A Colorado dentist’s murder case has been put on hold after he abruptly dropped his defense
The murder trial of a Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife to death is on hold after the defense attorney “abruptly withdrew” during jury selection.
James Toliver Craig, 45, is accused of killing his wife, Angela Craig, by poisoning her protein shakes.
Angela Craig, a 43-year-old mother of six who had been married to her husband for 23 years, died in March 2023 of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a liquid found in eye drops, according to the report. spying on him.
The trial was previously delayed and was expected to begin Thursday with jury selection, KDVR reported. However, on Thursday morning, the defense attorney decided to withdraw the case due to a “professional conflict,” according to the 18th District Attorney’s Office.
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Two photos of dentist James Oliver, accused of murdering his wife, Angela Craig. (Facebook)
The judge allowed him to withdraw under the Rule of Professional Conduct, Craig refused to represent himself, delaying the trial.
Craig allegedly flew his dentist lover from Austin to Denver when his wife died, according to an arrest affidavit. The two reportedly sent each other “sexually graphic emails.”
The charge sheet detailed their troubled marriage, financial problems and Craig’s alleged sinister plot to kill her.
“Overall, this investigation has shown that James did everything possible to try to end his wife’s life,” Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson he wrote in an affidavit.
On Feb. 27, Craig created a secret email account, jimandwaffles.com, that he used only on a computer at his now-defunct Summerbrook Dental team, investigators said.
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Colorado dentist James Craig, right, is accused of assaulting his wife, Angela Craig. The two had six children together. (Facebook)
Police said Craig searched the Internet for things like “How to make a murder look like a heart attack” and “How to poison” days before his wife looked up symptoms he was experiencing, including nausea, tremors and cold lips.
Craig is said to have also researched and purchased several “invisible poisons”, and ordered an immediate shipment of potassium cyanide even though it was not needed.
Investigators suspect that Craig bought the poison online before his wife began experiencing symptoms that doctors could not determine, but his attorneys said there was no direct evidence that he poisoned his wife and accused Olson of bias. he.
His sister, Toni Kofoed, told the police that Craig had drugged his wife about five years earlier because he planned to kill himself and didn’t want her to stop him.
Kofoed also told investigators that the couple’s marriage had been “tumultuous” and that Craig had “multiple affairs with multiple women” and was “addicted to pornography from a young age.”
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Angela and Colorado dentist James Craig in a family photo. James was charged with murder for allegedly poisoning his wife. (Facebook)
Angela Craig told her sister several times over the past 16 years that she planned to leave her, but she always begged her to stay. The couple broke in again and are about to declare themselves dead a second time, the papers said.
Angela Craig had complained to her sister that her husband had recently gambled and left with more than R2 000 on a trip to Las Vegas.
Back in May, Craig was accused of asking a fellow inmate to plant letters in his garage and truck to make it look like his wife was suicidal. Olson said the inmate believed that the letters were written by Craig, but they should have appeared as if they were written by his wife.
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According to Olson, Craig offered to pay the inmate’s bond to get out of jail or do free dental work to plant the letters, but the inmate decided not to respond and reported the incident to authorities. the detective testified earlier.
Craig had been charged first degree murder and one count of conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the two charges in November 2023.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Rebecca Rosenberg of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. News tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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