One of the key witnesses in the attempted murder case involving former Food Network host Juan-Carlos Cruz tells TMZ the prosecutor in the case engaged in a cover-up ... and Cruz' lawyer says it may be "an outright obstruction of justice."


Shane Ickenroth -- one of the three homeless men who Cruz paid to kill his wife -- tells TMZ he called the prosecutor, Simone Shay, last August to tell her bad news about the two other homeless witnesses -- Big Dave had died of cancer, and Little Dave (aka Dave Carrington) had been arrested in California and extradited to Colorado for felony sexual assault with physical force.

Ickenroth says Shay told him, "Don't say anything about it.  It could still mess up the case while it was going on."

Cruz cut a deal with the prosecutor and pled no contest to solicitation of murder and was sentenced Monday to 9 years in prison.

TMZ contacted Cruz' lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, who told us the prosecutor never informed her about Big or Little Dave. 

Ickenroth says one of the detectives in the case also told him to keep quiet about the two Daves.

CLICK HERE ... IT'S NOT OVER YET

TMZ has learned one of the homeless men Juan-Carlos Cruz tried to recruit to kill his wife passed away a few months back.



After Cruz was sentenced on Monday, we decided to track down the three men he tried to hire to kill his wife -- that's when we were told of Big Dave's demise.

Big Dave died back in August after suffering from a brain hemorrhage. One of the other homeless heroes, Shane, tells us Dave had been sick for awhile.

Big Dave was the first of the homeless men to report Cruz to authorities. He met with Cruz several times and was the man who would have theoretically carried out the crime.

Former Food Network chef Juan-Carlos Cruz was just sentenced to nine years in prison ... this after he pled no contest back in October for attempting to solicit men to murder his wife.


Cruz tried to pay three homeless men back in May to kill his wife. The men went to the police instead and Cruz was arrested.

As part of the plea agreement, an attempted murder charge was dropped.

As we first reported ... Cruz's wife, Jennifer Campbell, was suicidal over not being able to have a baby. But suicide is a mortal sin in Campbell's religion, so authorities believe Cruz was attempting to execute a murder/suicide out of mercy.

Former Food Network chef Juan-Carlos Cruz just copped a plea in the plot to have 3 homeless guys kill his wife. 


TMZ broke the story ... Cruz cut a deal with the prosecutors.  He pled no contest to solicitation of murder.

Sentencing is set for December 13.  Cruz's wife, Jennifer Campbell, wants to address the court before sentencing.

As TMZ first reported, Cruz has agreed to accept 9 years in prison.  Ultimately, however, it's in the hands of the judge.

Also, when Cruz exited the courtroom he blew a kiss to his wife and both had a big smile on their face.

UPDATE:  TMZ has obtained legal docs in the case, which confirm TMZ's earlier story that Cruz has agreed to a 9 year prison sentence.

Juan-Carlos Cruz -- the former Food Network host accused of putting a hit out on his wife -- will cop a plea today that will land him in prison for years ... TMZ has learned.


Cruz -- who allegedly hired three homeless guys to kill wife Jennifer Campbell -- is scheduled to appear this morning for his preliminary hearing on attempted murder charges.  But our sources say that hearing will not happen.  Instead, lawyers for both sides will announce the plea deal.

We're told Cruz will plead guilty to solicitation of murder.  He will agree to 9 years in prison, less time served.  Cruz has been in jail since May.  But it's a lot better than attempted murder, which carries a life sentence.

The backstory is pretty incredible.  TMZ broke the story ... Campbell was suicidal because she couldn't have kids, but could not take her own life because of her religious beliefs.  Authorities believe Cruz was going to have his wife killed as an act of mercy and then take his own life.

The plea should go down at 8:30 AM PT.

The former Food Network host accused of putting a hit out on his wife is close to a plea bargain, and best case scenario for him ... he could end up with probation.



Juan-Carlos Cruz is accused of hiring 3 homeless guys to slash his wife's throat with a pair of box cutters.

TMZ broke the story ... alleged victim Jennifer Campbell was suicidal over not being able to have a baby.  But suicide is a mortal sin in Campbell's religion, so authorities believe Cruz was attempting to execute a murder/suicide out of mercy.

Law enforcement sources tell us Campbell is solidly supporting her husband, and police and prosecutors have compassion for the couple.   We're told there have been active plea bargain negotiations and it's possible a plea could be reached before Tuesday's hearing ... though we're told it's going to be hard to work out all of the details before then.

We're told the likely disposition of the case is that Cruz will plead no contest to solicitation of murder and the attempted murder charge will be dropped. 

The sentence for solicitation of murder is anywhere from 9 years in prison to probation.  One source familiar with the case tells TMZ the likely dispo is 1 year in jail followed by probation. 

We're told the couple plans to stay married.

We'll be in court Tuesday.

Juan-Carlos Cruz -- the former Food Network host accused of trying to hire some homeless guys to kill his wife -- sat in court this morning, as the judge inquired about a TMZ video featuring the prosecution's star witnesses.



The three homeless guys told TMZ on camera how Cruz allegedly offered them money to kill his wife.

The judge asked Cruz's lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, if she's received  "TMZ records and video of the witnesses" -- she said she had not.  Prosecutor Joe Marcus also said he had not received the video.

TMZ has not received a subpoena for the video, but it's up on the site -- see it below.

We broke the story ... both sides are talking plea bargain.

The next court hearing was scheduled for July 20.  The homeless guys -- who were in court today --were ordered to appear.

The homeless guys who exposed an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving a Food Network chef are pissed off at Oprah Winfrey -- claiming they deserve to be on her show ... not Juan-Carlos Cruz.


As we previously reported, Oprah has already reached out to Cruz in an attempt to land an interview from jail -- but she hasn't reached out to the homeless men who alerted cops about his alleged plan to have his wife killed ... and they're bitter.

According to Homeless Shane (pictured above) -- he and his band of "Homeless Heroes" feel snubbed that O would "rather interview some lame chef instead of three homeless guys that helped save someone's life."

So far, Cruz has not responded to Oprah's request for an interview. The homeless guys tell us they're still more than willing to fill in.

TMZ has learned ...Juan-Carlos Cruz could cop a plea in his attempted murder case as early as June 23.

TMZ has learned Oprah Winfrey is trying to snag former Food Network host Juan-Carlos Cruz for a jail chit chat.



Cruz is currently behind bars after being arrested for allegedly hiring three homeless guys to kill his wife.  TMZ broke the story ... Cruz's wife -- Jennifer Campbell -- was suicidal because the couple was infertile but could not take her life because it's a mortal sin in the Catholic Church. We're told even the cops and prosecutors believe Cruz may have hired the homeless guys as an act of mercy, that would be followed by Cruz taking his own life.

The story certainly got Oprah's attention.  We're told Oprah's peeps reached out to Cruz's reps for an interview. 

We're told Cruz hasn't responded ... so far.

Sources tell TMZ the L.A. County District Attorney's Office is open to plea bargaining the attempted murder case against former Food Network host Juan-Carlos Cruz.



Law enforcement sources tell us the D.A. and the cops are well aware of the Shakespearean drama between Juan-Carlos and his wife, Jennifer Campbell. TMZ broke the story that Campbell has been despondent for years over the couple's inability to have kids -- and she told members of her church and others she wanted to end her life, but her religion views suicide as a mortal sin.

Sources say Juan-Carlos was making a feeble attempt to end his wife's life and then kill himself, by trying to hire 3 homeless men to murder his wife. We're told the cops and prosecutors believe this was Cruz's MO.


We're told because of the circumstances ... in a plea bargain the D.A. would be inclined to dismiss the attempted murder charge.  In return, we're told, the D.A. would be open to a guilty or no contest plea to solicitation to commit murder, which carries a 3 to 9-year sentence.

If Cruz got the low end of the sentence, with good behavior he would have to serve around a year and a half ... not a bad resolution.