MMA fighter Levens, wife shot to death

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A mixed martial arts fighter and his wife were found shot to death in their Southern California home in an apparent killing-suicide, authorities said Thursday.

Justin Levens, 28, nicknamed "The Executioner," and Sarah McLean-Levens, 25, were found in the couple's bedroom by the woman's mother, Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

A gun was also found at the scene, CNN reported.

There were no signs of a struggle, Amormino said.

Levens, who fought for the Southern California Condors of the International Fight League, was born in Philadelphia and moved to California to pursue a fighting career.

He was black belt trained by Brazilian-born instructor Marco Ruas in a style of submission fighting known as Vale Tudo, which is Portuguese for "Anything Goes."

At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Levens had a 9-8 record fighting in various mixed martial arts federations.

He tested positive for oxymorphone, an opioid analgesic that is six to eight times more potent than morphine, in a drug test just before a July 19 bout, MMAjunkie.com reported.

Levens received a $1,000 fine and a six-month suspension that was set to run through Jan. 15, 2009.