A Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife’s protein shakes sent a disturbing text message before her death.
James Craig sent a bizarre text message to his wife Angela Craig, 43, promising she had not poisoned her when she mentioned her protein shake and magnesium supplement had made her dizzy and told him she felt “high”.
‘Given our history, I know that must be a trigger. Just for the record, I did not drug you,” he wrote to her on March 6, 2023. “Although I am very worried. You really were pale before I left. Even like on your lips.
Angela’s sister told investigators that James had drugged his wife five years earlier and claimed he had been planning to commit suicide by lethal injection in the bathroom. The telegraph reported.
Angela died in March 2023 from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning, the latter a substance found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner.
Craig was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in March 2023 for allegedly giving his Angela a fatal dose of potassium cyanide, resulting in her death.
Police described Craig’s alleged crimes as a “heinous, complex and calculated murder” and said the dentist had poisoned his wife’s smoothies several times.
Angela was in and out of the hospital several times before her death and her husband of 23 years played the role of spouse each time, sending her photos of all six children, communicating with her and appearing concerned about her well-being.
James Craig sent a bizarre text message to his wife Angela Craig, 43, promising she had not poisoned her when she mentioned her protein shake and magnesium supplement had made her dizzy and told him she felt “high”.
‘Given our history, I know that must be a trigger. Just for the record, I did not drug you,” he wrote to her on March 6, 2023. Angela’s sister told investigators that James had drugged his wife five years earlier.
During his last hospital stay, he told Angela’s friend Michelle Redfeam that if it wasn’t his wife in the hospital bed, “it would be kind of a fun puzzle to try to solve!”
But prosecutors allege that the dentist was the designer of the puzzle and knew exactly how everything would fit together.
They claim his plan began in early 2023 when he ordered metallic arsenic on Amazon for $13 and began poisoning his wife on March 6.
Your hard drive history also shows suspicious searches, such as: “How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human being” and “Is arsenic detectable in (an) autopsy?”
He later ordered 25 grams of potassium cyanide and told the supplier he was a surgeon performing “craniofacial reconstruction.”
The coroner found that arsenic had been a “significant condition” in his death, according to The Telegraph.
The first person to raise suspicions against James was his business partner, Ryan Redfearn, who told staff that the dentist had ordered cyanide, but that the clinic had no reason to use it.
Ryan had said James was “on the brink of bankruptcy” and “a risk taker.” James also filed for bankruptcy in 2021, according to The Telegraph.
Prosecutors say his scheme began in early 2023 when he ordered metallic arsenic on Amazon for $13 and began poisoning his wife on March 6.
Your hard drive history also shows suspicious searches, such as: “How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human being” and “Is arsenic detectable in (an) autopsy?”
Angela’s sister, Toni Kofoed, told investigators that James had ruined her “dental practice” and had recently bet $2,000 while on vacation in Las Vegas, The Telegraph reported.
The dentist was also allegedly addicted to pornography and was said to have had affairs with several women.
Prosecutors accuse James of wanting to kill Angela so he could start a new life with an orthodontist he was having an affair with in Austin, Texas.
The orthodontist allegedly flew to Denver twice while Angela was hospitalized, and police said the email exchanges between her and James were “intimate in nature and contained sexually explicit conversations.”
After her death, James told a caseworker that his wife was suicidal and had previously overdosed. He also told them he believed his toxicology report would come back positive, but he wasn’t sure for what substances.
Her six children did not mention that their mother was suicidal or depressed, and the caseworker suspects the dentist was “trying to construct a cover story for what really happened to Angela.”
James has also been accused of attempting to solicit an inmate to kill the detective investigating his case.
He has also faced more charges since his time in prison, including asking another inmate to falsify journal entries that would make it appear his wife committed suicide. He had allegedly asked the inmate to plant them in the family home. The inmate refused, according to the outlet.
Prosecutors accuse James of wanting to kill Angela so he could start a new life with an orthodontist he was having an affair with in Austin, Texas.
Craig was also previously accused of smuggling a letter out of jail with an inmate out on bail for one of his adult daughters.
They asked him to make a fake video of Angela Craig asking Craig to get her poisons, according to prosecutors.
That’s why he was charged with felony solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence after the plot involving his daughter was revealed.
James had pleaded not guilty to the charges.