Plot thickens in case of former TV chef accused in murder-for-hire plot

The plot has thickened in the case of a former TV chef charged with trying to have his wife killed.

Sources close to the investigation have told The Times that detectives are looking into reports that the couple had fertility problems and that the man planned to take his own life after his wife was slain.

Juan-Carlos Cruz, the cookbook author and onetime Food Network personality, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder. Prosecutors say he solicited homeless men in Santa Monica to kill his wife.

The sources, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said that the couple had been struggling with fertility issues for some time and that investigators have heard reports that Cruz wanted to kill his wife, Los Angeles attorney Jennifer Campbell, before taking his own life.

Read more on the case here. In the video above, Times reporter Andrew Blankstein looks at the legal twist in the case.

Photo: Juan-Carlos Cruz and his attorney. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times