A Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by putting poison in her protein shakes was formally charged with first-degree murder on Thursday.
James Toliver Craig, 45, appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colorado, where prosecutors filed formal charges while the defense appealed to all notes to law enforcement. to be preserved and for pretrial public comments to be limited. Craig, of Aurora, Colorado, also waived his right to a preliminary hearing within a 35-day window to give his attorneys more time.
The status hearing is set for April 7 at 3 pm MT.
Craig was arrested early Sunday and preliminarily charged with first-degree murder. He was ordered held without bond, according to a press release from the Aurora Police Department and an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by ABC News. A public defender representing Craig did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The charge stems from the poisoning death of his 43-year-old wife, Angela Craig, who was hospitalized three times in 10 days for severe headaches and dizziness. He was admitted to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora on the morning of March 15. Shortly after, he had a seizure and was placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit as his condition rapidly deteriorated. He was declared medically brain dead on Saturday afternoon and was subsequently taken off life support, leaving doctors at a loss as to what caused his rapid decline, according to the affidavit.
The Aurora Police Department’s Major Crimes Homicide Unit was called in to investigate and eventually discovered that Angela Craig had been poisoned to death.
“As the suspicious details of this case came to light, our team of officers and homicide detectives worked tirelessly to uncover the truth behind the victim’s sudden illness and death,” said Mark Hildebrand, Aurora chief. Police Department’s Investigations Divisions, said in a statement Sunday. “It was quickly discovered that this was indeed a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am very proud of our Major Crimes Homicide Unit for working hard to solve this case and to find justice for the victim.”
In the week before his wife’s death, James Craig used a computer at his Aurora dental practice to create a new email address and conduct an online search related to the poison, including “a few grams of pure arsenic can kill people” and “arsenic detectable. in autopsy,” the affidavit said. He also bought arsenic online on February 23 and the shipment was delivered to his home on March 4, according to the affidavit.
Two days later, Angela Craig sent a text message to her husband complaining of dizziness and feeling “drugged,” the affidavit said. James Craig replied: “Given our history I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn’t drug you. I am super worried though. You really looked lus before I left. Like in your lips even.”
When he asked if she “had eaten,” Angela Craig said “I had a protein shake,” according to the affidavit. He was admitted to Centura Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Colorado, where he was treated and released. On the same day, James Craig ordered the poisonous plant extract oleandrin, but the package was “interrupted by FedEx” and never delivered, the affidavit said.
While his wife was hospitalized again from March 9 to March 14, James Craig ordered the deadly chemical compound potassium cyanide, which was delivered to his dental practice on March 13, according to the affidavit. When Angela Craig was hospitalized for the last time on March 15, one of her husband’s business partners told an attending nurse about the delivery of potassium cyanide and how it was unnecessary in their dental practice, which – prompted the nurse to contact the police, according to the affidavit.
James Craig was known to regularly make his wife protein shakes and investigators believe he administered the poison through these drinks, the affidavit said. The couple has six children, according to Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV.
Investigators spoke with Angela Craig’s sister, who described the couple’s marriage as troubled and said James Craig had multiple relationships with other women, according to the affidavit. Angela Craig also told her sister that her husband drugged her a few years ago because he was planning to kill himself and didn’t want to stop her. After Angela Craig’s death, her sister told investigators that James Craig “said he would not allow the hospital staff to perform an autopsy,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators learned that James Craig told some of his employees that his “marriage was failing” and that he was “in financial trouble,” the affidavit said. After Angela Craig’s death, James Craig also told the Colorado Department of Human Services that his wife was suicidal and “he rescued her several times but never reported it,” according to the affidavit. However, the affidavit noted that none of the people interviewed by investigators suggested that Angela Craig had suicidal thoughts.
The investigation determined that James Craig “showed planning and intent to end his wife’s life by finding ways to kill an unknown person, giving her poisons consistent with her symptoms of hospital, and work on starting a new life” with another woman, according to the affidavit.
ABC News’ Jenna Harrison Esseling, Jenn Leong, Michelle Mendez, Dominick Proto, Darren Reynolds and Ben Stein contributed to this report.
