Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Dentist Hit With New Charges in Wife's Poisoning Death

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

Jury selection in James Craig's trial for the murder of his wife, Angela Craig, was scheduled to begin this week in Colorado. But Craig's attorney withdrew in the 11th hour citing his client's behavior. Meanwhile, the district attorney has asked the court to add additional charges of solicitation of murder and solicitation to commit perjury against Craig. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the recent developments in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/crimefix to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Jeffrey Wolf https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-wolf-703b0964/CRIME 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/lawandcrimenetworkSee 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. My name is Dr. Jim Craig, and I practice at Summerbrook Dental Group. A dentist accused of living a double life and poisoning his wife so he could be with his mistress? I lay out the startling case of the murder of Angela Craig, and the new twist in the case that's led to the trial being delayed and the possibility of new charges. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. James Craig's trial for the murder of his wife, Angela, was supposed to begin with jury selection, but his attorney suddenly said, I'm out.

I'm not doing this anymore. So the trial is now on hold. This is Craig's former attorney, Harvey Steinberg. He withdrew from the case, citing a professional conflict. And that has really raised some eyebrows. Steinberg wrote in court records, 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. I'll have more on all of that very soon. Now, this isn't the only big news in the case. James Craig's legal troubles

could be going from bad to worse. Craig will likely face two new criminal charges. The district attorney filed an amended complaint asking to add two solicitation charges against the former dentist. The DA posted about the new charges on X, their solicitation to commit first degree murder and solicitation to commit first degree perjury. The court has to approve the amended complaint. Now, these new charges are on top of the first degree murder charge and tampering with evidence charges that James Craig already faces. So what do they mean? Well, the D.A. is saying that James Craig actually tried to get somebody to commit a murder and then tried to get somebody to lie for him.

Craig's wife became seriously ill in March of last year and she was brain dead at the hospital. Craig's business partner told a nurse about his hunch that Angela was actually a victim of poisoning. His reason to believe this came from Craig's recent order of 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 homicide units 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 tetrahydrazoline. That's the active ingredient in eye drops. Angela had more than 400 times the amount of tetrahydrazine in her body than the usual therapeutic dose. So why would James Craig poison his wife? There's a lot more to this story, and people had a lot to tell detectives about the Craig's relationship. One person told detectives, Angela and James's marriage has 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. Yikes.

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 made concerning statements to the caseworker that she shared with police that made her believe he was building a cover story. James claimed that ever since he asked Angela for a divorce, her depression and suicidal ideations have 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 electronics and searched the home. 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. I want to tell you about Upside. It's a free app that gets you cash back on things like gas, groceries, and restaurants. This is real cash back, money that appears in your Upside app that you can transfer straight into your bank account. I used Upside when I went to Dunkin' Donuts for a cup of tea. I claimed an

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Police also say Craig created a new Gmail account which linked only to a specific laptop in his dentist's office. Police say 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 that he also searched how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human, and is arsenic detectable in autopsy? When Craig placed the order for potassium

cyanide from Midland Scientific, an employee contacted him about some follow-up needs for the product. Craig filled out a restricted item usage statement form where he stated he was a surgeon performing craniofacial reconstruction. So he is using the chemical to check and see if it will help with the layering of alternative metals. Investigators say they accessed Angela's phone and found several messages between her and James, including things about the first day that she started feeling ill. 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.

He did this so she wasn't in a position to save him. Investigators also revealed that Craig had an affair with a woman whom he was flying out to Colorado while Angela was on her deathbed. The text messages between Craig and his so-called mistress are considered some of the most damning evidence against him. In January 2023, court documents say Craig wrote to the woman, I'm not happy but can't get divorced right now. I'm not suicidal, just stuck. The same day, they say he 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, he suggests hitting up a homeless person actually sounds like the only choice right now. He added, I feel so trapped. Now back to those new charges. Prosecutors say Craig tried to get a family member of a fellow inmate to create a deep fake video. Yes. And that Craig wanted this video to show an image of Angela asking her husband to buy her poison. The video would be stamped February 27th, 2023. That was the day that prosecutors say Craig began his research on his work computer.

Jeffrey Wolf is a criminal defense attorney based in Colorado, in Denver, actually. So I want to talk to you about this, Jeffrey. I'm really excited to get your thoughts. Harvey Steinberg is a well-respected attorney in the Denver area. So talk to me about how significant it is that he went to the court and said, I'm out. I can't do this. And it's because of these reasons, X, Y, and Z. Yeah, 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-prof 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. And as we saw, and I'm sure we're going to talk about, there was a big development from the DA's office the very next day right after that withdrawal. Yeah. And we are going to talk about that. And that is the fact that the DA has filed an amended complaint. They're basically asking the court to add two new charges, one being solicitation of first degree murder and solicitation of perjury. So basically the DA is saying that James Craig wanted somebody to lie for him and that James Craig was basically soliciting somebody trying to get somebody to commit murder. So talk to me about those two charges, because those are I mean, if this wasn't serious enough, it just took it to another level. Yeah, absolutely. Those are incredibly serious charges.

And we're not getting a lot of information here locally on exactly what is involved with those charges. 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. Wow. There's also been some talk and some reporting that he was trying to get somebody, an inmate in the jail, and it may be the very same inmate, to get somebody to create a deep fake video of his wife basically saying, hey, get me some poisons around the same time or on the same date that he started doing some computer research. There was also some reporting that he wanted somebody to leave notes around his house, like these suicide notes. I mean,

this is some diabolical type stuff, if it is indeed true and can be proven. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, any of these things could be the reason that his lawyer tapped out and said, I can't be part of any of this. And, you know, people will often say that their lawyer wants as little information as possible so they can have plausible deniability. It's not really what us lawyers do. We want to know what's going on so that we can put on the best defense. And we will constantly advise our clients not to do anything illegal. And we will constantly tell them that the truth is what needs to be put forth rather than some cockamamie scheme that's going to be seen through

like a deep fake video, like fake suicide notes, things like this. And we would never advise a client to take any of these reprehensible actions. It is stunning. I think everybody was shocked because jury selection was supposed to start this week. The trial opening statements were scheduled to begin on October or December 2nd, rather. So this thing was supposed to get underway. Now it's not. He'll be back in court next month, but he's got to find new counsel. It's going to take time for a case of this magnitude for new counsel to get up to speed. So Jeffrey, I mean, it could take another six months or so for this thing to go to trial, if not longer. Yeah, absolutely. So what's ended up happening here is the withdrawal of his counsel

has set the case for appearance of counsel in front of Judge Volley in Arapahoe County mid-December. So speedy trial has been waived by the withdrawal of his counsel. So speedy trial started over at the end of November when his counsel withdrew. So they have six months to get this case to trial again. And God knows what his new lawyer is going to come in and waive speedy trial again and how much longer speedy trial is going to get set out from there. And then to get up to speed on a case with new charges filed, with potentially a new preliminary hearing getting set, potentially a new proof evident presumptive great hearing getting set, there's no telling how much longer this trial could get delayed. Wow. It is stunning. Plus we have, you know,

the mistress in this case, that's believed to be a major part of the motive for murder. James Craig wanted to divorce. That's what the prosecution is saying. You know, Angela Craig apparently didn't. The marriage had been described as tumultuous. I guess Angela Craig had told people that her husband had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager. I mean, it's amazing to me. I mean, this is one of those cases where you really never know what's going on behind closed doors. He's on YouTube advertising his dental clinic, but yet he looks and he looks like just this normal dentist guy. But behind closed doors, it sounds like life, according to the district attorney, was an absolute nightmare and a mess.

And we've got a mistress here who it sounds like he was trying to help. He wanted her to help with the homicide as well. It's stunning to me. I mean, what is the reaction to this case out there in Colorado? Well, I think the reaction has been one of complete shock. I think that when this case first hit the news, everyone kind of looked around and said, how well do you know anyone? How well do you know your dentist? It's how well do you know anyone? How well do you know your dentist? It's how well do you know your doctor?

You know, these are sensational cases when they when they hit the airwaves anywhere in the country here in Colorado. We seem to have, you know, a bit of an unusual dearth of strange cases, as I'm sure you've seen on long crimes airwaves. But this one particularly is a little salacious, and it has just been a very strange case to follow here locally. Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. So it seems unlikely to me that the judge would say you can't add these new charges. I mean, new developments happen all of the time. So that adds another layer of complexity to this case. What are your thoughts

on that as well? Yeah, the prosecution has the right to add charges up until the day of trial for good cause shown. And I can't imagine that Judge Volley isn't going to allow these charges to be added. This is a new development. This is not something that was known to the prosecution previously, it would seem. It's been a development in the case that was new to his lawyer the day of trial. The fact that Judge Volley allowed Harvey Steinberg to withdraw the morning of trial means that this was something that was late breaking in the case. So if it was late breaking to the defense, it was certainly late breaking to the prosecution. And now that speedy trial has started over, there's no good cause to the defense that they don't have time to prepare for these new charges. So I have no reason to believe under Colorado law that they won't be added. Do you think that there will be

defense attorneys who won't want to take up this case? I do. I think that there will be a lot of pause in the Colorado legal community that if Harvey Steinberg said there's something going on behind the scenes here that makes it really hard ethically to represent this person. I think it's going to be very hard in the Colorado legal community for somebody to look at the case and say that there's not going to be something that they are asked to do in the defense of this individual that will compromise their ethics. Well, it is certainly a stunning turn of events and we will keep an eye on it for sure. Jeffrey Wolf, thank you so much. My pleasure. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm

Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.