, had already confessed to being the one who duct-taped James. Titus also confessed to police that he was the one who put the body in the trunk of his wife's car, that he drove it to the desert and that he set James' remains ablaze.

"Back on December 24, 2005, Titus himself admitted to detectives that it was he, Craig Titus, who wrapped the duct tape around Melissa James' head," Daskas said. "Therefore, the notion that Anthony Gross did this is laughable. Mr. Titus' most recent explanation reminds me of a quote from Mark Twain: 'If you tell the truth, you'll always remember what you said.' Craig Titus can't keep his stories straight."

Gross' attorney, Louis Palazzo, accused Titus of putting Allen up to making the statement. He said it will eventually come out that Allen's allegations against Gross are untrue.

"This guy (Titus) doesn't understand the first rule of hole digging: Put the shovel down and stop digging," Palazzo said. "It's amazing with this guy. The hits just keep on coming."

But Titus' defense attorney, Marc Saggese, said that he had met with Allen and that the young man's account was credible.

Saggese said that police had interviewed Allen and that to this date, the contents of the interview had not been provided to him.

"We believe this evidence was withheld from the defense," Saggese said.

Allen was in custody at the time on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle. He could not be reached for comment for this report. The number listed for Allen on his taped statement is for a local construction company, not a residence.

Titus, 42, is a nationally known bodybuilder who has competed twice in the Mr. Olympia competition. Ryan is regarded by many to be the greatest women's fitness competitor in the sports history.

According to authorities, the couple beat James, duct- taped her, drugged her with morphine, hit her with a Taser, then set the body on fire in Ryan's red Jaguar off state Route 160. A cause and manner of death for James could not be determined.

Titus and Ryan originally told police they didn't know how James ended up dead in Ryan's car. In a second statement, they said that they found James dead of a drug overdose in Ryan's car, and that they panicked and set the body on fire in the desert.

Both Titus and Ryan were in the courtroom of District Judge Jackie Glass on Thursday morning for a hearing in which Glass delayed the couple's trial until April.

The delay was granted after defense attorneys said they needed more time to investigate the case.

In Titus' Dec. 24 statement to detectives after his arrest in Boston, he made clear that he was the one who had duct- taped James and put her in the trunk of the Jaguar. He didn't say that Gross was involved in this activity.

"Found her in the (expletive) car, dead, stinking up my (expletive) car," Titus said. "Stench. Piss, (expletive) all over the place. Well, I'm assuming that's what it smelled like. I panicked. That gets in the newspaper, we're ruined. Dead girl, car, OD'd, Craig Titus, Kelly Ryan. We're ruined. Plus, not to mention that my car's ruined.

"So I think, okay, let's put her in the trunk and burn it and play stupid," Titus said. "That's what we did. Period. Finito. End of story."

When asked why he had duct-taped the victim, Titus said: "I didn't want to see her face."

Saggese said Thursday that Titus didn't implicate Gross at the time because he believed the facts of the case would show that James had overdosed, and he didn't want to drag Gross into the matter.

"He was trying to protect him," Saggese said. "He was trying to keep another person from being dragged into this tragedy."

In October, authorities arrested an acquaintance of Titus', Nelson Brady Jr., on charges of trying to hire a hit man to kill three witnesses in the case.

One of the individuals allegedly targeted was Gross.

Titus has not been charged in the murder-for-hire plot, but Daskas has said he believes Titus was involved.

Titus has denied involvement in the scheme.

Deadpool

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2006, 01:18:29 PM »
the plot thickens

oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive
X

tommywishbone

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2006, 06:23:56 PM »
This case will never see a jury.
a

shockandawe

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2006, 10:04:50 AM »
Tommy, you're wrong about that. Titus would force it to go to trial, despite how laughably damning the evidence against him is getting... He's so damned arrogant and starved for attention.

<<"This guy (Titus) doesn't understand the first rule of hole digging: Put the shovel down and stop digging," Palazzo said. "It's amazing with this guy. The hits just keep on coming.">>

I love this statement from Gross' attorney. I'll bet the law firm sits around going, "Boy, I've heard seen and heard some stupidity in my life, but this is almost unreal! This guy keeps fu&king himself in the ass before anyone else gets a chance!"

chainsaw

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2006, 12:17:24 PM »
I'm starting to believe that gross may have with all of what Gross and the cops tried pulling on Craig.
Most are all show no go!

bigdumbbell

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2006, 04:23:44 PM »
hearsay  not allowed in court   

buffalo

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2006, 06:26:22 PM »
MURDER CASE: Defense claims new witness
Statement will exonerate Titus, attorneys say


"I said, 'Is it true or not that he (Titus) killed her, and what happened?'" Allen said he asked Gross.

"And he came out with, 'No, he didn't kill her,'" Allen said. "(Gross said) 'Craig Titus called me at my house, told me that this lady died, uh, OD'd in my (Titus') house, can you help me?'"

Allen said Gross told him that he drove to Titus and Ryan's house and duct-taped James' dead body, and that he then came up with the idea of burning the body in the desert.

"He (Gross) said, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of this,'" Allen said.

"(Gross) taped her up in a ball, picked her up, put her in the trunk, and then drove off to wherever they burnt the car," Allen said.

"When he (Gross) took the body and put it in the trunk, he told Craig Titus, 'No body, no crime,'" Allen said.

Several months later, Allen said, he met Titus in the Clark County Detention Center and told him what Gross had said.

Titus asked him, "Will you testify for me?"

"I said, 'Yeah, I'll testify for you,'" Allen said. "And then we left it at that."

Bull - Fuckin - shit

RFLMFAO

Benito Mutumbo

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2006, 06:59:49 PM »
I tend to agree with Gross' attorney.  despite the fact he is defending Gross, his statements about Titus seem more from the legal standpoint.  Titus has fired his attorney, released a book, given press statements....and managed to get himself implicated in a murder-for-hire plot.  From the view of a lawyer for Gross....Titus is gold. 

Stark

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2006, 12:48:45 AM »
he's going away forever

stuntmovie

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2006, 11:17:17 AM »
Maybe not, Stark. I've seen others in the same situation walk free due to legal maneuvers and less than intelligent jurors. Get the waters murky enough and the truth also gets murkey along with "reasonable doubt".

Once (and IF) he goes free, a lot of GetBiggers (and others) will have some problems to consider .... possibly.

midknight

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2006, 01:58:30 PM »
"He was trying to keep another person from being dragged into this tragedy."


 ::) ::) ::)

what a thoughtful citizen
pain day

SinCitysmallGUY

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #11 on: December 06, 2006, 02:19:00 PM »
Maybe not, Stark. I've seen others in the same situation walk free due to legal maneuvers and less than intelligent jurors. Get the waters murky enough and the truth also gets murkey along with "reasonable doubt".

Once (and IF) he goes free, a lot of GetBiggers (and others) will have some problems to consider .... possibly.

Hey if Craig does get out, the smartest thing for him would to keep his nose clean.... literally. But do you really think that he will get off. I mean sure theres a chance and no one has proven craigers guilty... but C'mon really you think he will get out.....or he even has a chance??????

OneBigMan

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2006, 11:19:50 AM »
The whole story seems fake to me because I don't want to believe it ???

This reminds me of how that Dutch dude Van Der Sluth and his one or two friends did whatever they did to that girls body and then the person just dissapears without a trace and no rescuers can find out what happened to her :-\ ???

That goes into the category called unsolved mysteries.

Motorbreath

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2006, 12:09:10 PM »
Hey if Craig does get out, the smartest thing for him would to keep his nose clean.... literally. But do you really think that he will get off. I mean sure theres a chance and no one has proven craigers guilty... but C'mon really you think he will get out.....or he even has a chance??????

Well acording to GH15, there is a bounty out on his head already.....

Richard2004

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2006, 04:17:09 PM »
Of course, in the normal everyday world, reasonable, intelligent, logical, people don't think and act the way Titus, Ryan, and Gross, acted in the events surrounding this case!

Only individuals whose minds have been altered by BB and/or rec. drugs do!  Talk about not playing with a full deck!!

SinCitysmallGUY

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #15 on: December 08, 2006, 08:00:59 AM »
Well acording to GH15, there is a bounty out on his head already.....

Was GH15 up for a couple of days when he told you this.... did he also say that the feds kept driving by his house and that helicopters were flying over his house... cmon. Craig hasnt put out a hit on anyone on this fucking board you have got to be smoking some crack to believe that or tell people that.. he wants the witnesses dead not any fuck on this board...

schotje

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #16 on: December 08, 2006, 08:37:13 AM »
Just a little phrophetic,

Motorbreath

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Re: 12-01-06: New witness says Gross duct taped Melissa
« Reply #17 on: December 08, 2006, 09:36:06 AM »
Was GH15 up for a couple of days when he told you this.... did he also say that the feds kept driving by his house and that helicopters were flying over his house... cmon. Craig hasnt put out a hit on anyone on this fucking board you have got to be smoking some crack to believe that or tell people that.. he wants the witnesses dead not any f**k on this board...

What I meant was, if Craig got out......like you were saying. And keeping his nose clean....etcccc.....

GH15 said Craig would be whacked within a week, apparently he owes someone some big $$$$.

But I have never believed anything GH15 says....I was just making a point.