A Colorado dentist accused of murdering his wife with toxic protein shakes sent her hospital texts inquiring about her condition and professing his love — telling him, “That drink you gave me, tastes weird.’
James Craig, 45, was arrested Sunday in Aurora, Colorado.
His wife Angela, the mother of his six children, died in hospital the day before, after first reporting pain and nausea after drinking a protein shake he prepared for her on March 6.
Craig’s mistress – an orthodontist in Texas – sent him concerned messages asking about his wife’s condition. She even flew to Colorado from March 8-10 to visit Craig while his wife was in the hospital.
James and Angela Craig pose for a family photo with their six children, ages eight to 20
James Toliver Craig was arrested on Sunday for murder after detectives discovered his wife Angela Craig, 43, had been fatally poisoned
Craig’s indictment documents state that their relationship was “always tumultuous.” She told a confidant several times during their 16-year relationship that she was leaving him, but he always convinced her to stay.
He “had several affairs with several women,” the documents say, and told his wife that he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager.
He admitted to drugging her five or six years ago and told her he did it because he wanted to commit suicide and give himself time to commit suicide without her disturbing him.
Craig referred to the incident in a text message sent to his wife while she was ill.
‘Are you nauseous?’ he asks his wife.
‘No. I feel drugged,” she replies.
“Given our history, I know this has to be a trigger,” Craig tells her. “For the record, I didn’t drug you. However, I am super concerned. You looked really pale before I left.’
Prosecutors allege that Craig first gave his wife the poison on March 6, in a shake he mixed for their workout.
According to the indictment documents, Craig had been researching poison on his office computer.
Search terms were: ‘how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human being’; ‘Is arsenic detectable at autopsy’; ‘Top 5 Undetectable Toxins Showing No Signs of Foul Play’; ‘how to make poison’ and ‘The top 10 deadliest plants (they can kill you)’.
When Angela Craig started complaining about feeling sick, her husband expressed concern and sent repeated declarations of love. At one point, he apologized for not bringing her flowers at the hospital, and said he looked forward to her return home and to the conjugal bed.
‘I love you. It was so much fun hanging out with you and just watching a show and cuddling,” he wrote on March 7 — the day after he reportedly administered the poison.
He tells her, “I do plan to come home and have lunch with you.
‘I’ll have to ask you what you fancy and bring it to you. I’m really just in the mood for a smoothie or something.’
She tells him she is not hungry.
As she struggles with her nausea, headaches, exhaustion and vomiting, Craig repeatedly texts her telling her he loves her and wants her to recover.
“I’m going to trust that you’re just sleeping and not dead somewhere,” he says at one point, when she doesn’t respond to his text.
He says he’s going home to make you dinner.
On March 9, Angela is in the hospital. As her symptoms worsen, Craig texts his wife, “Man, honey, you gotta stop scaring me like that!” I love you so much, and I’m not used to all this excitement!’
At the same time, prosecutors say, Craig’s mistress was visiting him, having flown in from Austin, Texas.
On March 10, while his mistress is still in town, Craig texts his wife, “I wish I could have stayed longer.” I love you and am so glad you seem to be doing better.’
On March 11, he tells his wife, “I just dream of making love to you. I love you and I want you.’
When she is fired, he tells her, “I can’t WAIT to see you at home in my bed tomorrow!”
She says she has to stop vomiting before she can think about sex.
Craig, meanwhile, orders more poison, with a delivery of cyanide to be shipped on March 13.
On March 14, she returned home and accused her husband of poisoning her, he told a confidant.
“James told her when Angela was fired that she made allegations that James had poisoned her,” the indictment documents read.
“Angela said something to James along the lines of ‘there are toxins they don’t test for.'”
At home, her condition deteriorated dramatically and she was readmitted on March 15, had a seizure and never regained consciousness.
On March 16, as Angela’s condition worsens, his mistress sends him an email saying she wants to comfort him but not be there and “hide how I feel about you.”
“I’m sorry I’m not part of your world to be able to help you more, but instead I’m pulling you away,” she writes.
‘This is so hard. I want to be and do what I can to support and encourage you and I don’t want to add to what has become an incredibly difficult time.
“I want to give you all the comfort I can, but I also don’t think it’s right for me to mingle with those who gather to mourn Angela and I don’t want to meet your family as a friend and hide how I feel about you. .’
Craig was reported to authorities by one of his colleagues, who was suspicious of his behavior and the poison episodes.
He refused to perform an autopsy on his wife, despite pleas from concerned friends, who feared the cause of death could be genetic and passed on to the children.
The affidavit says that Craig intended to end his wife’s life by looking for ways to kill someone unnoticed, giving her toxins to match her hospital symptoms, and working towards starting a new life. live with [his lover].’
The dentist is said to have ordered the arsenic online on February 27 and received a package at home on March 4.
Craig’s second package arrived at work on March 13, and when an employee opened the box, she found a biohazard sticker and a canister labeled “Potassium Cyanide.”
She googled the chemical compound and realized that the symptoms of cyanide poisoning were similar to those Angela was experiencing.
When the employee learned Angela had been hospitalized again on March 15, she told Craig’s business partner about her shocking discovery.
He then told a nurse during a visit to check on her.
The nurse called the police and her death was investigated by detectives from the Major Crimes Homicide Unit who determined she had been poisoned.
“As a mandatory reporter, the nurse called the police and an investigation followed,” the affidavit reads.
Craig told investigators his wife had intentionally overdosed on opioids since she filed for divorce in December 2022.
Police raided his home and business and seized protein powders, shakers, a computer tablet, phones, and two Ziploc bags of powdery substances.
Craig was a practicing dentist and part of the Summerbrook dental practice in Colorado, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021
Craig’s internet history revealed that he placed an Amazon order for “Arsenic Metal 99.9999% Crystalline Metalloid 10 grams for Element Collection” in addition to other toxins he ordered online
A data analysis of his devices revealed the hair-raising searches he conducted online, including a $13 Amazon order for “Arsenic Metal 99.9999% Crystalline Metalloid 10 Grams for Element Collection.”
When police combed his email account jimandwaffles@gmail.com, they found additional purchases of poison, according to the affidavit.
According to court documents, Craig and his practice, Summerbrook Dental, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021.
The couple had been married for more than 20 years and had six children — five girls and a boy — ages eight to twenty.
In a 2021 press release, Craig described himself as “happily married” to Angela.
The release went on to say that the couple “have six kids, and they all enjoy the outdoors, especially camping, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking.”
“They also like to visit theme parks and often travel to Disney, Universal and Sea World.”
It also noted that James Craig volunteered for WE CAN HELP, an anti-bullying program sponsored by the Denver Police Department.
Poisoning is a rare method of murder. According to studiespoisoning accounts for less than 0.5 percent of cases.
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