Craig Michael Titus (born January 14, 1965,[1] in Wyandotte, Michigan) is an American convicted murderer.
Over the next several years of placing among top finishers in competitions, he established himself by 1996 and was accepted into the professional ranks of the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation.
In April 1995 in Louisiana, Titus pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute ecstasy.
On December 14, 2005, the charred, gagged and bound body of 28-year-old Melissa James was found in the trunk of a burning Jaguar in the Nevada desert.
Titus had admitted to detectives of having had an affair with James, but said he and his wife had ended their working relationship with her, claiming she had embezzled from them.
After a nine-day investigation and manhunt, police apprehended the couple and their alleged accomplice, Anthony Gross, near Boston.
They were promptly extradited to Las Vegas, Nevada and arrested on charges of murder of James, kidnapping, and arson.
Days before their murder trial was set to begin in Las Vegas in June 2008, Titus and Ryan each pled guilty on May 30, 2008 to various charges related to James's death.
Ryan had pled guilty to arson and battery with a deadly weapon with significant bodily harm.