A Colorado dentist was sentenced to life in prison on July 30 for the 2023 murder of his wife, whose protein shakes were dosed with a mix of chemicals, including a medication commonly used in over-the-counter eye drops, prosecutors said.
James Craig, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit murder in the first degree, solicitation to commit perjury, and solicitation to commit evidence tampering, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. He was acquitted of a lesser, non-included charge of manslaughter-caused or aided suicide.
An Arapahoe County jury reached their verdict on July 30 after nearly nine hours of deliberation following closing arguments in which prosecutors detailed James Craig’s scheme to kill his wife, 43-year-old Angela Craig, in March 2023. Shortly after James Craig was convicted, District Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the trial, prosecutors said James Craig had poisoned his wife over the span of 10 days with arsenic, potassium cyanide, and tetrahydrozoline, a form of a medicine that is found in over-the-counter eye drops and nasal sprays. She was hospitalized on March 15, 2023, and pronounced brain dead three days later.
Jurors also found James Craig guilty of attempting to cover up his scheme by asking others to fabricate evidence and lie, including his daughter whom he asked to create a deepfake video of his wife. In addition, prosecutors said James Craig had targeted the lead detective investigating the case and plotted to kill him, among other offenses.
“This is Angela’s husband (poisoning) her, causing her to die a slow death,” District Attorney Amy Padden said during a news conference following Craig’s sentencing. “It wasn’t something done in the heat of passion. It was deliberate. It was over the course of days, and then the cover up afterwards — enlisting his own daughter to attempt to make a deepfake video. To me, that was what was so stunning about this case.”
What was he using it for? An Arkansas tree cutter made a lethal biological agent.
Protein shakes laced with poison
Weeks before his wife’s death, James Craig conducted searches related to poison, including “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” and “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy,” according to a redacted affidavit. He also researched “undetectable poisons” and their effects on people, the affidavit states.
James Craig then ordered arsenic from Amazon, which was delivered to his house in suburban Denver on March 4, 2023, according to the affidavit. Two days later, Angela Craig drank a protein shake that he made her and began to feel sick, saying that she was dizzy and weak.
“Angela went to Parker Adventist Hospital and was released the same day,” the affidavit states. “(She) returned to Parker Adventist Hospital on March 9, 2023. Angela was admitted on March 9, 2023, and released on March 14, 2023.”
James Craig also ordered potassium cyanide from Midland Scientific, a laboratory products distributor, and later purchased packages of eyedrops from a supermarket, according to the affidavit and prosecutors. The order of potassium cyanide was delivered to his dental practice on March 13, 2023, and was opened by an employee.
After doctors were unable to diagnose Angela Craig, police began investigating James Craig after his dental practice partner, Ryan Redfearn, told a nurse that James Craig had ordered potassium cyanide and that he suspected Angela Craig was a possible victim of poisoning, the affidavit states.
“Ryan asked James why he would buy Potassium Cyanide. James eventually recanted and admitted the package contained Potassium Cyanide but claimed that Angela asked him to order it,” according to the affidavit. “James told Ryan he ordered the Potassium Cyanide, but he ‘didn’t think she [Angela] would actually take it.'”
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Multiple affairs, a previous drugging
Toni Kofoed, Angela Craig’s sister, told investigators that her sister and James Craig had a tumultuous marriage, according to the affidavit. Redfearn also said in an interview with investigators that he knew James Craig had been having marriage problems.
“James had multiple affairs with several women, told Angela he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager, and drugged Angela approximately five to six years ago,” the affidavit states.
Angela Craig allegedly told Kofoed that James Craig had drugged her with an unknown drug because he planned to commit suicide, according to the affidavit. She also told Kofoed several times that she was going to leave her husband but said “James always convinced her to stay,” the affidavit states.
An investigation revealed that prior to Angela Craig’s death, James Craig had been having an affair with a woman — identified as Karin Cain — he met at dental conference in Las Vegas. A search of James Craig’s emails showed that he had been communicating with Cain while Angela Craig was in the hospital, according to the affidavit.
“The emails were intimate in nature and contained sexually explicit conversations,” the affidavit states. “It appeared that James had Karin visit him while his wife was in the hospital sick.”
The affidavit further stated that James Craig told Cain that something had happened to his wife and she expressed how sorry she was for him. In an interview with ABC News in 2023, Cain said when she met James Craig he had told her he was amid a divorce and that she didn’t believe she was the motive behind the killing.
“If I had known what was true, I would not have been with this person,” she told ABC News.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado dentist sentenced to life for poisoning wife’s protein shakes
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