Former staff and patients at the Colorado Mormon dentist now accused of killing his wife by slowly poisoning her with spiked protein shakes have spoken in disbelief at his arrest.
James ‘Jim’ Craig, 45, is being held on suspicion of murdering his wife of 24 years, Angela, by poisoning her with potassium cyanide.
She started feeling sick on March 6. By March 15, she was in the hospital for the third time complaining of headaches and nausea, and she promptly went into a seizure. She was taken off life support on March 18.
Prosecutors say her husband, who had been having an affair with an orthodontist in Texas, wanted to start a new life with his lover.
The explosive allegations have left former friends, colleagues, patients and staff in shock.
James ‘Jim’ Craig, 45, is being held on suspicion of murdering his wife of 24 years, Angela, by poisoning her with potassium cyanide.
“He was the most amazing boss, he invested thousands in my education… this is just devastating,” Courtney Lyons, who spent four years working with Craig, told DailyMail.com.
Lyons, who lives in Michigan, met the family at TGI Friday’s, where she worked as a waitress for many years.
‘They came four nights a week, religiously, and I was their servant.
“It seemed like the perfect family. I have never met a better woman or mother than Angela. She was the most amazing woman. She was a saint. She just found time for everyone and everything.
She said the couple seemed to have a happy marriage.
‘All we saw was how he adored her. He spoke highly of her.
Ultimately, he offered Lyons a job as director of marketing at his dental office and paid him to take courses for the position.
“I think we could do this for another 16 years,” Angela wrote in a gushing anniversary post below this photo, taken when the couple were newlyweds in 1999.
“All we saw was that he adored her,” said the former staffer, who worked with Craig at his dental practice and called him a “family man.”
Craig and his wife during a trip to London. His sister told police how she supported him on “multiple issues.”
The couple in a recent photo with their six children. It is not clear who will take care of them now.
Craig with his two young daughters. The staff says that he was a family man who never crossed the line.
Craig’s former staff told DailyMail.com how he constantly gave away free dental treatments and organized ‘free’ days for patients. Above, one of the many ‘patient appreciation days’ he organized
The couple made their marital home in Aurora, Colorado, with their six children ages eight to 20. It is here that Craig is said to have poisoned his wife.
Lyons said the only flaw she and others could see in him was that he was too generous.
‘We told him that for every dollar he earned, he would give 99 cents or give it to someone else. He ran free dentistry days, he paid us all very well.
“I’m not surprised there are money problems,” he said, alluding to the fact that he filed for bankruptcy.
He added that the family was Mormon and did not drink, but that they were not forceful in their beliefs.
Nobody expected this.
She recounted how he treated the staff like royalty, always investing in their education and paying them well.
Craig admitted to drugging Angela five or six years ago and mentioned the incident in a text message to his wife while she was hospitalized. These texts show how he struggled with symptoms for weeks before he died.
The couple continued to discuss her symptoms, before she told him the day before she returned home that she needed to make sure he “didn’t feel like throwing up” before sleeping together.
Angela resorted to an oxygen tank because she was having a hard time breathing
Patients and friends were equally surprised.
‘This is so shocking. He’s been my dentist for years,’ a patient said upon seeing the announcement of his arrest by the Aurora Police Department.
‘It used to be temporary for Dr. Craig. He seemed like a great dentist and a devoted family man. Really very sad,’ commented Danae Dael.
None of Angela’s grieving relatives, including her sister Toni, who spoke to police, have commented on the tragedy.
It is not clear who will now look after their six children, the eldest of whom is 21 years old.
Craig’s parents in Utah did not immediately respond.
James Toliver Craig was arrested for murder on Sunday after detectives discovered his wife Angela Craig, 43, had been fatally poisoned.
