Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Bombshell Twist in Case of Dentist Accused of Murdering Wife

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

James Craig, the dentist accused of murdering his wife, Angela, by poisoning her in Colorado in 2023 has lost one of his attorneys on the eve of his trial. Attorney Robert Werking withdrew from Craig’s case after he was charged with 4th-degree arson. Arapahoe County deputies said they found Werking sitting on the porch of his burning home. Werking’s wife still represents Craig. Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy looks at what this means for the case in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If your child, under 21, has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease, visit https://forthepeople.com/food to start a claim now!Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Bridgette Williams https://www.instagram.com/lawyerbridgette/Producer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand view's shadows.

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of the attorneys for James Craig now faces criminal charges of his own and won't be able to represent Craig, growing his trial into a potential tailspin. I have all of the details and what this means for the case. What's the case? Welcome to Crime Fix, I'm Anjadat Levi. James Craig's trial for the murder of his wife, Angela, is scheduled to begin this week. The case is absolutely crazy.

Not only is Craig, a former dentist and father of six, accused of murdering his wife, Angela, by poisoning her. He's also accused of trying to get others to tamper with evidence. He faces two counts of soliciting others to commit perjury and a charge of soliciting murder. Yes, he's accused of trying to get somebody to murder a detective from behind bars.

Prosecutors say Craig tried to get a former inmate to kill a detective who was investigating him. And now on the eve of his trial, one of his attorneys has withdrawn from the case. His name is Robert Working, and he, along with his wife, Lisa Fine Moses, were representing James Craig. Moses remains on the case. Working withdrew as James Craig's attorney last week after he was charged with arson.

The sheriff's office tells Law & Crime that deputies found working sitting on the porch of his home in Centennial, Colorado They took him into custody and charged him with fourth-degree arson. The house was on fire The investigation they say is ongoing Now the rest of what is being alleged remains a mystery because at this point The court records in working's case are sealed at the request of the DA's office court records in Working's case are sealed at the request of the DA's office. The DA wrote in a motion, the release at this time of the affidavit could result in disclosure of information that could result in destruction, disposal or secreting evidence and tampering with identified and unidentified witnesses, which could jeopardize the ongoing investigation.

Further, release of the information could result in harassment of a witness and jeopardize the ongoing investigation. Further, release of the information could result in harassment of a witness and jeopardize a jury trial scheduled to begin July 10th, 2025. It's all very, very strange. Now this is the second time that James Craig has actually lost a lawyer on the eve of his trial. Last November, Craig's lawyer Harvey Steinberg withdrew, citing a professional conflict.

Steinberg wrote last fall, the client persists in a course of action involving the lawyer's services that the lawyer reasonably believes is criminal or fraudulent, and the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement. This is a Law and Crime Legal Alert. Did you know that children are being diagnosed with serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? And research is potentially linking ultra-processed foods to these outcomes.

Morgan & Morgan is stepping in to fight to hold food companies accountable. With decades of experience fighting large corporations, they are ready to stand up for families that deserve justice. So if your child under the age of 21 has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or fatty liver disease, visit www.forthepeople.com slash food or scan the QR code on your screen to learn more. Now, it came out days later that James Craig was being accused of tampering with evidence solicitation

and trying to hire that inmate to kill the detective. I spoke with Colorado attorney, Jeffrey Wolf, last November about Harvey Steinberg withdrawing from the case. Take a listen. Harvey Steinberg looms large here in Denver. He's an incredibly well-respected attorney here in town. As you mentioned, he represents a lot of high profile cases here in the area,

a lot of sports figures. It's why people see him in the news a lot with cases that are nationally recognized here in the Denver area. And I happen to know him personally. I worked for him when I was in law school and know he's an excellent attorney and worth every dollar that his clients pay him, quite frankly. And the fact that this case got to the day of trial and he withdrew for reasons that he stated to the court that his client wanted to do something that he found morally repugnant is something not only that any lawyer wouldn't take very lightly to say to the court and to withdraw for such a reason, but something that certainly a lawyer like Harvey Steinberg wouldn't take lightly. This is a huge development in a case

of this magnitude and of this level of significance in the Denver metro area. So it is a very large development in this case. Those are incredibly serious charges and we're not getting a lot of information here locally on exactly what is involved with those charges. What we're starting to hear trickle out from our local news sources here in Colorado is that the details behind that are that it was another inmate that he was locked up with in the Arapahoe County jail, that he was being asked to murder the detective that was involved in the investigation of the case against James Craig. And that that inmate then flipped to law enforcement to say, I was being asked to do this. That inmate is being charged with nothing, meaning that inmate didn't carry out any step towards that crime, according to law enforcement. Now we

all know that inmate snitches will oftentimes come up with all kinds of fabricated stories. So James Craig is innocent until proven guilty of this allegation, as well as everything else in the case. I want to be really clear about that. But there's a lot of smoke and then fire when your lawyer withdraws from the case saying you're trying to do something morally repugnant and then these charges come the next day. That makes it a little bit less likely that there's nothing to this. Now I'm going to go over the murder case against James Craig for you in just a little bit. But first, let's discuss what this second attorney withdrawing from Craig's case could

mean for his trial. So to discuss all of the madness going on in this case, I want to bring in Bridget Williams. She is an attorney in Texas. She has practiced all kinds of law, personal injury, and criminal defense. Bridget, right off the bat, thanks for coming on. And I need to know your reaction to this craziness. Basically, on the eve of trial, James Craig's attorney,

one of his attorneys, Robert Working, is accused and charged with fourth degree arson for allegedly setting his own house on fire. I think you describe it perfectly. This is absolute craziness. In order for someone to be charged with this, let alone your attorney to be charged with this right before your trial setting has to be frightening, off-putting. It has to be something that really probably makes them not

comfortable at all. And so I think that it is something that is bizarre and not something that would usually occur in any way, especially for an attorney to be charged with this type of offense on the eve of a trial. There's another part of this. You know, Robert Working, his wife, Lisa Moses, she is co-counsel in this case. They had added a second attorney back in June. So does Lisa Moses, Robert Working's wife, Robert Working has withdrawn from the case. Does she just move forward with this trial with jury selection on July 10th? Or does she go to the court with her co-counsel now that her husband has withdrawn from the

case and say, we need a continuance? I mean, this is a crazy turn of events. I think she has great cause to ask for continuance. Preparing for a trial, let alone a murder trial, definitely takes time. It takes an opportunity for the attorney, if they're a second chair, they need to come up to speed on everything that first chair knows and was prepared to do. That takes time. Preparing all of the witnesses, going over all of the witness and evidence that the state has.

That takes time for an attorney to get caught up to speed on. So she has great cause to ask the court for a continuance, and it should be granted based off of the evidence that we see here. There could be way, way more that we don't even know about. So she should be granted that. Let's look at the other piece of this now. At the time of this recording, at the time that we're talking about this, the DA's office has asked to keep the affidavit,

the other court documents regarding Robert Working's fourth degree arson charge sealed. And in doing that, they said, you know, this could jeopardize James Craig's right to a fair trial. We don't want to do anything that jeopardizes that. I mean, are we led to believe then that he may have made some statements when he was taken into custody that pertain to this trial, to James Craig's case? I mean, why would that matter?

I mean, you're the attorney who's now withdrawn. So what's up with all the secrecy? You know, it could definitely be something where some statements were made, or maybe he was informed about some additional information that was going on with that particular case that just doesn't necessarily need to be told at this

moment. The case for his arson case, for the attorneys arson case is something that sounds to me is still pending, right? It's a pending investigation. And so there may be things that can continue to come out that could be harmful to the murder case. And so I don't see that there be a problem with them sealing it, and neither does the court

because the court granted that motion in order for it to be sealed. So I would say that I think that it is something that maybe something have come up in that it could very well be that there were statements or actions that were committed that need to be sealed from that particular that particular case. James Craig is facing some really serious charges. This is his second defense team. His first lawyer withdrew last year saying you

know there was a professional conflict. Right after he withdrew, James Craig came to light that there were allegations and there were additional charges filed against him that he was allegedly tampering with evidence, tampering with witnesses, trying to get an inmate to kill a detective who was investigating him. I mean, these are all allegations at this point. Very serious allegations

when you're accused of murdering your wife. So there's a lot going on here, Bridget. There really is. I mean, you've named at least four or five different offenses there that he is now going to be facing. You are up for a murder case, a murder trial. Now you have the solicitation. You also have just these other offenses against you.

All of that information can possibly come into evidence during his murder trial. If I was the fifth counsel, I would try to get it out and not allow it in, but it has the opportunity to come into evidence during his murder trial. So he just continues to add on, add on, add on. It doesn't help in any way. It doesn't help in any way.

And if you're a defense counsel in this case, you know, one of the defense attorneys has now withdrawn from the case because he has his own criminal charges to deal with. The other attorney, Lisa Moses, is his wife. So she has to deal with her husband. You know, and we've reached out to her for comment. At the time of this recording, she has not responded to us.

I mean, this is a mess. I mean, there's no other way I can put it. I mean, yeah, it's complicated. There's a lot going on. It's a mess. I think that's a perfect way to state that. Hot mess. I think that's a perfect way to state that. I think that's a perfect way to state that. This is convoluted, just really kind of hard to follow because there's so many moving parts here.

You have the murder case, now you have the first attorney withdrawing, then you have the second attorney now being charged with his own case, And then now the current attorneys are probably more than likely gonna ask for a continualence. And I feel bad for them if the court does not allow that continualence because they have to come up to speed and be prepared for a murder trial, along with being familiar, knowing all the information and witnesses for this particular murder trial and all of the evidence for the new alleged cases as well.

So it's gonna be a lot of work for them. Definitely will be a lot of work. And if the wife, Lisa Moses, even stays on the case, I mean, she very well may, and maybe they just need to appoint other counsel, or maybe she and the other attorney who was appointed back in June can handle it themselves. But maybe they just need a little more time

to prepare as a team of two rather than having her husband on board since he's now withdrawn. But this is kind of a big case anyway. I mean, there's a lot of evidence here, Bridget. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence to show that James Craig, and we have to wait to see how it unfolds at trial, but we have a lot of evidence showing that there's definitely

probable cause there, that he's pleaded not guilty, but there's probable cause that he poisoned his wife. Yeah, and I think that's the main point right there, is that there's probable cause that someone committed an offence, and that's enough for an arrest, right? So, and that's enough to move forward with the grand jury. But the thing is, when we move forward to a trial setting,

the burden is higher. The burden is now beyond a reasonable doubt. And so, the state has to prove that. So, just because something meets probable cause doesn't necessarily mean that it rises to the level of beyond a reasonable doubt. And that's the purpose of the trial. Definitely is the purpose of the trial.

Well, we're gonna keep a close eye on this and see how it all unfolds. But I've never seen this many. I've seen some hiccups in some cases, but this is quite the hiccup. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? I don't think I have seen anything quite like this. And I've been practicing now for about 13 years

and I don't think I've seen anything with this many issues arise in it. So no, it's gonna be interesting to watch it unfold. Yeah, well, as I mentioned, we're gonna keep an eye on it. Bridget Williams, thanks for your time and your expertise, as always, appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Okay, so now back to the murder case

involving the death of Angela Craig and how we got to this point. In March of 2023, Angela Craig became seriously ill and she was brain dead when she got to the hospital. At the hospital, James Craig's business partner told a nurse about his hunch that Angela was actually a victim of poisoning. He believed this, he said, because James Craig had ordered potassium cyanide for their medical practice.

In announcing Craig's arrest, Chief Mark Kildebrand commented, this was in fact a heinous, complex, and calculated murder. I am very proud of our major crimes unit. I am very proud of our major crimes homicide unit's hard work in solving this case and pursuing justice for the victim. Craig is accused of poisoning Angela's protein shake. The poison was later determined to be cyanide and tetrahydrolazine,

that is the active ingredient in eye drops. And Angela had more than 400 times the amount of tetrahydrolyzine in her body than the usual therapeutic dose. Can you imagine? So why would James Craig want to poison his wife? One person told detectives, Angela and James' marriage had always been tumultuous.

James had multiple affairs with several women, told Angela he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager and drugged Angela approximately five to six years ago. Angela told the person, whose name is redacted, that James drugged her because he planned to go into their bathroom and give himself a lethal injection of something and commit suicide. Now this goes to show you, the things might look okay on the outside, but you never, ever really know

what's going on behind closed doors. James had also asked for a divorce. A caseworker from Child Protective Services met with members of the Craig family after Angela's death. James had made concerning statements to the caseworker that she shared with police that made her believe he was building a cover story. James claimed ever since he had asked Angela for a divorce

that her depression and suicidal ideations had only increased. He mentioned that she was intentionally overdosing on opioids, essentially confirming her toxicology would come back positive for substances. Police seized James's electronic devices and searched the Craig's home, and they found multiple types of protein powder, workout-style shakers, a computer tablet,

two Ziploc bags containing a white powdery substance, and a water bottle located on the exercise bike. Police also say that Craig created a new Gmail account which linked only to a specific laptop in his dentist office. Police say that he researched undetectable poisons extensively. And detectives say the dentist's Amazon history showed he ordered arsenic metal, where the description states the real danger is in swallowing it, which could very well prove fatal.

Police say he also searched how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human, and is arsenic detectable in autopsy? Now, when Craig placed the order for potassium cyanide from Midland Scientific, an employee contacted him about some follow-up needs for the product, and Craig filled out a restricted item usage statement form, where he stated he was a surgeon

performing a craniofacial reconstruction. So he is using the chemical to check and see if it will help with the layering of alternative metals. Investigators accessed Angela's phone and found several messages between her and James, of alternative metals. Investigators accessed Angela's phone and found several messages between her and James, including the first day she began to experience

unexplained illness symptoms. In the text exchange, James mentions, "'Given our history, I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn't drug you.'" According to the arrest affidavit, James drugged Angela around five years ago because he planned to go into their bathroom and give himself a lethal injection of something and commit suicide as I mentioned earlier. He did

this so she wasn't in a position to save his life. Investigators also revealed that Craig has been having an affair with a woman whom he was also flying out to Colorado while Angela was on her deathbed. The text messages between Craig and his mistress are considered some of the most damning evidence against the dentist. Now in January of 2023, court documents say that Craig wrote to this woman, I'm not happy, but can't get divorced right now.

I'm not suicidal. Just stuck. The same day, he allegedly wrote, I hope you know I'm not putting you off. I still want to support you in every way, including financially. I have to do something about this situation I'm in first though. On February 2nd, he writes,

do you know anyone who can help me with my problem down here? I can pay handsomely. I want to be with you. The following day, Craig suggests hitting up a homeless person actually sounds like the only choice right now. He added, I feel so trapped. Now back to those newer charges that prosecutors filed late last year. They say that Craig tried to get a family member of a fellow inmate to create a deep fake video. And Craig wanted the video to show an image of Angela asking her husband to actually buy poison for her. This video would be time stamped

February 27th, 2023. That was the day that Craig began his research on the work computer for poisons. In the end, the jury is going to determine whether James Craig is guilty or not. And right now, he is saying that he is not guilty of all of these charges and will keep you posted on what happens with his trial, whether or not it indeed moves forward on July 10th. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me.

I'll see you back here next time.