A Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife by poisoning her protein shakes has been charged with trying to get a fellow inmate in prison to kill a detective investigating the murder case.
Prosecutors filed two new charges against James Craig, 46, last week — solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. The charging document does not say who Mr Craig allegedly wanted to have killed but Joe Moylan, a spokesman for Aurora police, confirmed that the alleged intended victim was an Aurora police detective.
Online court records did not list a lawyer representing Mr Craig as of Thursday. A judge allowed Craig’s latest lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, to withdraw from the case on Nov 21, after he cited a professional conflict, just as Mr Craig was about to stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig. Prosecutors filed the two new charges against the dentist the following day.
Mr Craig’s trial has been delayed indefinitely. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court with a new lawyer on Dec 16.
Angela Craig, 43, died in March 2023 of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, the latter a substance found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner. The couple had been married for 23 years and had six children together.
Mr Craig was also previously charged with smuggling a letter out of jail with an inmate bonded out by an adult daughter. It asked her to make a fake video of Angela Craig asking him to get poisons for her, according to prosecutors.
He is also accused of asking another inmate to plant forged journal entries at the dentist’s family home suggesting that Angela Craig killed herself. The inmate declined, according to court documents.
Prosecutors also allege Mr Craig tried a more elaborate and convoluted approach to put the blame on his wife. In court documents, they said he asked another former fellow inmate to find attractive women who would agree to testify at his trial that they had affairs with him and say that after Angela Craig found out, they had refused to help her frame him.
