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Opening statements begin Tuesday in case against Aurora dentist accused of poisoning wife

More than two years after Angela Craig was poisoned and died as a result, her husband and former Aurora dentist, James Craig, will stand trial for her murder. Opening statements are set to begin Tues.
Opening statements Tuesday in trial of Aurora dentist accused of poisoning wife
James Craig aurora dentist
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AURORA, Colo. — More than two years after Angela Craig was poisoned and died as a result, her husband and former Aurora dentist, James Craig, will stand trial for her murder.

Opening statements start Tuesday in a case catching the attention of the nation.

James Craig, a former Aurora dentist, is accused of poisoning his wife’s protein shakes in March of 2023.

Prosecutors said James killed his wife, 43-year-old Angela Craig, with lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a decongestant found in over-the-counter eyedrops.

Denver7 sifted through text messages between the couple released in an affidavit.

Angela tells Craig she isn’t feeling well, and Craig replies in part, “Just for the record, I didn’t drug you.”

She died on March 18, 2023.

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James is charged with her murder as well as 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 murder in the first degree. The solicitation for murder charge stems from allegations that the former dentist attempted to use a fellow inmate to kill a detective investigating his case.

“In criminal defense work, there are certain facts that are beyond dispute. You need to make peace with those facts and argue the facts that are in dispute and those facts which you cannot grant or admit. So there are certain realities and factual findings that that are either going to be admitted and embraced or pushed back on,” said Christopher Decker, criminal defense attorney and legal analyst. “How are they going to explain the communications? How is he going to explain ordering the cyanide? How is he going to explain a jailhouse snitch saying that he was hired to hurt the detective. These are questions everyone's waiting to hear, and we'll see how successful the defense team is in presenting answers to those questions.”

Twice, defense attorneys have removed themselves from this case just as the trial was scheduled to begin.

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Our partners at The Denver Post reported that Robert Werking withdrew as defense counsel on the case after he was arrested on suspicion of arson.

Nearly a year ago, Harvey Steinberg dropped the case, telling the Denver Post he believed James was heading towards a course of action Steinberg considered criminal or fraudulent.

“It's not uncommon that defense counsels will be changed and that some defendants go through multiple attorneys prior to trial. What's exceptional about this case are the circumstances behind and the timing so close to trial of two consecutive lawyers moving to get off a case. That is rare to have that happen,” Decker said.

The trial proceeded and a jury was seated on Monday with opening statements set to begin Tuesday and Denver7 have gavel to gavel coverage.


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