A Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife with a poisoned protein shake is facing new charges for allegedly plotting to kill the detective investigating her death.
Dr. James Craig, 45, tried to ask a fellow Arapahoe County inmate to kill an Aurora police detective while awaiting the start of his murder trial. According to court filings reviewed by Local News9..
Authorities filed a charge of abetting first-degree murder, but did not say which officers the deranged dentist targeted.
A second new charge was filed last week.
Prosecutors also accuse Craig of trying to recruit former inmates in a scheme to plant exculpatory evidence in his home.
In the letter, Craig asked the former prison warden to plant fake suicide notes around his parents' home to make it appear as if his wife, Angela, had taken her own life.
In exchange for his dirty work, Craig offered free dental care to his mother, an ex-convict.
The letter was returned to the prison due to an incorrect address.
Craig is facing charges of first-degree perjury stemming from that letter.
His lawyer recused himself from the case, claiming that his client was “insisting on actions that the lawyer believes are objectionable or in fundamental disagreement with the lawyer.”
Angela Craig died in May 2023 after ingesting a lethal dose of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a common ingredient in vicine, according to an autopsy report from the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office.
Aurora police say James Craig used his office computer to research and buy poisons online, including arsenic he bought from Amazon weeks before Angela's death. It is said that
The dentist has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, but has not made a statement on the new charges because they have not yet been accepted by the court.
Craig is expected to return to court on Dec. 16 to introduce a new lawyer.
A new trial date has not been set.
