ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The trial of the former Aurora dentist accused of murdering his wife in 2023 continued on Friday, with a former staff member taking the witness stand.
Friday’s proceedings follows the emotional testimony of James Craig’s daughters on Thursday. 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
Denver7 reporter Colette Bordelon is in court on Friday and we are summarizing day four of the trial, starting with this morning’s developments.
James Craig texts show interest in package to be delivered to the office
The day’s testimony began when prosecutors called the 21st witness, Angel Amerine, who was a dental assistant for around 6 months in Craig’s Aurora office.
During that time Amerine assisted in multiple aspects of the practice. She lived in Colorado for 20 years and currently resides in South Carolina.
Prosecutor Osama Magrebi began asking Amerine questions about a package being delivered to the office that was of interest to James Craig.
Text messages starting on March 9, 2023 between Craig and Amerine as well as group text conversations were shown in court. The messages showed Amerine left a back door to the practice unlocked because Craig claimed he forgot his laptop and did not have his key.
Angel Amerine asked Craig how his wife, Angela, was doing. She was sick with the flu during this time.
The court is shown the following March 10, 2023 text message from Craig to Angel Amerine:
8:55 AMJC (long text) March 10:
‘Hey Angel. I'm expecting a priority package… Make sure front door stays open, it might be a padded envelope or small box’
The text conversation continues before Craig responds back to Amerine:
‘Any mail for me?’
Conversation again continues as Amerine asks Craig how his wife is feeling before Craig asks if another employee of the dental practice might know something about the package he was expecting.
‘Did you check with (references other employee)?... I'm going to be in the area in a little bit, I wanted to swing by and grab that if it's already come..,’ texted Craig.
The other employee and Angel Amerine were the only two at the dental practice that day and Amerine said she normally does not have interactions with mailed packages to the office and did not know what was expected to arrive.
Amerine responded via text to Craig:
‘Nothing has arrived’ and asked him: ‘Is it a priority mail or could it be in a mailbox?’
Craig’s text stated: ‘I'm not sure. I have asked for tracking information on it but I haven't received it yet. My guess is it would not be through the regular mail…’Video
The court is showed more text messages between Craig and Amerine including a March 11, 2023 group text exchange between Craig and staff.
‘Can anyone come unlock the office?’, Craig asked. Amerine responded: ‘Do you want to come by and grab my key? I was afraid housekeeping would lock it – I just woke up, I only live two miles….’
Craig texted back: ‘I can come by and grab it in a little bit, I just left the office and I am headed home to grab a clean set of clothes for Angela... If anyone else is going to be out and about and wouldn't mind unlocking the back door... Or Angel (Amerine)... I'll swing by and grab your key.’
Amerine agreed and texted her address to Craig.
When asked for an explanation as to why Craig was so persistent with the package, Amerine believed it was something he was just waiting for and “he was acting like he wanted to pick it up.”
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On cross-examination, defense attorney Lisa Moses pointed out that in the text exchanges – talking about needing a key first for a computer, then a package – Craig made it no secret about either. “I have no idea – I didn’t discuss it with other people,” said Amerine.
On redirect, the prosecution noted that while defense pointed out Craig made no attempt to hide the package, he did not reveal its contents with anyone in the office.When asked if Craig ever told her about what was inside the package, Amerine responded: “No, he did not.”
Prosecutor Magrebi asked Amerine if she was ever told the package contained potassium cyanide? She responded: “No, he did not.”
Cyanide was part of the lethal poison found in Angela Craig’s workout smoothies, according to the prosecution.
At that point, Amerine was excused and the prosecution called its next witness, an Aurora police detective on her digital work associated with the case.
- Denver7 has extensively covered developments in this case. In the video player below, watch a recap of day 2 of the trial as sitnesses testified about their suspicions regarding Angela Craig's 2023 death.
What APD found in an Amazon account linked to Craig
APD detective Molly Harris works in the City of Aurora’s Major Crimes Unit and has been with the department since 2019.
Part of Harris’ work included uncovering Google records associated with an email handle and Google voice phone number allegedly tied to James Craig.
Harris also testified to finding an Amazon account linked to the Craig residence which showed an order history item from February 27, 2023 listing arsenic metal which was shipped on February 28, 2023.
The court took a morning recess at around 10 a.m.
'How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human'
Proceedings resumed with the prosecution questioning APD’s Harris on the Amazon account and what was found in the search Google history of a computer associated with Craig.
Regarding the Amazon account, Harris was asked if she looked at emails and links concerning the order to which she replied “yes” with screenshots of the arsenic order on Amazon shown in court.
Harris was asked about the confirmation email associated with the Amazon order and if it matched emails previously admitted as exhibits to which the defense objected.
On Friday morning, Detective Harris also testified to what was found in the google browser search history of a computer.
‘What was the search?,’ asked the prosecutor.
"How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human,” said Harris, who later said it wasn’t determined who using the computer searched that phrase.
Aurora
Aurora dentist accused of poisoning wife allegedly solicited murder of detective
The court was presented with the following searches and dates, which were also in the arrest affidavit.
Feb. 27, 2023 — "I there such thing as an undetectable poison?"
Feb. 27, 2023 — "How to make poison from oleander?"
Feb. 27, 2023 — "Is arsenic detectable"
Feb. 27, 2023 — "How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?"
Feb. 28, 2023 — "How to make murder look like a heart attack?"
Feb. 28, 2023 — "A dose of tetrahydrozoline is fatal"
March 1, 2023 — "How long does it take to die from arsenic poisoning?"
March 6, 2023 -- "Visine"March 6, 2023 — "Tetrahydrozoline poisoning timeline"
Harris was then asked about what was searched on Angela Craig’s personal phone. She was asked if a search of her phone browser’s google history showed searches regarding poison, self harm or depression.
“There is not,” replied Harris.
Harris testified Angela Craig’s browser history on her phone showed prior to March 6, there were searches about normal things. Then after March 6, 2023, the searches appeared to shift.
Here’s some of the browser search history from Angela Craig’s phone:
March 6, 2023 — "Why too. Much vitamin b"
March 6, 2023 — "Preworkout supplement made me dizzy and eyes are blurry an hour later"
March 6, 2023 — "Side effects of high blood pressure"
March 6, 2023 — "Sudden onset henniness (heaviness?) and lethargy and chills"
March 6, 2023 — "Dizziness, slow focus, tired, head pressure, hearing distortion"
March 6, 2023 — "Meneers disease
March 6, 2023 — "Labrythitis"
March 6, 2023 — "Dizziness, trouble focusing, hearing distortion"
March 6, 2023 — "mini seizures"
March 6, 2023 — "strange shaking inside and iut"
March 6, 2023 — "cold lips"
March 6, 2023 — "cold lips shaking"
March 6, 2023 — "cold lips and bosy (body?) shaking"
March 6, 2023 — "body shakes and lips go cold"
More of Angela Craig’s phone search history is shown leading up to a search on March 15, 2023: "Emergency room at Colfaz (Colfax) and 226"
Just before the court took its lunch recess, the prosecution began asking APD detective Molly Harris questions about James Craig’s phone.
This story will be updated later Friday afternoon to reflect the latest testimony.
