The shocking news came Friday night; there will be no trail for Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan after the two entered 11th hour guilty pleas in connection with the December, 2005 murder of Melissa James, described as Craig and Kelly’s personal assistant.
In an article in today’s Las Vegas Review-Journal, reporter Lawrence Mower writes that Titus, 43, pleased guilty to seconde-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and arson in James’ death. For those following the case for the past two and a half years (and how many haven’t been?), James’ charred body was found in Ryan’s torched Jaguar in the desert.
Kelly, 35, pleaded guilty to arson and battery with a deadly weapon with significant bodily harm, according to the newspapar report. The Review-Journal says that Judge Jackie Glass (same Judge, by the way, who will head up the trail of O.J. Simpson in the same court in September) accepted the pleas Friday evening.
“The train was coming down the tracks, and all parties got together to come to an agreement,” Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas said, accoring to Mower’s article. Titus faces 17 to 55 years in prison; each of Ryan’s charges carry sentences of two to 15 years in prison.
Both Craig and Kelly are scheduled to be sentenced July 18.
I’ll have more thoughts on the plea agreement soon, so stay tuned. But, I’ll end this blog today by stating the obvious–there are no winners and losers here, although many people I’ve talked to feel that Craig and Kelly got off fairly easy compared to what could have been.
Your thoughts?
Click here to see more news on Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login