A former Lambertville woman was immobilized with a stun gun, drugged and suffocated before her body was found in the trunk of a burning Jaguar near Las Vegas, and now the husband-and-wife bodybuilders accused of her murder could both face the death penalty since charges against them have been upgraded, according to Las Vegas authorities.
The use of a deadly weapon could result in a doubling of whatever sentence is ultimately handed down, Clark County Public Information Officer Michael Sommermeyer said Feb. 2. If the suspects are found guilty and sentenced to life, they would face two life terms.
Prosecutor Robert Daskas has not determined yet whether to seek the death penalty, according to Mr. Sommermeyer.
The criminal complaint alleges the pair of professional bodybuilders killed Miss James, their live-in personal aide, "by applying an 'Air Taser' gun and/or asphyxiating and/or suffocating and/or administering morphine and/or a related drug."
The accused were being held in the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas. A bail hearing is scheduled for tomorrow (Feb. 10). A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 29.
Mr. Titus told investigators he and Miss James had had an affair. Ms. Ryan claimed Miss James embezzled funds and also took her red 2003 Jaguar without permission although no complaints were filed with police.
Miss James had been scheduled to return to New Jersey Dec. 14 to visit her mother, Maura James of West Amwell, for Christmas. She never arrived. Instead, police found her body that morning stuffed in the trunk of Ms. Ryan's Jaguar on the side of a remote highway. A cloth bound her neck, and duct tape was wrapped around her face. Miss James moved to Las Vegas last year to work for the couple.
The couple's status among the elite of the bodybuilding world has drawn much media attention. Following the case are the Associated Press, Court TV, Fox News, "CBS 48 Hours" and "Dateline NBC." The victim's mother appeared on Court TV's "Catherine Crier Live" last week.
