Dentist accused of killing wife by poisoning her shakes Accused of trying to kill Aurora detective

Written by: Colleen Slevin/AP

a dentist He was accused of murdering his wife He was accused of trying to persuade a prison mate to kill a detective investigating a murder case by poisoning protein shakes.

Prosecutors last week filed two new charges against James Craig: solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. The charging document does not say who Craig allegedly wanted to kill, but Aurora police spokesman Joe Moylan confirmed late Wednesday that the intended victim was an Aurora police detective.

Online court records did not list an attorney representing Craig as of Thursday. A judge allowed Craig’s last attorney, Harvey Steinberg, to recuse himself from the case on November 21 after he cited a professional dispute; just as Craig was about to go on trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig. Prosecutors filed two new charges against Craig the next day.

Craig’s trial has been postponed indefinitely. Craig, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to appear in court with his new attorney on December 16.

According to the coroner, 43-year-old Angela Craig died in March 2023 from poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a substance found in over-the-counter eye drops. The couple had been married for 23 years and had six children.

Craig was previously accused of smuggling out of prison a letter written by an inmate to whom an adult girl was bound. According to prosecutors, he was asked to make a fake video of Angela Craig asking Craig to buy poison for her.

He is also accused of asking another inmate to plant fake diary entries in Craig’s home that suggested Angela Craig had killed herself. The inmate refused, according to court documents. Craig’s first defense team pointed out that the prisoner only contacted authorities after the first hearing to review evidence in the case, which was widely covered in the media.

Prosecutors also allege Craig tried a more elaborate and sophisticated approach to pin the blame on his wife. He asked another former inmate friend to find attractive women who would agree to testify at his trial that they had affairs with him, and after Angela Craig learned about it, they refused to help him frame her, they said in court documents.