Kelly Ryan and Craig Titus denied bail pending trial in Vegas slaying

 Shemuscle, photo by Brian Moss

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Bail was denied Tuesday for husband-and-wife professional bodybuilders Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan while they await trial in the slaying of their live-in assistant. Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass decided the couple posed a "significant" flight risk, court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said, and ordered them to remain jailed pending trial Jan. 22, 2007. Lawyers for Titus and Ryan argued that the two former fitness magazine cover stars should go free if prosecutors can't say how 28-year-old Melissa James died before her body was found in the trunk of Ryan's torched Jaguar sedan Dec. 14. "The state doesn't have a specific theory," said Titus' lawyer, Richard Schonfeld. "They've alleged five different potential deadly weapons. The cause of death was undetermined and the manner of death was undetermined." Schonfeld sought $250,000 bail for Titus, and attorney Tom Pitaro sought $25,000 bail for Ryan. Glass has scheduled a July 13 hearing to let defense lawyers challenge evidence that prosecutors presented to a grand jury suggesting James had been drugged, bound, shocked with a stun gun and strangled. Titus, 41, a 1996 bodybuilding champion and Mr. Olympia competitor, and Ryan, 33, a past Fitness America and Fitness International winner, were arrested Dec. 23 in Stoughton, Mass. Prosecutors alleged they fled Nevada shortly after they were interviewed by police about James' death. The former dance instructor from Panama City, Fla., had been due to visit her mother in Lambertville, N.J., but never made a Dec. 13 flight. Titus and Ryan have pleaded not guilty to murder with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping and third-degree arson. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty. An alleged accomplice, Anthony Gross, 23, is accused of helping Titus and Ryan dispose of James' body in Ryan's car off a highway outside Las Vegas. Gross pleaded not guilty to accessory to murder and third-degree arson. He remains on house arrest after posting $13,000 bail.

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