‘Killer Sally’: 4 Murder Crimes Committed by Bodybuilders
Netflix’s Killer Sally docuseries explored the true crime story of Sally McNeil. On Valentine’s Day, the Marine and bodybuilder fatally shot her husband, Ray McNeil, after years of abuse. The case gained national attention due to Sally and Ray’s bodybuilding careers. Sally served 19-to-life for the murder. But her story in Killer Sally is not the only murder crime committed by a bodybuilder.
Sally’s crime in ‘Killer Sally’ does not compare to bodybuilder Gordon Kimbrough’s murder case
In 1993, news hit of a professional bodybuilder committing a horrific murder. According to a New York Times article, Gordon Kimbrough was “a chemical machine.” He used various steroids and drugs to reach a perfectly built physique. Kimbrough and his then-girlfriend Kristy Ramsey were well-known in San Francisco for their bodybuilding careers.
Their relationship was rocky as Kimbrough had affairs and physically abused Ramsey. She decided to leave but returned if Kimbrough would go to anger management counseling. The two later decided to marry. When Ramsey got pregnant, they decided to terminate the pregnancy. On June 20, 1993, Kimbrough returned from an amateur bodybuilding competition in Durham, N.C. In a supposed “roid rage,” he hit Ramsey, tied an electrical cord around her neck, and stabbed her in the neck three times.
Before the murder, Kimbrough learned she had an affair and wanted to end their four-year relationship. Police later found him, and he pleaded it was a fit of passion but was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years to life. Like Killer Sally, Kimbrough was using endless amounts of steroids and drugs as a bodybuilder, the same way Sally believed Ray had multiple steroids in his body before the murder.
Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal had a movie created based on their crimes
The names Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal will sound familiar to some fans. The 2013 action comedy movie Pain & Gain starred Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackie, and Mark Wahlberg and was loosely based on Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal’s crimes.
In the mid-1990s, Daniel Lugo and Adrian Doorbal were growing bodybuilders who frequented and worked at Sun Gym in Florida. With no real careers or prospects, they often talked about ways to make money. The two and other bodybuilders were known as the Sun Gym Gang. They tried to extort and kidnap a man named Marc Schiller. They planned to keep him drunk over a few days, have him sign over his assets, and make his death look like an accident. But they failed, and Schiller remained alive.
In May 1995, the gang had new targets, Frank Griga and Krisztina Furton. Griga was a Hungarian businessman who made his wealth through a phone-sex empire. They posed as businessmen with business ventures for Griga. They planned to extort and kidnap Griga and his partner, Furton. After a few meetings, Doorbal accidentally killed Griga during a struggle.
They changed plans and focused on Furton to get information while injecting her with Rompun – a horse tranquilizer. One dosage proved to be fatal, resulting in her death. The gang later dismembered their bodies and hid parts in submerged barrels in Southwest Miami. They were eventually caught. Lugo is still on death row, and Doorbal is still in prison after his death sentence was overturned.
Bertil Fox was a bodybuilder who murdered his fiancé and her mother
The murder story behind bodybuilder Bertil Fox is more shocking than what fans see in Killer Sally. On September 30, 1997, in Saint Kitts and Nevis, 20-year-old beauty queen Leyoca Browne and her mother, 36-year-old Violet Browne, were fatally shot and murdered. Who was the killer? Bertil Fox, who was previously engaged to Violet Browne. Fox was known as “Brutal Fox” and a two-time Mr. Universe.
The crime reports claim Fox argued with the two at Violet’s mother’s clothing shop. Fox claimed that he had shot them over a struggle for the gun with Violet. By his accounts, the murders were self-defense, but his best friend testified that he never mentioned it as an accident. In May 1998, Fox was convicted by hanging, but after an appeal, he was given a life sentence.
But On August 4, 2022, the Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis pardoned Fox after serving 25 years in prison. Fox is currently a free man living in the UK.
Craig Titus went from bodybuilder to murderer after killing his assistant
According to SportsCasting, Craig Titus made a good living as a bodybuilder. A Michigan native, he was smaller in size despite taking up football. He soon turned to bodybuilding and became a pro with his wife, Kelly Ryan, by his side. Despite his fame, Titus admitted to having a temper, which would prove fatal.
On December 14, 2005, Kelly’s jaguar was found abandoned on a deserted road in Las Vegas. The couple’s 28-year-old assistant Melissa James was found in the trunk burned beyond recognition. It was concluded that she was drugged with morphine, beaten, and tased before being strangled and burned.
Titus and Kelly went on the run but were found nine days later in Boston. They claimed James died of an overdose, and they burned her body over the fear of it affecting their careers. But Titus admitted to having an affair with James that his wife knew nothing about. In 2008, Titus was sentenced to 21 to 55 years in prison, while his wife got six to 26 years.
Ryan was released on parole in 2018, but Titus has to wait until 2026. Killer Sally portrayed the murder of bodybuilder Ryan McNeil by his bodybuilder wife as the biggest crime of the century. In hindsight, her crimes are nothing compared to the murders committed by others in the fitness community.
