ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The romantic partner of the Aurora dentist accused of murdering his wife by poisoning her workout smoothies in 2023 testified about their budding relationship as texts between the two were shown before the court Tuesday.
Medical personnel also took the stand earlier in the day as questions surrounding toxins found in Angela Craig's blood continued, in addition to statements made by James Craig about Angela Craig reportedly being suicidal before her death. James Craig's cellmate, who alleged James Craig asked him to place a fake journal inside his home, also took the stand Tuesday.
James Craig is on trial for one charge of first-degree murder, two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree, and one count of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. Five of the charges were added to this case during his time in jail.
He is accused of killing his wife, Angela Craig, 43, by poisoning her workout smoothies. Her cause of death was determined to be lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a decongestant found in over-the-counter eyedrops. She suffered through several bouts of sickness before her passing, and doctors struggled to determine why she was ill.
He was arrested on March 19, 2023. His bond was set at $10 million on June 28, 2023. That October, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
James Craig's trial began on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
You can read Denver7's previous reporting on this trial here:
- Opening statements/day 1 - Tuesday, July 15
- Day 2 - Wednesday, July 16
- Day 3 - Thursday, July 17
- Day 4 - Friday, July 18
- Day 5 - Monday, July 21
Denver7 reporter Colette Bordelon is in court Tuesday and we are summarizing the sixth day of the trial in this story.
"I'd never heard of anything like this happening before"
The prosecution began Tuesday morning with its 31st witness, Dr. Mark Simon, an emergency medicine physician who is trained in medical toxicology. Simon, who is board certified, completed a four-year residency in emergency medicine and then two years at Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety, a medical toxicology center. He told prosecutor Osama Magrebi he currently works with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital as an emergency room physician.
Simon was qualified by the court as an expert witness in medical toxicology.
Simon told the court he's mostly focused on diagnostics and treatment of patients exposed to different agents. He added "hundreds of calls" come into the poison center every day, but only a select number make it to his office since it's a 24/7 call line, which the public or medical providers can call.
He said different hospitals will contract with the poison center to have a direct line to the medical toxicologist instead of through the poison center, and described a call he got on March 15, 2023. He told the court that due to an agreement with facilities like Denver Health, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and Children's Hospital Colorado, they can go see a patient in-person if such providers make that request, which is what happened that day with Angela Craig.
Simon recalled walking into the ICU where Angela Craig was on a ventilator, and remembered seeing her "not responsive, not talking, unable to really interact at that point." He recalled seeing several nurses and medical personnel inside and outside of the room, and added his visit to the ICU that day was to determine if Angela Craig had been poisoned with potassium cyanide, while considering all substances as a possibility.
He told the court Angela Craig was severely ill at that point. Based off Simon's training and expertise, a range of substances can result in similar outcomes like the one he saw in Angela. Based on information he was provided, one of the substances he suspected as causing her malaise was most likely cyanide.
"Just based on seeing the patient, based on her labs, based on her presentation — even without those rumors of cyanide, this looked highly unusual... stack that together with the rumors, I think that made my suspicion even higher," he said.
Since it was just a suspicion at that point, he asked the team to obtain a test for cyanide concentration and other labs, as well as testing for similar substances that could have caused a reaction like the one he observed in Angela Craig.
Simon then explained how the body creates energy and what happens when that energy source is impacted by cyanide.
"When you poison the mitochondria, the body can no longer create energy or make ATP [adenosine triphosphate], which our body utilizes for energy, and the body goes to less efficient means of creating energy, like bacteria," he said. "So, if you poison that part of the cell, patients get critically ill."
The way cyanide works, he said, is by inhibiting cells from making that energy efficiently. He said people can think of it like a train. "If a train was running and you took away the tracks, it cannot continue going," he explained.
He also explained how testing for cyanide works, saying a test for cyanide is not a "run of the mill, or quick test we have in the hospital." Simon had recommendations for Angela Craig's care team, including providing her with the antidote hydroxocobalamin.
Simon said that in the best case scenario, you want to give a patient an antidote as soon as possible. In Angela's case, however, "you had a patient who was extremely sick," he said.
Additionally, Simon said Angela Craig was in the emergency department and acutely decompensated, and her story seemed very "bizarre," because all signs pointed to a possible cyanide exposure shortly before she got worse.
"I'd never heard of anything like this happening before," he told the court.
Simon then went to explain how cyanide impacts the body depending on how it is administered, and said that administration through inhalation or through an IV can make cyanide work very quickly, within a matter of minutes. An argument being insinuated by prosecutors regarding the lethal dose of cyanide is that James Craig allegedly used a syringe or needle of sorts to administer the cyanide while his wife was hospitalized on March 15, 2023.
He then went on to testify that Angela Craig's symptoms were consistent with cyanide exposure, and that readings of pressure in her brain were unusually high, remarking he'd never "heard of a patient surviving with those [intracranial] pressures."
"I'm not sure that any antidote would have saved her," Simon said, admitting before the court that administration of the antidote was briefly beneficial. He added that he was not asked to consider if arsenic, tetrahydrozoline, or oleander exposure was also to blame for Angela Craig's condition. He told the court, however, he believed exposure to enough tetrahydrozoline could cause death.
When asked by Magrebi about the role of the toxins mentioned above, Simon said cyanide, arsenic and tetrahydrozoline all have the potential for central nervous system depression, but ultimately, Angela Craig's case did not appear to be pure arsenic toxicity alone. He said he also was not asked to look for any specific signs of tetrahydrozoline exposure.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Ashley Witham pointed out that initially, Angela Craig arrived at the hospital with two people who were not James Craig.
Witham asked if Simon knows for sure that tetrahydrozoline exposure can be lethal, and he responded that he does not know that with absolute certainty. Simon told Witham he also cannot say if the cyanide was ingested by Angela Craig.
"I cannot state with certainty who would have actually taken it or given it," Simon told the jury.
There was no redirect examination from the prosecution and Simon was excused from the stand.
Defense questions coroner as to whether Angela was suicidal before her death
The court then called back Dr. Kelly Lear, who is the elected coroner and forensic pathologist for the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office, for cross-examination by the defense. She started testifying toward the end of the day Monday.
Defense attorney Lisa Moses started by saying "it's a lot easier to do this right after you testify," before asking Lear about samples the coroner's office received related to Angela Craig. Lear admitted she cannot say how the samples were kept before they got to her office, but once in her possession, she was confident they were stored in the appropriate manner.
She said coroners will usually do toxicology screens (or tox screens, for short) to get a better sense of what was happening in the body when a person died. In Angela Craig's case, Lear said, she reached out to a toxicologist because there was suspected poison in her body. That's when Lear started consulting with Dr. Justin Brower, a forensic toxicologist with NMS Labs who testified in court Monday. Lear said she consults with that lab frequently.
Moses then asked Lear about her conclusion that Angela Craig had a lethal quantity of tetrahydrozoline in her body at the time of death, and the lack of literature on tetrahydrozoline and adults. Lear replied she was indeed referencing literature that examines tetrahydrozoline and children.
When asked if she was referencing literature in adults, Lear said she used that as a point of reference but not when it comes to lethal ranges, as there is no literature on that subject.
"And what you're doing is, you're extrapolating from literature for children?" Moses asked.
"Yes," Lear replied.
"And would you agree that there's certain things for children that are not lethal for adults?" Moses asked once more.
"Yes," Lear again replied.
Moses then moved to Angela Craig's manner of death, asking about implicit bias and how to be aware of that while gathering key details, like where a deceased person was or what their environment looked like, to determine how someone died. Lear agreed, saying, "I have to evaluate that on my own and not through their [anyone else's] lens."
Lear said she knew that poison was suspected going into Angela's autopsy, and confirmed it through the toxicology testing. She also said she received more information about this case from law enforcement than a lot of other cases.
Moses then questioned Lear as to whether she knew if Angela Craig had previously been in therapy, or whether the Craigs had ever received couple's therapy. Lear told the defense the state of Colorado has a database where medical records throughout the state are entered, so medical providers can see what someone's care has been at other facilities. Those records, however, do not have visits to a therapist or couple's therapy, she said.
"Did you ever consult with a psychiatrist about what suicidality could look like?" Moses said, implying Angela Craig was suicidal before her death.
"I don't do that in any case," Lear replied, before adding that she was not "presented with any evidence that supports that this particular action was a suicidal gesture."
Lear does not deny that Angela Craig "may or may not have been suicidal at some point," but insisted the evidence did not demonstrate that at the time of her death.
In the redirect examination, prosecutor Ryan Brackley started his questioning on something Moses brought up in cross-examination — resource management and budget.
On Monday, Lear explained they received a total of 67 samples from Angela Craig but only tested a handful of them.
"Working within a budget means we cannot send 67 vials and test them all for the same thing — it means, what are the best samples to test? I'm going to choose the correct specimen," Lear said, adding the coroner's office tested the samples that were most relevant and appropriate.
Moving to questions about Angela Craig's mental health, Brackley asked whether she knew James Craig's motive for saying, "my wife tried to kill herself six months ago." Lear replied, "No."
He then questioned Lear about James Craig being in end-of-life decision meetings regarding Angela Craig.
"Anything in these medical records where James Craig talks about a prior suicide attempt for Angela Craig?" Brackley asked.
"Not in the records I reviewed," Lear responded.
"Anything in the texts [between the Craigs] about, 'What can I do to help you, how can I make sure you don't kill yourself?'" Brackley asked.
"Nothing in the texts I saw," Lear said.
"Just, 'What's wrong with you? Why am I sick?'" Brackley continued.
"Yes," Lear replied.
The jury then had questions for Lear, including one about the lack of literature to support the lethal dose of tetrahydrozoline in adults.
"Would you agree the dose of tetrahydrozoline in Angela Craig was highly elevated and outside of the range of a normal individual?" the jury asked Lear, via the judge.
"Yes, I would," Lear replied.
When asked by the jury if she knows of any cases of people whose cause of death was cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, Lear said she can remember three cyanide cases in her office — usually people who die in fires. This is the first case she had seen locally where tetrahydrozoline showed up on a panel.
Lear was then excused from the stand.
Critical care doctor explains how they arrived at the conclusion that Angela Craig was brain-dead
Prosecutor Magrebi then called their next witness, Dr. Natalie Held, a pulmonary and critical care doctor who treats patients with lung disease.
Held went to Johns Hopkins University for her undergraduate studies, graduating from the program in 2010 before going to medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she graduated in 2015. She did her residency at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and was the chief resident of internal medicine there. After that, she did a fellowship at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital's Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine program.
Held is a member of a number of professional societies and is triple-board certified. She told the court she spends half of her time working at an outpatient clinic, with the other half taking care of people with critical illnesses. Currently, she works in a teaching role at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.
She explained the differences between being in a coma and being brain-dead, with the latter being in a state where, even though someone is on life support, their brain has irreversible brain injury. She said there's also a certain criteria you have to meet to be considered brain-dead, and said she can be asked to make that determination in patients.
Among the criteria doctors have to meet to declare some as brain-dead is checking to see if their electrolytes are normalized, whether any sedating medicines have worn off, whether doctors have treated anything they think is reversible, and so, "it always takes some time" to come to that determination, Held said.
Held told the court she was part of Angela Craig's medical team for roughly four days before she had to classify her as medically brain-dead on March 18.
In cross-examination, defense attorney Witham asked Held as to whether she made an informal determination that Angela was brain-dead. Held said she did not, and she and her team continued to provide full medical care until the moment certain criteria was met to declare Angela Craig as brain-dead.
Prosecutors had no redirect examination questions for the witness and the court took its lunch break.
Forensic chemist testifies a toxin was found inside shaker bottle
Magrebi then called forth Dr. Jason Brewer, a forensic chemist examiner at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., with a specific expertise in chemistry. The job of a forensic examiner is to examine items of evidence submitted to the lab, and to testify in court when requested to do so.
Brewer told the court he's been a chemist forensic examiner for approximately 18 years. Prior to that, he was hired as a forensic chemist doing the same testing he does now, but his role stopped at the analysis of the evidence. The analysis would then be provided to a forensic examiner, and that examiner would testify in court.
In court Tuesday, Brewer was presented with several items he examined for the case, including a dark bottle and a colorless blender bottle with a pink lid.
"Initially, there was a very specific request to test the items for cyanide and arsenic," he said, adding the first round of testing did not detect those substances in those bottles. A follow-up test requested searching for tetrahydrozoline, which was not identified in the dark bottle.
Questioned as to whether running the bottle through a dishwasher would affect his ability to find what had been in the container (such as tetrahydrozoline, arsenic, and cyanide), Brewer said "yes."
In the second item — the colorless blender bottle with a pink lid — Brewer testified they were able to find traces of tetrahydrozoline within the semi solid substance in the shaker bottle.
In cross-examination, Witham questioned Brewer about receiving four items in total, including samples from a small and a large syringe in which no arsenic, cyanide, or tetrahydrozoline was found.
Brewer testified he does not recall anyone asking him what items might be best to test from the scene, which the defense questioned him about to once again paint a picture that the investigation against James Craig was not handled properly.
Brewer then said he could not determine how much tetrahydrozoline was in the shaker and could not say who put it in that container either. He said that if it is not an FBI case and the local or state lab is capable of testing things like DNA or fingerprints, then they require the local labs to conduct those cases.
"There was no request for fingerprint or DNA analysis on any items?" asked Witham.
"Correct, that's my understanding," Brewer replied, saying the only request that was made was to test those four items — the two bottles and the liquid from both syringes.
The jury then submitted a question, wondering if Brewer was ever asked to test for oleander in those four items, but Brewer said he did not receive such a request.
Brewer was then excused from the stand.
James's romantic partner testifies in court about their budding relationship
Prosecutor Brackley then called their next witness, Dr. Karin Cain, an orthodontist who has a small practice in Marble Falls, Texas, located about an hour west of Austin, that's been in business for about 21 years.
Cain said she knew James Craig after meeting him for the first time at an annual, major, continuing education course in Las Vegas in February of 2023.
With her divorce finalized in January 2024, Cain testified she was separated from her husband when she first met James at the conference, and the two struck up a conversation about the hardships of divorce. It just so happened that Cain and James Craig met while in line for a bus waiting to take the group to a dinner.
"That was the thing that drew me to him. The conversations were very deep, and honest, and vulnerable," she said, adding she ended up spending some time with James over the course of the conference in Las Vegas, in which they became physically intimate "to some degree."
"We talked a lot about faith... that was one of our primary connections, I would say," Cain said. "That came up right away."
James Craig allegedly told Cain that he and Angela Craig were nearing the end of their divorce, and they had informed the children about the divorce as well.
"He was just this amazing father, the way that he talked with them and handled their emotions... it was the same way he had dealt with me, he had this incredible gift of making people feel so understood," Cain said, adding her attraction toward James Craig "felt right... he was very honest and vulnerable."
Cain said she came to Denver to meet with James Craig in March of 2023, but on the day she left — March 19 — she met with Bobbi Olson, the lead detective of the case with the Aurora Police Department, before she flew back home. She said she gave Olson her cell phone, and Olson took photographs and videos of roughly 4,000 texts between James Craig and Cain.
Testifying about her time in Las Vegas, Cain said she and James Craig shared a ride to the airport where they had a goodbye kiss before she flew back home.
She started getting texts from James Craig from a new number shortly after they parted ways, and she was under the impression James Craig used the other phone number because he didn't want his young girls to be "snooping" on his phone.
The prosecution then presented some of the texts to the court.
In one of them, Cain thanked James for accepting her and all of her "complex needs."
"You don't seem that complex to me... it seems to me that what you need is to emotionally connect, to be vulnerable, and to be loved where you are," James Craig replied. "If that's what you need, I will try to be the man for you."
In another, James Craig tells Cain: "I feel a great need for repentance, after the last two nights, but also for not being honest for you about how I really felt."
Cain explains this conversation was related to one she had with James Craig about boundaries they had set after they had shared a kiss in Vegas that she thought was too much, too quickly.
In another text, James Craig talks about Angela Craig ("Ang" in the texts shown in court). Brackley asked Cain if James Craig had often talked about Angela Craig to her.
"Not in our early conversations, but once she started to have episodes and go to the emergency room, it came up a lot more," she said, adding it wasn't something they discussed a whole lot.
She testified that she wanted to know why James Craig was no longer in a relationship with Angela Craig, as an attempt to gauge if something about James Craig would be problematic for herself in the future. James Craig replied in a text, in part, that Angela Craig "wasn't giving her whole self to me."
Cain explained that she believed she was embarking on a new relationship with James Craig at this point, after being recently divorced from a marriage that lasted for nearly 30 years.
"I don't just casually connect with people. It was something, I felt like, it had the potential to be a long-term relationship," she said.
In another text from February 26, 2023, James Craig tells Cain: "I know I can be alright without you, but Karin, I don't want to be."
She testified that James Craig told her he stayed at an apartment close to the house he shared with Angela Craig, and that he stayed at the apartment so he could "swap" with Angela Craig to take care of their girls because they didn't live under the same roof anymore. When asked by prosecutors if she believed him at the time, Cain said she did.
Another text from the same day from James Craig to Cain reads, "The problem is that I might be completely in love with you after three days, and that's nuts."
Cain did not reciprocate that text, but stated that the text made her feel great "because that's what she was looking for."
She said she was being truthful with him at that point, and she presumed the same of him.
In a different text exchange from February 26, 2023, both James Craig and Cain are talking about her coming to Colorado to see James Craig.
The message said, in part, "... Do me a favor though and don't book one [a ticket] just yet. I'm so deep into you at this point that if you were here I might not be able to hold the boundary we agreed to..."
Cain testified she was "willing to come as soon as I could, though."
The prosecution then showed other texts spanning from early morning hours to late at night over the following days and weeks.
In one sent on February 27 at 5 a.m., James Craig writes: "Unfortunately, I've put off writing the list of attributes that endear you to me for so long that I'm afraid it's too late to do so now... the list of attributes has become practically endless, nevertheless I'll try."
An hour later, James Craig texts Cain: "So many things I can't write now because I'm trying to get through this day without being too turned on the whole time."
Eventually, Cain said the texts turned into sexting.
In a message from February 27, James writes: "Karin I hope you know that I love you, not because of your brains, or your beauty, or your humility... Sueña conmigo [dream of me, in Spanish] my eternal love, and may heaven let us bloom together forever."
Cain testified those texts made her feel pretty good, and that her heart was heading in the right direction.
Prosecutors continued to go over some of the texts between James Craig and Cain.
In one, dated February 28, 2023, James Craig complains he's upset because he's been fighting with Angela Craig all afternoon after she discovered he paid for a meal large enough for two people at a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant in the airport, which is a meal James Craig shared with Cain.
"Oh no, I was afraid I'd be mixed in somehow. Maybe she's not on the same page as you," Cain replies back.
Over the next few days, James Craig reassured Cain that they were getting a divorce, but Cain testified she didn't want to be part of the reason why the couple was divorcing.
In another text the same day, James Craig tells Cain: "I don't really know what to say except that I love you and I want you. I'm not really sure how to handle this situation with Ang right now... it just sucks to fight."
Another message from James Craig said, in part, "... I love you too. Thank you for being so supportive. I'm glad she's leaving town tomorrow so we won't have to interact for a while. Maybe she will decide to stay gone for a long time... it would make my life easier."
Cain said in court Tuesday that, reading those texts back again, she could see some red flags in her interactions with James Craig, which she did not notice at all when those conversations took place.
In another series of texts, after James Craig had led Cain to believe that Angela Craig and James Craig were not sleeping in the same house, he tells Cain "... I sat on the edge of the bed and she did not make eye contact. I said to her, I really do want to divorce you..."
Cain responds by saying "I'm so sorry, I don't know, I just wish this wasn't our reality. I guess I wish we met longer after your divorce... I don't want to watch her heart break so that mine can find joy. Yuck."
In another text, Cain expresses that she wants to know more about the status of the separation James Craig was describing.
"I guess I just need more dialog here to understand. It sounds heartbreaking, but I don't know really much at all about y'alls relationship," Cain wrote. "I would love to open up this conversation more when we're together... for now, I'm glad you got the peace you needed, and I hope she does too."
Cain testified she was trying to determine where James Craig was in the divorce process because he assured her he was going through that process when they first met.
- In an ABC News exclusive from July 2023, Dr. Karin Cain spoke about the relationship she had with James Craig before his arrest in March of that year. You can watch that interview in the video player below:
James Craig also asked about Cain's ex-husband, saying "When you get time, I would love to hear more about what you think happened between you and Jason [Cain's ex-husband]. If he used to adore you and put you on a pedestal, what changed?"
She then testified she had purchased tickets to come to Denver from March 8-10 of 2023, but ended up changing the dates on those tickets, recalling that it probably "had to do with Angela getting sick." She changed those flights to March 16-20, she said.
Cain said she told James Craig she would not want to be involved in any relationship if infidelity was involved.
"I had a strict line about not being in more than one relationship at a time," Cain told the jury.
Prosecutors then went over several texts involving Angela and her health woes.
In one of the texts, dated March 6, 2023, James Craig confides in Cain that Angela Craig thinks he did something to her.
"The doctors couldn't find anything wrong. MRI was clean. Ang is super frustrated, not feeling any better. She still thinks I did this to her... like, there was a drug panel done and it came back negative, what more do you want?" he wrote to Cain. "I do not want to be in a relationship where that's the default position... Just for the record, I will never drug you, I mean, if that was ever something you were worried about..."
James Craig then told Cain he was going to be angry if he found out Angela Craig was doing this to herself, claiming Angela Craig had tried to complete suicide two or threw times by stealing a sedative from his office. Cain testified that James Craig said he would have to search through the trash to find out what the sedative was, so he could find a reversal medication.
A day later, texts show James Craig telling Cain several times about Angela Craig's suspicions that she's been poisoned by him. The texts read as follows from March 7, 2023:
James Craig: "I love you too. I am undergoing an onslaught of how I must have poisoned Ang right now."
James Craig: "She's absolutely convinced that's what must be happening to her..."
James Craig: "I need you in my life... someone who understands me... someone who won't accuse me of ridiculous things..."
James Craig: "Your love is what I'm clinging too... I miss you so much and I want you so badly...
James Craig: "Goodnight, my love."
On March 9, Cain texts James Craig asking him if he's okay, knowing Angela Craig was in the hospital,
"I am. I'm doing great. I'm honestly so glad they're keeping her in the hospital tonight, that way I can have a night where I feel like I don't have to take care of her. Isn't that awful?... I would totally take care of you, or any one of my kids... it's nice to offload that responsibility to someone else even if it's just for the night," James Craig texts back.
Then, late at night on March 14, James Craig sends Cain a series of texts, starting with a question:
James Craig: "Can I share something?"
Cain: "Of course."
James Craig: "Without you feeling animosity toward her, I just need someone who understands."
Cain: "Of course."
James Craig: "She accused me of being the reason she's sick. That because I want to leave her, she's sick. Am I a bad person?"
Cain: "When did she say that to you?"
James Craig: "She said it tonight. I honestly believe I did give it everything I have. I don't know if she was delirious or not... Do you really forgive and make someone feel like a pervert for wanting sex?... To feel, "less than" because of how you express yourself... maybe I've shared too much, maybe I should retreat, I don't want to scare you off. I can be so intense, so passionate... Especially when you're so self-conscious about not being 'enough' for me... I love you so much. Say the word and I'm yours."
Cain also testified that James Craig told her he wrote her a song called "Enough" that he later sent to her.
Prosecutors tried to submit a recording of the song as evidence in court but the defense objected, saying there's no relevance for the court to hear the song. The judge agreed, and the song was not played for the jury.
"I'm divorcing a woman ... who seems to be trying her hardest to die"
After a short recess, prosecutors continued questioning Cain about the texts she and James Craig exchanged. One of them was dated March 15, and was sent at around 6 a.m.
James Craig: "I am a mess, this is so hard to navigate."
Cain: "What is happening? Navigating hospital or girls?"
Cain: "Tell me more."
James Craig: "Feelings. I'm divorcing a woman who is the mother of my children who seems to be trying her hardest to die."
Cain: "Wow, I am incredibly sorry for you. I think the mystery of it is making it even harder. Praying she makes a full recovery."
James Craig: "It's making me feel super guilty, babe."
Cain: "Guilty because she's sick? Or guilty because you feel divorced from the emotion you would have had previously?... God guided the timing, it's out of your hands."
Later that day, shortly before 3 p.m., James Craig sends Cain another series of texts:
James Craig: "Crash. Intubated. 57/44."
Cain: "No words. I love you."
James Craig: "No brain activity. They went to do a CT scan of her head, but she's too unstable. She's too unstable to even put on the ventilator..."
Cain: "Is there any hope? Thanks for calling."
James Craig: "Thanks for answering. They won't let anyone see her in the ICU... ICU doc just told me she's gotten worse in the last hour..."
Cain: "I will start praying about how you will talk to the littles. I'm so sorry."
Not long after, texts show James Craig asked what Cain was doing later that night.
In a conversation that was also on March 15, James Craig asks Cain if she was still planning on coming to Denver the following day, on March 16. After a bit of back-and-forth, James Craig added, "but I would still like to have you come. The nature of your visit might change some, but I need you."
Just before midnight that day, texts appear to show that James Craig told Cain that he would like for her to stay at a nearby hotel since the apartment he had allegedly moved into during his divorce process was going to be used by Angela Craig's family, who were allegedly coming into town after learning Angela Craig had crashed in the hospital.
"... Whenever I can, I will slip away and see you, but even more importantly, I don't want to hide you," James texted her. "Of course, I won't be able to spend 100% of the time with you that I want to... and at night, after my kids are in bed, I could steal away a couple of hours to be with you..."
He then texted her, saying he just wanted "to grieve with my kids and help them bury their mom," while discussing the police conducting an investigation at the family home.
On March 16, Cain arrived in Denver. She saw James Craig the next day, on March 17. Cain testified she recalled driving with James Craig by an apartment complex which he claimed was the place where he was living and where Angela Craig's family was staying.
Cain recalled they had a "fairly nice dinner" that night and James Craig came up to her hotel room where they were physically intimate. A day later, both went to Boulder, had dinner and he came up to her hotel room again.
At about 2 a.m. on March 19, police knocked on her hotel room door to let her know James Craig had been arrested.
Cain told investigators this was the first time she had come to visit, and realized they probably didn't know much about their relationship.
She said she believed investigators didn't know about the divorce between the Craigs — Cain knew the people in their church didn't, and James Craig told her lots of family members didn't know about the divorce as well.
In an interview with police, Cain told investigators that the Craigs were going through a divorce, they were living separately, Angela Craig was depressed about it, and they needed to be aware that suicide was a possible cause of her death. Cain testified that she was told all of this information by James Craig.
In court, prosecutors presented some letters James Craig wrote to Cain after his arrest. She testified that she burned the first two letters she received from James Craig "because I just wanted total separation from that" after having read the arrest affidavit for James Craig, where investigators detailed their preliminary findings of the case.
When she received more letters, she read them and then sent them to investigators in Colorado. One of those letters, dated April 28, was read in court Tuesday. Denver7 is providing just a portion of those letters for this story.
"My feelings for you remain unchanged, and whether I get out of here on June 2 or whether it's after trial, it doesn't change how I feel... and so Karin, I need you to know that I love you... I love you enough to dream of you every night, to long for you every day, and to let you go if that's what you need... because I don't know what you want, need, or expect, I will do whatever is in my heart..."
A letter from April 29 reads:
"Karin, you have ruined me. Ruined me in all of the best ways. I don't think I will ever meet someone like you and fall so hard... I feel like I have lived my whole life in a desert, parched and dehydrated and thirsty, but because that was the only reality I have ever tasted... it's like I have been introduced to water for the first time... it feels like it's no longer a luxury to know you, but a necessity... I love you like an oasis in the desert, JT."
In a letter from May of 2023, James Craig writes:
"How is it that after just a few short days with you... that you would be the one I would spent the rest of my life looking for but never finding again? You are that perfect, that serene, that transcendent... it was just in those moments that I found myself falling in love with you in a way that I have never experienced before... semi-conscious longings like fireflies blinging in and out of the dark... I know instinctively that I am in love with you still."
In another, dated May 24, 2023, James Craig apologizes for lying to Cain:
"I was not totally honest with you about having a separate apartment. I am so sorry that I didn't explain all of that to you... there was a time when you said still living at home would be a deal breaker for you, and I panicked..."
"I just miss you so much. Is that crazy to say given our short-ish history? Maybe it is... on one hand I just want you and I remember how the way your mouth fits on mine... If want and need had been all there was, the war inside of me would have gone out quietly already... but I love you, and that leaves me a victim dying on my own battlefield...
Cain testified that at some point, she wrote back to James Craig and requested he never write to her again.
In cross-examination, defense attorney Moses questioned Cain as to why she would open up to a stranger at a conference about her divorce. Cain replied that sometimes, it's just easier to talk to strangers.
Questions then veered toward their time in Las Vegas, and whether she knew that a lot of information James Craig told her was false.
Moses also revealed that while James Craig was in Las Vegas courting Cain, he allegedly "engaged with a prostitute." Cain was unaware of that claim.
The jury then submitted some questions for Cain, asking her whether James Craig had ever told her he had extramarital affairs from his past, whether she knew why Angela Craig and James Craig were getting divorced, and whether James Craig ever told her that he had allegedly drugged Angela Craig in the past.
Cain replied that originally, James Craig did not tell her the truth about having an affair, but then admitted he lied and she believed he said he had one emotional and one physical affair. She also said she believed Angela Craig was not still in love with James Craig, or emotionally connected to him, and "he felt kind of alone in the relationship." She then replied she didn't know of the allegations that James Craig had previously drugged Angela Craig.
She said that when James Craig admitted to lying about the affairs, she thought it showed "he had grown beyond that, and was being vulnerable," and liked that he "was coming clean about it." She said she believed James Craig was genuine and truthful at the time.
Cain was then excused from the stand.
Jail cellmate says James Craig asked him to place fake journal allegedly belonging to Angela Craig inside his home
Prosecutors then called Kasey Bohannon to the witness stand, who previously was in custody in the Arapahoe County Jail, where he met James Craig.
During their time in jail together, Bohannon told prosecutor Magrebi that at some point, James Craig told Bohannon about his murder charge. At first, James Craig allegedly told Bohannon that Angela Craig had passed away, but would later tell him she died by suicide because Angela Craig was unhappy and killed herself using cyanide she had ingested with a workout shake.
When Bohannon questioned James Craig about why Angela Craig did not use a more common method for suicide, he said James Craig didn't have an explanation for using cyanide.
He also testified that when he was about to be released from jail, James Craig asked him if he was going to be bonded out, to which he replied that no one was bonding him out.
Prosecutors then asked Bohannon if James Craig asked him to do anything once he bonded out.
"Yes, he was going to rewrite a journal. It was supposedly (Angela's), about committing suicide and how bad life was and how she wanted to take her life. And so, he had asked if I would be able to go and either get into his home and put this into his garage, or put it into his pickup truck that was parked in the street," Bohannon told the court.
Bohannon said James Craig then drew a map of his home with the layout of where cameras might be. He said James Craig handed it to him, but he later ripped it up and flushed it as he didn't want to be part of James Craig's alleged scheme.
"Once I realized what was going on, I was like, ‘No,'" he said.
Once out of jail, Bohannon was asked by prosecutors if he reached out to law enforcement about what James Craig had allegedly asked him to do, which he said he did.
“I just had this feeling, almost like sick. Like, I knew something. It wasn’t right that I knew what he told me and I felt like I needed to reach out and tell someone," Bohannon said, before court ended for the day.
Testimony is expected to resume on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
