Colorado dentist James Craig was convicted on July 30, 2025, of murdering his wife Angela by lacing her protein shakes and medications with arsenic, potassium cyanide, and tetrahydrozoline over roughly ten days in March 2023. An Arapahoe County jury found him guilty on all six felony counts after about nine hours of deliberation, and District Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced him to life in prison without parole, plus 33 consecutive years for a jailhouse scheme to derail the case against him. The James Craig dentist poisoning case combined a $4 million life insurance motive, a three-week extramarital affair, and a digital trail that prosecutors said pointed unmistakably at the husband.
How He Poisoned Her
Craig, who owned Summerbrook Dental Group in Aurora, began preparing in late February 2023. On February 27, he created a new email account under the alias “Jim and Waffles” from a computer in an exam room at his office and searched for “How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” and “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?” He also watched a YouTube video titled “Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play.”1NPR. James Craig Trial Colorado Dentist Poison Protein Shakes Arsenic he ordered online was delivered to the family home on March 4.
On March 8, he contacted a laboratory distributor called Midland Scientific and ordered potassium cyanide, claiming it was needed for “craniofacial reconstruction” and “electroplating over medical prosthesis.” He used a personal email rather than his practice account and told office staff to treat the shipment as a personal package.2Colorado Judicial Branch. Arrest Affidavit, Case No. 23CR664 Between March 8 and 9 he also bought 19 bottles of Visine eye drops, which contain tetrahydrozoline.3Denver7. Prosecutors Say Aurora Dentist Spent 10 Days Killing Wife
Angela returned from a trip to Utah on March 5. The next morning, after drinking a protein shake her husband had prepared, she texted him, “My eyes don’t want to focus” and “I feel drugged.”4CBS News. James Craig Colorado Dentist Accused of Murder James took her to AdventHealth Parker Hospital, where scans and bloodwork found nothing conclusive. She visited an urgent care clinic on March 7 without a diagnosis. On March 9, she collapsed and had to crawl across the floor before being admitted for a five-day hospital stay. A blood sample drawn that morning later showed arsenic at 330 micrograms per milliliter, far above normal.5CNN. Timeline of James Craig Colorado Poisoning Trial
The potassium cyanide arrived at the dental office on March 13. Office manager Caitlin Romero opened the package and found a canister labeled “Potassium Cyanide” with a biohazard sticker.1NPR. James Craig Trial Colorado Dentist Poison Protein Shakes Angela was discharged on March 14. On March 15 she was admitted to UCHealth Anschutz Medical Center with a severe headache and dizziness. Prosecutors said Craig had emptied a clindamycin capsule, refilled it with potassium cyanide, and left the pills for Angela’s brother Mark Pray to give her while Craig was away from the hospital. Pray testified that within 20 to 25 minutes of taking the capsule, Angela “couldn’t even hold herself up.”6Denver7. Angela Craig’s Family Recalls Odd Behavior of Aurora Dentist During Wife’s Hospital Stay She seized that afternoon, was placed on life support, and was pronounced brain dead on March 18. The Arapahoe County coroner listed the cause as acute cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning, with subacute arsenic poisoning as a significant contributing condition.7BBC News. James Craig Trial
Why He Did It
Prosecutors argued Craig had two intertwined motives. He held about $4 million in life insurance on Angela, for which he was the sole beneficiary.8Arapahoe County. People v. James Toliver Craig Conviction His dental practice had struggled to the point that a partner, Ryan Redfearn, had acquired it in August 2022, and Craig carried roughly $2 million in debt after a 2021 bankruptcy filing.4CBS News. James Craig Colorado Dentist Accused of Murder
In late February, Craig met Dr. Karin Cain, a Texas orthodontist, at a dental conference at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He told her he was already divorcing his wife and living in a separate apartment. Prosecutors introduced nearly 4,000 text messages between the two. On March 7, while Angela was reeling from the poisoning, Craig texted Cain that his wife was accusing him of poisoning her.9Denver Gazette. James Craig’s Partner in Extramarital Affair Takes Stand in Murder Trial The defense countered that Craig had a long pattern of affairs, including contact with other women during his relationship with Cain, and argued that a habitual pattern was not evidence he would kill for any one relationship.109News. James Craig Murder Trial Mistress Testifies
How He Got Caught
On March 15, Redfearn went to the hospital and pulled a nurse aside, telling her he believed Angela had been poisoned with potassium cyanide because Craig had recently ordered the chemical with no legitimate purpose for the practice.2Colorado Judicial Branch. Arrest Affidavit, Case No. 23CR664 The nurse called police. Earlier, when Redfearn and his wife confronted Craig by phone about the shipment, Craig said, “Oh Ryan, what have you done?”11Denver Gazette. Aurora Dentist’s Co-Workers Testify Against Him in Murder Trial He then texted Redfearn asking him not to talk to law enforcement, warning, “you will do more damage than good.”4CBS News. James Craig Colorado Dentist Accused of Murder
Aurora police executed search warrants on March 16 at the Craig home, the dental office, and a friend’s home where Craig had been staying, and recovered the search history and purchase records. Craig was arrested on March 19, and a warrant charging him with first-degree murder after deliberation was filed on March 20.11Denver Gazette. Aurora Dentist’s Co-Workers Testify Against Him in Murder Trial Investigators also found a document on Craig’s iPhone written on March 16, the day of the searches, that prosecutors would later call a manifesto meant to seed a false narrative that Angela had been suicidal and asked him to help her die.3Denver7. Prosecutors Say Aurora Dentist Spent 10 Days Killing Wife
The Jailhouse Scheme
While awaiting trial in the Arapahoe County Jail, Craig ran an obstruction campaign that added five felony solicitation counts. Former cellmate Nathanial Harris testified that Craig tried to hire someone to kill lead detective Bobbi Olson, telling him there was a “blank check involved,” and asked Harris to photograph a sheriff’s deputy’s son getting off a school bus “for intimidation.” A search of Harris’s cell on November 10, 2024, prompted by a tip from Harris’s ex-wife, turned up an 11-page letter from Craig detailing a plan to discredit the detective and fabricate evidence, offering $20,000 per witness who would testify falsely that Angela had planned to die by suicide.12Denver7. Former Cellmates Testify Against Aurora Dentist
Another former cellmate, Kacy Bohannon, testified that Craig had asked him to plant forged suicide evidence at the Craig family home.12Denver7. Former Cellmates Testify Against Aurora Dentist Prosecutors also disclosed that Craig had tried to persuade his eldest daughter, Miriam Meservy, to create a deepfake video of Angela asking him to order poison and stating she planned to take it herself.13Denver Post. James Craig Verdict
Trial and Verdict
The trial began July 14, 2025, before Judge Whitaker in the 18th Judicial District, Arapahoe County (Case No. 23CR664). Over ten days the jury heard from nearly 50 witnesses. Craig did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses of its own.14KCRA. Closing Arguments in Colorado Dentist Trial
Family members testified about Angela’s decline and Craig’s behavior at the hospital. Mark Pray described giving his sister the cyanide-laced capsule under Craig’s instruction, believing it was an antibiotic. A dental employee told investigators that Angela had directly accused her husband of poisoning her after being discharged from her second hospital stay.15CNN. James Craig Trial Colorado Dentist Poisoning Family friend Nicole Harmon testified that in 2019 Craig had confessed to drugging Angela so she would not stop him from injecting a lethal substance during a suicidal episode, evidence prosecutors used to show a history of administering substances to his wife without her knowledge.16Fox News. Colorado Dentist Drugged Wife Years Before Alleged Poisoning Murder
The defense argued that Angela had been deeply depressed over her husband’s infidelity and had asked him to help her end her life, introducing journal entries to portray marital strife. Prosecutors noted the journal contained no mention of suicide. Angela’s sister Toni Kofoed testified that while Angela had a “broken heart” over her husband’s affairs, she did not have a “broken mind.”14KCRA. Closing Arguments in Colorado Dentist Trial
On July 30, 2025, the jury convicted Craig on six counts:179News. James Craig Trial Jury Verdict
- First-degree murder for the poisoning death of Angela Craig.
- Solicitation to commit first-degree murder for attempting to arrange the killing of Detective Olson.
- Two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence.
- Two counts of solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree.
The jury acquitted him on one count of manslaughter related to causing or aiding suicide. The murder conviction carried automatic life without parole; Judge Whitaker imposed the maximum on the remaining counts and ran them consecutively, adding 33 years.1NPR. James Craig Trial Colorado Dentist Poison Protein Shakes At sentencing, Whitaker told Craig, “Dr. Craig unleashed a path of destruction as wide as a tornado and just as devastating.”18CNN. James Craig Dentist Murder Trial Live Updates
What’s Still Open
Angela’s six children sued James Craig, Summerbrook Dental Group, and Midland Scientific in Jefferson County District Court, alleging the practice failed to supervise Craig’s ordering of the chemicals and that Midland Scientific failed to verify he had a legitimate use for potassium cyanide. Judge Chantel Contiguglia entered a default judgment against Craig and Summerbrook after neither responded; the claim against Midland Scientific remained active on a motion to dismiss.19Court TV. Killer Dentist’s Kids Win Default Judgment Angela’s estate has separately moved to block Craig from collecting on the $4 million in life insurance under Colorado’s slayer statute, which bars a killer from profiting from the victim’s death.20Law360. Man Can’t Collect Murdered Wife’s Life Insurance, Family Says
On August 7, 2025, the court granted Craig’s motion to proceed as indigent on appeal and appointed the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office as appellate counsel.21Colorado Judicial Branch. Order Appointing Appellate Counsel, Case No. 23CR664 He is in the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections.