MASSACHUSETTS ARRAIGNMENT: Pair denied bail in slaying
Bodybuilding couple face murder charges in Nevada
Looking haggard and weary, two bodybuilding champions made their first appearances in a Massachusetts courthouse Tuesday and were poised to fight extradition to Las Vegas, where they face murder charges.
The married Las Vegas residents, Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan, faced a judge inside District Court in Stoughton, Mass., a Boston suburb, where they were told they were being held as fugitives from justice and were denied bail.
Las Vegas authorities allege the former Mr. and Ms. Olympia competitors fled cross-country after the body of their roommate and personal assistant, Melissa James, 28, was discovered strangled and abandoned in the trunk of a burning 2003 Jaguar that belonged to Ryan. James' body was found on Dec. 14.
"He (Titus) denies any culpability in her death," Bobby A. George, an attorney representing Titus, said in a telephone interview after the arraignment outside Boston.
Police investigators have said Titus, 40, and James were having a secret affair.
But George disputed authorities' time frame on their liaison.
"He denies any romantic involvement with her on or about the time of her death," George said.
Investigators have alleged that Titus killed James and relied on his wife and an accomplice, 23-year-old Anthony Gross, to help him dispose of the body.
George said Titus and Ryan will battle extradition, especially since authorities are still awaiting a toxicology report on James.
According to authorities, Ryan confided in another bodybuilder that she had found James dead of a drug overdose, though neither she nor anyone else reported such an incident to police.
Titus and Ryan also said James had stolen money from them, prompting them to evict her two days before her death.
A nationwide manhunt for Titus and Ryan ended Dec. 23, when they were captured at a shopping center about 15 miles outside of Boston. Authorities said the 33-year-old Ryan, a past Ms. Fitness America, had stopped at the complex for a pedicure.
Within hours of their capture, two Las Vegas homicide detectives boarded a flight to Boston.
"They flew all night and talked to Craig and Kelly all day," said Las Vegas police Lt. Tom Monahan.
Titus and Ryan asked to speak to detectives and did so without attorneys present, Monahan said.
He wouldn't say whether the duo, who were questioned separately, confessed to the slaying. However, he said neither Titus nor Ryan blamed the other, and that homicide detectives emerged from the sessions more confident in their case.
"Nothing is inconsistent with the evidence that we found," Monahan said of the statements gathered.
Ryan's attorney, John Gibbons, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Investigators said they seized eighty-three $100 bills discovered in Titus' truck. Authorities believe Titus and Ryan planned to flee to Greece.
But George said his client and Ryan had simply left Las Vegas on vacation and were unaware of the warrants for their arrest until an hour or so before they were apprehended.
"They had eighty-three one-hundred dollar bills, which isn't a lot of money in today's day and age," George said. "And it certainly isn't enough money to be running off to Greece.
"These two were here (near Boston) to spend some time for the holidays. ... They found out they were wanted for arrest and were ready to come back."
Titus' cell phone may have played a role in his capture. During the two hours before he was caught, George said, Titus spoke with an attorney other than George.
Then, Titus called a bodybuilding friend and another close friend, Matt Cline, who lives in the Boston area, George said.
"As soon as he made those (last) two calls -- ba-boom -- the SWAT teams were there," said George, adding that the phone lines might have been tapped.
George said Cline appeared in court Tuesday to show support for his longtime friend.
Cline could not be reached for comment, but offered insights in a Christmas Day interview with the bodybuilding Web site getbig.com.
The Web site's manager, Ron Avidan, asked Cline if he thought Titus killed James.
"I honestly do not think Craig did it," responded Cline, who previously lived in Las Vegas. "I know he didn't do it. Craig used his credit card and purchased two nights at a hotel room and a plane ticket back home for Melissa" for Christmas.
"Now, I don't know what happened after that. I don't know if Melissa went back to their house; but if Craig was going to kill her, he would have done it with his hands -- not a noose or duct tape or anything. Craig would've just grabbed her by the neck or choked her easily. I know how Craig thinks."
Avidan said many bodybuilders fear national media publicity on the slaying will tarnish their sport's image.
Titus and Ryan are scheduled to next appear in Stoughton District Court on Jan. 12 for a status conference.
Having them extradited could take months, but Monahan said there is "no doubt in my mind" the couple will eventually be shipped back to Nevada.
Meanwhile, Gross, the third suspect in the case, was in Las Vegas Justice Court early Tuesday for an initial appearance on charges of third-degree arson and accessory to murder.
Justice of the Peace Joseph Bonaventure set bail at $10,000 on the accessory charge and $3,000 on the arson charge for Gross, who is accused of helping burn James' body.
Afterward, Gross' family members were observed talking directly with Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas of the Major Violators Unit of the Clark County district attorney's office.
Daskas declined to comment on what he talked to the family about, as did Gross' family.
Gross' relatives were observed hugging, smiling and expressing relief to one another outside of court regarding the bail amount.
"A condition of bail will be house arrest," Bonaventure told the defendant. "You are obviously not to have any contact with any witnesses."
George was not pleased with the disparity between his client's bail and Gross'.
"A $13,000 bail is very low in a case of this nature," he said. "And it sure smells like something is going on."
