DENVER—Investigators say a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife researched how to poison her and get away with it, searching online for answers to questions like “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”
On Wednesday, prosecutors are set to present their evidence against James Craig to a judge to show that he should stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig in March.
Police believe Mr. Craig, 45, laced her pre-workout protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide, so he could be with a woman he was having an affair with, according to court documents. He has yet to be asked to enter a plea to the charge.
Mr. Craig’s lawyer, David M. Beller, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.
Ms. Craig died after being taken off life support during her third trip to the hospital in March. She was married to her husband for 23 years and the mother of six children, according to her obituary.
As she languished in the hospital, with doctors unable to figure out what was wrong with her, police in the Denver suburb of Aurora alleged her husband was meeting the woman he was having an affair with, a fellow dentist, who flew in for visits with him. Police began investigating Mr. Craig after his dental practice partner and friend, Ryan Redfearn, told a nurse that Mr. Craig had ordered potassium cyanide even though they did not need it for their work, according to an arrest warrant laying out evidence gathered by investigators.
Investigators believe Mr. Craig put arsenic in one of the protein shakes he routinely made for his wife for their workouts on March 6 and then, after she survived, he ordered a rush shipment of potassium cyanide that he told the supplier was needed for a surgery. Mr. Craig had asked an office manager not to open that package but another employee did, leading to its discovery and eventual disclosure to authorities, the document says.
The delivery of a third substance he is accused of ordering, Oleandrin, was intercepted by authorities after they began investigating him, the document says. Oleandrin is a poisonous substance found in the leaves of the oleander plant.
Mr. Craig told Mr. Redfearn that he ordered the potassium cyanide for his wife and told a social worker that she had been suicidal and depressed since he asked for a divorce in December even though neither of the couple’s children said anything about suicide attempts, according to the arrest affidavit.
Mr. Redfearn also told investigators that Mr. Craig was on the verge of bankruptcy and had been having problems in his marriage, according to the document. Ms. Craig’s sister, Toni Kofoed, told police that Mr. Craig had drugged his wife about five years ago with an unknown drug because he said he planned to kill himself and did not want her to be able to save him.
Ms. Kofoed believes that incident is what Mr. Craig referenced in a series of texts between Angela and Mr. Craiga about her symptoms after she first fell ill on March 6. According to the arrest affidavit, Mr. Craig wrote: “Given our history I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn’t drug you. I am super worried though.”
