JAMES IN BURNED CAR: Conflicting statements

Craig Titus and Kelly RyanIn their first statements to police, slaying suspects Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan said they didn't know how the charred body of their personal assistant, Melissa James, ended up in the trunk of Ryan's car.

But in two subsequent statements to authorities, the fitness champions changed their story, saying James died of a drug overdose at their house, and that they burned James' body to avoid negative publicity from the accidental death.Found her (James) in the (expletive) car dead, stinking up my (expletive) car," Titus told detectives in a Dec. 24 taped interview in Boston.

"I panicked. That gets in the newspaper, we're ruined. Dead girl, car, OD'd, Craig Titus, Kelly Ryan. We're (expletive) ruined," Titus said.

"Plus, not to mention that my car's ruined ... so I think OK, let's put her in the trunk and burn it and play stupid. That's what we did. Period. Finito. End of story."

In a third statement, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, however, Titus agreed with an FBI agent's suggestion that perhaps he was having rough sex with James and she died.

"Yeah, we were having sex and she OD'd," the FBI agent quoted Titus as saying. "Let's go with that. That's a good story."

The conflicting statements about James' death are contained in nearly 500 pages of voluntary statements given by Titus and Ryan to Las Vegas homicide detectives. Titus and Ryan are charged with murder in the December death of James, and copies of the couple's statements were obtained by the Review-Journal this week. Complete story click here