Height 5' 8" Name Craig Titus | Successor Jason Arntz Predecessor Philip Hernon, Jr. | |
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Weight (In Season) 242 lbs.(Off-Season) 267 lbs. Best win NPC USA Championships 1st Heavyweight and Overall, 1996 | ||
From Pro Bodybuilder to Brutal Murderer
Bodybuilding Psychopath : Craig Titus
Craig Michael Titus (born January 14, 1965, in Wyandotte, Michigan) is an American convicted murderer and former professional bodybuilder.
Contents
- From Pro Bodybuilder to Brutal Murderer
- Bodybuilding Psychopath Craig Titus
- Early life
- Career
- Criminal convictions
- Competitions and titles
- References
Early life
Titus lived most of his early life in Riverview, near Detroit. He has a younger brother, Kevin, and a younger sister, Nicole. Titus played high school football but quit because he was too small. He also wrestled at 132 lbs. After graduation Titus decided to put on some muscle by weight training.
Career
When Titus graduated from high school, he was 5'6" and 140 lbs. By the age of 21, he was 5'8" and 185 lbs. Once he started seeing good results from weight training, he decided to become a bodybuilder. Titus's first bodybuilding show was the 1988 Houston Bodybuilding Championships in which he won the Men's Open middleweight class and the overall title.
Criminal convictions
In April 1995 in Louisiana, Titus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute ecstasy, and was sentenced to 16 months' house arrest via monitoring with an electronic anklet. In July 1997, Titus was sentenced to 21 months in prison for violating his probation by using anabolic steroids.
In December 2005, Titus and his wife Kelly Ryan were implicated in the death of Melissa James, their personal assistant, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Titus admitted to an affair with James. After fleeing cross-country, the couple was arrested in Stoughton, Massachusetts.
In February 2006, after being extradited to Nevada from Boston, Titus and Ryan were denied bail. On March 29, both pleaded not guilty to a felony charge for killing their live-in assistant. The charge carried the possibility of the death penalty.
Despite previous statements asserting their innocence, both Titus and Ryan pleaded guilty to various charges on May 30, 2008, just days before their murder trial was set to begin in Las Vegas.
On August 22, 2008, Titus was convicted of second-degree murder, kidnapping and arson. He was sentenced to 21 to 55 years in prison. Ryan was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 3–13 years in prison.
Anthony Gross, also charged as an accomplice in the crime, pleaded guilty in February 2009 and received probation.
With time served from the date of capture, Craig Titus is eligible for parole release on December 23, 2026.