Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: FOUR MISTRESSES, A POISONED WIFE AND A GUILTY VERDICT

Episode Date: August 16, 2025

The lead up to James Craig’s trial has been bizarre.....two postponements, three different attorney teams, five added charges and a crazy action from an attorney, who allegedly set his own house on fire. Still, the Aurora dentist’s trial began and ended after jurors heard from four mistresses who said James Craig told them his marriage was over, but a divorce would break him financiall.  Crag faced six  felony counts:  Murder in the first degree  Two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence  Three counts of solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree  Court Documents show Craig, jailed on a murder charge of his wife, Angela Craig, still allegedly worked to convince inmates, a former mistress and even one of his own children to tamper with evidence, to plant it to make it look like Angela Craig wanted to kill herself.   Prosecutors say James Craig even made a botched murder-for-hire attempt on the case’s lead detective just before a second attempt at trial  last year.   Craig allegedly offered people cash and dental work in return for a coverup .   Craig insists  he ordered poison because she asked him to.  James Craig and his wife Angela were married for over 20 years. They created a beautiful family of six, loving, happy family, happy children. Between work and taking care of their children, the Craigs still manage to fit a workout into their daily routine. The husband and wife go for a run or hit the gym together almost every day, and when they return home, James Craig makes protein shakes or fruit smoothies for breakfast while Angela delves into getting the kids ready for the day.    Angela complains of having a really nasty headache, along with problems focusing her eyesight.  She goes to the hospital saying she felt tingly and cold.   Doctors cannot figure out what's wrong with her.   Angela goes to the hospital multiple times, only to be sent home.  When she goes back for a third time, that's when she's checked in and her condition deteriorates, coding quickly.  Angela passes away.  One of Summer Brooks’ dental assistants recalls opening a package for Dr. Craig—that had potassium cyanide in it. She googles the symptoms of cyanide poisoning, and is horrified at how closely they match Angela’s symptoms. She immediately calls Craig’s partner, Ryan Redfearn, hoping he has some other explanation for the contents of the package...but he doesn’t. While visiting Angela, Redfearn tells a nurse about the cyanide, explaining there’s no medical use for the element in their practice. As a mandatory reporter, the nurse calls police.   With suspicions raised, Angela Craig is sent for an autopsy with additional toxicology screening. Tests reveal the otherwise healthy mom of six died of poisoning from both cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a common ingredient in eyedrops. While investigators have no definitive evidence Angela’s food and drinks were poisoned with cyanide, the tests reveal her cyanide levels increased while she was in the hospital.    Police then check Craig's computer finding strange searches.  One of them was how to poison someone, how to make poison and top five or top 10 undetectable poisons that people won't be able to find after someone has died and will not signal foul play. Less than 24 hours after his wife’s death, dentist James Toliver Craig is arrested for Angela’s murder and additionally charged with tampering with evidence. A 52-page arrest affidavit details Craig’s concerning computer searches, three poison orders, an ongoing affair, and proof Craig took several measures to cover his tracks.    Police then learn the dentist  allegedly tried to hire his cellmate to kill Aurora PD’s lead detective Bobbi Jo Olson for $20,000. Calling Olson the “worst, dirtiest detective,” James Craig tried to recruit Nathaniel Harris to take her out for cash or free dental work. Olson wasn’t the only person on his list. Craig also asked Harris to kill another Aurora PD officer and two inmates ‘Roger’ and ‘Tommy.’  Joining Nancy Grace today: Eric Faddis - Trial Lawyer and TV Legal Analyst, Founding Partner of Varner Faddis Elite Legal, former felony prosecutor and current criminal defense and civil litigation attorney Dr. Shavaun Scott -  Psychotherapist, Author of “The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence” Fil Waters  - Former homicide detective for the Houston police department, President & CEO of Kindred spirits Investigations & Security, Inc., kindredspiritsinvestigations.com Dr Ernest Chiodo  - Attorney, Physician, Biomedical Engineer, Toxicologist, Author: “Toxic Tort: Medical and Legal Elements”, www.ernestpchiodo.com Steffan Tubbs -  Host:  'Arsenic, DDS - The Bizarre Case of Dr. James Craig'; Former patient of James Craig See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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like, ah, gotcha. This technology's already solving so many cases. Listen to America's Crime Lab on iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Friday night's special crime stories. The Colorado dentist, aka the porny dentist case, goes to a jury and a verdict as the haunting final words of his wife, a dying, mother of six comes before the jury as four mistresses testify at his murder trial. I'm Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. I want to thank you for being with us this Friday night. A Colorado

murder trial jury hears the haunting last words of a mother of six as she died in her hospital bed and they were, why do I hurt? And, Angela, the mother of six, was declared brain dead after suffering mystery symptoms that started 10 days before. According to prosecutors, the dentist, Craig, poisoned her protein shakes and secretly fed her deadly doses of cyanide, arsenic, and more, including the chemical found in eyedrops, ultimately killing her. Also, this jury heard about a slew of mistresses.

One after the next, after the next, after the next, her family ultimately told all brain activity had ceased. Now, on the eighth day of the trial, testimony kicked off from Mistress number four. Her name, Elizabeth Gore, told the Arapaho County jury she and the porny dentist flew to Montana. from Denver, just a few weeks after they met on a, quote, sugar dating site called Seeking.com. Another so-called sugar baby, oh, please, testified the previous day, that would have been day seven, that he also took her to Montana.

After a third mistress testified, Craig bought her daughter a nine thousand car. All the mistresses agree that Craig was unhappy in his marriage, but claimed a divorce would financially destroy him. You know what else will destroy you? Trips skiing with all of your many mistresses and buying them cars for their daughter. Yeah, that'll break you too, man. Well, I'm sure the jury had had just about enough of him for mistresses. My rear end, what more Do we know about the so-called porny dentist? Take a listen to our friend, Jackie Howard. The lead-up to James Craig's trial has been bizarre.

Two postponements, three different attorney teams, five added charges and a crazy action from an attorney who allegedly set his own house on fire. Still, the Aurora Dendez trial finally got underway yesterday. Hundreds of potential jurors were in Centennial's Arapaho County Justice Center filling out questionnaires and being questioned by attorneys. 46-year-old Craig faces six felony counts. Murder in the first degree, two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence,

three counts of solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree. Court documents show that Craig, jailed on a murder charge of his wife, Angela Craig, still allegedly worked to convince inmates, a former mistress, and even one of his own children, to tamper with evidence, to plant it, to make it look like Angela Craig wanted to kill herself. Prosecutors say James Craig even made a botched murder for hire attempt on the case's lead detective just before a second attempt at trial last year. Craig allegedly offered people cash and dental work in return for a cover-up. Craig insists he ordered poison because his wife asked him to.

What happened to the, let's just say, frisky dentist who had begun yet another sex affair behind his wife's back? Clearly not his first. And this with a fellow dental worker, a Texas orthodontist, the dentist accused of poisoning his wife shakes with cyanide and a chemical that is found in eye drops. Wow! If he put as much thought into fixing his marriage as he's a chemical that is found in eye drops, wow, if he put as he did and to how to murder his wife, that'd probably be the happiest couple on earth.

That said, what do we know about what happened to Angela Craig? Take a listen to this. After multiple recent hospital visits, Angela again checked into a hospital Wednesday morning complaining of a severe headache and dizziness. Around 2 p.m., she had a seizure, her condition rapidly declining, doctors moving her to the ICU where she was put on life support before passing away Saturday. Joining me an all-star panel to make sense of what we are learning, this mom of six, six, and she's still really young as well. Apparently, you know, college sweethearts fall in love.

They get married and immediately start having children. That's how mom this young can have six children already. And I don't get it. I want to go straight out to Stefan Tubbs, host of the podcast Arsenic DDS, the bizarre case of Dr. James Craig, which, is an incredible podcast, by the way. Okay. I've done all this investigation and research and I learned even more by listening to that. Arsenic DDS, the bizarre case of Dr. James Craig. Stefan, I want to just start with this young mom, Angela, suddenly develops all these symptoms. Nobody can figure out what's wrong with her and she just bam dies. Now, tell me about her.

original sentence, Stefan Tubbs. Nancy, she got incredibly sick, and it wasn't just one time in the hospital. It was multiple times that she was feeling nauseous, that she just didn't feel something was right, severe headaches. And she went to a local hospital the first time to the ER. He was discharged. And then went to the same hospital like a week later. It was the third.

Stefan, Stefan, hold on. Hold on, Stefan. I want to go straight out to our shrink joining us in addition to an incredible panel of guests. Joining me, Dr. Chauvonne Scott, psychotherapist, author of The Minds of Mass Killers, so much more. Dr. Chavon, thank you for being with us. Have you ever noticed how women's symptoms just get discounted? They come in. I'm nauseous.

I feel dizzy. I've got this severe headache. I'm like, oh, you're fine, bye. Yeah, it's called it. And over and over to Angela. What is it? Are all women, quote, hysterical? Yeah, there's, there's even something called the W.W syndrome.

And that stands for whiny woman. And medical doctors have been known to talk about the women with W.W. Wait, wait, head blowing off right now. What do you? The W.W. syndrome. Is that what you just said? Yeah. Yeah. Whiny woman. Yeah. I've read some women doctors have written books about this problem in the medical profession where women are just dismissed and not taken seriously. Okay. I've got so much to say about that, but it will get me

totally sidetracked off this woman, Angela, mother of six. Okay. Back to you. Stefan Tubbs joining me, who has researched and investigated this case just to the detail. Stefan, so she had headaches, a severe headache. I think from what I recall, that's what really made her decide to go to the hospital. She was having nausea and felt dizzy, but it was the headaches. I think she was worried that she was having a stroke because the headache was so severe. Yeah, she was very, very ill. She was very, very concerned about her own health and safety.

This is a mother of six. Not all of the children were inside the home, but she's incredibly sick and wondering how the hell she got sick. Take a listen to this. My stomach feels fine, although at one point she said she had nausea, but my head feels funny and dizzy, very strange. I'm dizzy, my eyes don't want to focus. I don't feel right in my head.

No, this is just weird. I'm dizzy in my head. My eyes are working slowly. My body's responding slowly. I feel drugged. Response from husband. the family man, Dennis. Given our history,

I know that must be triggering just for the record. I didn't drug you. Whoa. Okay. As Shakespeare said, me, thinks that death protest too much. You know, like when a cop walks by

and you go, I don't have drugs on me. Anyway, let's get back to it. Listen. She was complaining of having a really nasty heady. She was also complaining about her eyesight. She was having trouble focusing. She said that she felt tingly, She said that she felt cold.

She's concerned that it could be a sinus infection. And then there's some conversation about maybe she's diabetic. No one is able to find an answer for what is causing this otherwise healthy mother of six to be feeling these horrendous symptoms. She goes back a few days later, March 9th, same symptoms, nausea, dizziness, headaches, even some vomiting. again the doctors can't figure out what's wrong with her they send her home and then when she goes back for a third time that's when she's checked in and her condition deteriorates quickly and there you see dr chevonne scott with us who just dropped a bombshell on me about the w w w syndrome whiny woman syndrome now we're on round three okay she's at the hospital a third time they keep sending her home and sending her home. Now she codes. I guess that means code red or whatever they call it in the hospital when you're dying. Yeah, yeah, just a horrifying, horrifying situation for a young

woman to be in with no explanation. It's hard to imagine how frightened she must have been. Eric Fattis joining me, high profile trial lawyer, TV legal analysts, founding partner, Varner, Fattis, elite legal, former felony prosecutor. Eric, don't you just hate it when your own client, who's not charged with anything, out of the blue, said, I didn't drug you, because that's what he said. Nobody said he did drug anybody. And all of a sudden he goes, just FYI, I didn't drug you. If my husband said, FYI, I didn't drug you, I'm going to need a defense attorney because who would jump up and say that unless they drug the wife? I hear you.

I mean, it's a curious statement, certainly suspicious in the, um, suspicious in the, um, eyes of many. You know, on the other hand, I think his defense is going to argue that the marriage was on the rocks, things were tense, things were dicey. And so, you know, people say things that in the heat of an event like this, that certainly could be triggering for both parties. But, yeah, the gravity of the statement and sort of it coming out of nowhere is not lost on. Triggering, first of all, I don't know how that got popular. Triggering for both parties. Are you telling me he, the dentist, is triggered? What are you talking about? Why? She's dead.

Okay. Why are you talking about him getting triggered? This conversation preceded the death. What I was saying is that, you know, when the relationship is super rocky, sometimes when there are serious medical events that come up or just serious life events, those things can be, can add to the, to the tenseness of the situation, the stress of the situation. And he could have been experiencing distress as well. And sometimes things come out.

Rocky. Rocky. That's what you call a string of mistresses. rocky that's more like an earthquake it is a serious event which just could have further been destabilizing for the relationship when something serious happens when your spouse is sick i think defense is going to argue that hey things were really um distressing there was heightened emotionality and and sometimes people just say things uh that's at least how the defense will likely frame who is this guy my name is dr jim craig and i practice at summerbrook dental

group. My approach to dentistry begins with sincerely listening to the patient and wanting to find out more about where they're coming from and what they're looking for and what they want. That's from the official Summerbrook Dentistry Facebook page. I want to go straight out to Phil Waters, former homicide detective from the Houston PD president CEO, kindred spirits, investigations and security. Phil, I know that Eric Fattis is going to turn purple and tell me this means nothing. But when your husband, the dentist, who sits on one of those little rolly chairs all day long, suddenly starts working out and developing interests and getting spray tans,

you better pay attention what's going on. In homicide, of course, we'd call that a clue. You know, it watches behavior and the things that he's doing there. I mean, I guess in isolation for that setting, he appears to be a very attentive dentist and he's really into what he's doing and he's trying to entertain his clients, his patients, as well as do the proper dental work on them. So in that particular setting, it does look like if, of course, we don't know what the timeline here is, but if he's been hitting the gym and doing some things that are trying to. get his physique in a better shape, that might be an indicator, of course, to his wife in a general sense that, though, are you doing this for me or are you doing this for some other purpose?

Okay, take a look at this, Fattis, and that's from the Summerbrook Dentistry Facebook page. That's where we're getting that. Do you see somebody's pumping iron in the gym all of a sudden? Nitz, he does look a little jack there. Defense is going to say, so what? Everyone is allowed to take care of their own health. as the homicide detective just said, maybe he was taking care of himself to sort of rekindled the flame with his wife at the time. We just don't know. But, yeah, I mean, even if the relationship was

on the rocks and he was preparing for something new, that's not a crime. When Angela is admitted to the hospital for the third time in two weeks, James Craig only stops at the hospital for half an hour before going out to get food for his wife. Craig returns an hour and a half later and goes into Angela's room alone. Just a few minutes later, Angela has a severe seizure in her vitals crash. While hospital staff attempt to revive Angela, Craig takes photos of his unconscious wife. Angela is stabilized with the ventilator, but declared brain dead. Takes photos of his wife. Before we go to a renowned physician and biomedical engineer, Dr. Ernest Chiodo, let me go back to Stefan Tubbs, host of arsenic DDS.

Stefan, why is he taking pictures of his wife as she's dying and they're desperately trying to resuscitate her and she's got all kind of tubes in her? What happened? He's at the foot of the bed and it's almost as if he's almost halfway out of that room, Nancy. It was bizarre to see for the first time, but this is really the goodbye. I think he was taking it for some of her family that were not in town. She has a huge family. They mostly primarily live in Utah.

But he was there. He then calls the business partner and his wife. They had all, you know, done things as couples before. And this was the goodbye when she was coding out at at CU Health. And it was there that, to me, the entire domino started to fall. Speaking of domino's falling to Dr. Ernest Shiodo, not only physician, but attorney, biomedical engineer, toxicologist, and author of Toxic Tort, Medical and Legal Elements. Dr. Shoyoto, thank you for joining us. I'm sure in your residency and in practicing medicine,

you've been in a lot of sick rooms and even death rooms. Do you not find that bizarre that he is taking pictures of his wife as she's coding out? In other words, as hospital personnel are furiously trying to save her life and he's taking pictures? It's highly unusual. Yes. Dr. Shiodo, have you ever seen someone take photos of their wife while they're trying to resuscitate her and bring her back to life? You know, pounding on her chest, using those electrical stimulators on her chest, everybody's screaming, everybody's rushing into the room and he's in the corner taking pictures. Have you ever seen that happen?

Shiodo. No. I haven't either. And I have investigated, prosecuted, and covered, I can't even count the number of deaths and homicides to Dr. Chavon Scott. Right there, as Stefan Tubbs said, that was when the weirdness was marked and noted. When he was taking picture, I don't care what he says. This is to send to her extended family, that's BS technical legal term. What does that mean? I mean, I know something's wrong with it, but I don't know what it is. Yeah, it's a puzzle to me as well because it seems so out of the normal range of human behavior. None of us can put ourselves in that situation and imagine that we'd be picking up a camera as our loved one was dying.

So what in the world was he doing? I don't know that I have a good answer for that, but it's definitely a red flag. While his wife, Angela, is fighting for her life in the hospital. Her devoted husband is emailing his mistress. James told her something had happened to Angela, and she responded with how sorry she was for him and that she wished she was helping him, not pulling him away. She stated she knew it had to be so hard what he was going through

and that she wanted to be there for him, but did not want to mix with his family and friends and pretend to be only a friend. when there was something more. Oh, yeah, that's so hard on a mistress when she has to pretend to just be friends in front of his wife. I hate when that happens, fattest, what do you have to say to that? What about when a jury hears about him while his wife is lying there dying, he's emailing his mistress, his hottie? And she says, I can't take it.

I can't stand to act like we're just friends when we're so much more. Has everybody lost their minds? On the surface, certainly problematic. It's going to be difficult to neutralize for the defense. You know, I think that they might consider something like, you know, there have been instances where even a person's wife has, like, given them an organ. You know, there's instances like that. And then there are still infidelity.

They're still cheating. Human beings do underhanded stuff. They do stuff that is surprising that is hard to understand. And I think that that could be what was going on here. And that could be health defense postures it to the jury. But you know, there's another whole thing there. Hold on just a moment. To Dr. Chauvonne Scott, many women would tell you, not me, but many women would tell you,

I'd rather my husband just go have sex with somebody than to actually fall in love. I mean, if my husband did either one, basically it's open marriage, open casket. Bam, that says it all. But some women would prefer the husband if they're going to. to do anything to just go have sex with somebody, wham, bam, bam, done, as opposed to falling in love with someone. Can you explain that odd sentiment? The difference between having that kind of deep attachment with somebody, I guess, would be the love. And so, yeah, there are even people who have very open marriages where sexual exploits outside of the relationship are

absolutely fine, but the idea is that you always have your primary emotional bond with your partner. Colorado mom of six, Angela Craig spends the month of March in and out of hospitals, complaining of strange symptoms for which doctors seem to have no answers. Meanwhile, her dentist husband is receiving mysterious packages to his office. You earlier heard podcaster, the star of arsenic DDS, Stefan Tubbs, refer to dominoes began to fall. Well, here they go. Listen. Still in the parking lot after visiting Angela in the hospital, Ryan Redfern gets a call from James Craig, his partner in Summerbrook. As Craig starts to ask Redfern if he had said anything to Angela's nurses, Redfern cuts him off, saying he told the nurses about the package Craig

received at the office. Craig says the package contained a ring for Angela. But Redfern replies, it's not a ring. We know what's in there. After their phone call, James Craig sends Ryan Redfern a flurry of angry texts, accusing him of creating huge problems by getting police involved without talking to him first. Craig tells Redfern, if he really is a friend, he and the remaining office employees will not speak with cops anymore. Huge red flag when somebody says, don't talk to the cop. Grab a coffee and discover nonstop action with Bud MGM Casino.

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In the last days, the jury hands down a verdict, and let me tell you right now, I saved it for Friday night because it is a Friday night special, guilty, guilty, after prosecutors argued that Dennis poured his wife, smoothies, and other drinks full of cyanide, arsenic, and the chemical found in eyedrops. It's called tetrahydrozzoline. Tetrahydrozzoline. Now, remember, the jury heard from four mistresses, and you know, that's got to be the tip of the iceberg. Those are four that we know of. You know, listen to this. Witnesses also testified at trial that Craig, the dentist, this is why everybody hates dentists, asked his teen daughter to fabricate a deep fake, exonerating him by showing her own mother asking him, for poison, as well as a former cellmate who said the dentist ordered hits on the lead detective from behind bars. What is wrong with this man? Is he at all self-aware? Does he even know

he's alive? Does he even know what he has done? Ordering a hit on the detective from behind bars asking his teen daughter to create a deep fake where her dead mom asks for poison? Oh, what more do we know about the case? The dominoes begin to fall. What about the dental practice partner? Yeah, Ryan Redford and some would consider him to be the hero in this because he's the one that after the phone call and as you just outlined on the program, he tells Jim via the cell phone.

He says, Jim, stop talking, get a lawyer. To backtrack, we're talking about arsenic that was allegedly purchased online. I mean, the computer records at the dental practice were very easy for police investigators. But it was the package of potassium cyanide that was delivered to the actual dentist's office, opened by some employee. She starts to go, what is this potassium cyanide? She literally sees the skull and crossbones on the packaging. She looks it up. It clicks in her mind.

Wait a minute. This is exactly, these are the kinds of symptoms that that, Angela Craig is experiencing, she then calls Redfern the partner, and that's how the dominoes start to fall. I'm joining me, Dr. Ernest Chiodo, attorney, physician, biomedical engineer, toxicologist, and author of Toxic Tort, Medical and Legal Elements. Dr. Chiodo, explain what the symptoms of that particular poison would be. Well, there's a number of different poisons involved, but cyanide, you just really

you have very rapid loss of blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and very rapid death. Arsenic, you tend to get peripheral neuropathy, you get burning in your hands and feet. It's more of a slow poison. What's really interesting is the tetrahydrozolyne, which is interestingly found in eyedrops. to get the redness out of your eyes. It's a, it's a, what they call an alpha agonist. It causes constriction of blood vessels. And that causes confusion.

It can cause loss of consciousness, coma. And that sounds a lot more like the symptoms that she was having in the hospital, the wife. Guys, we look carefully at the movements and the actions leading up to her last hospitalization and what led up to the previous two hospitalizations. Listen. The husband and wife go for a run or hit the gym together almost every day. And when they return home, James Craig makes protein shakes or fruit smoothies for breakfast while Angela delves into getting the kids ready for the day.

We think he was using the poison Angela over the course of several weeks. actually, putting it in her protein shape, even helping her along or trying to reassure her when she was complaining of sickness, dizziness, nausea, he was sort of still encouraging her to drink colds of fluid. Okay, let me understand something. Stefan Tubbs joining me. Isn't it true that on a prior occasion she had gotten stabilized and then he goes out and comes back and brings her food like a doting husband in the hospital and suddenly

she goes into seizures. That's true. Yeah, she was in the hospital. Remember, three different times. She was in the hospital three different times. Reading the affidavit, which reads like a bad Hollywood script, it looks like investigators feel she is consistently being offered the food in a, in primary fashion, the protein shakes while she's in. And keep in mind, all of these text messages that are going back and forth, do you feel like a smoothie? Is there anything I can bring you? And this goes on for the better part of the month of March. Stefan Tubbs, are you telling me he would email her or text her in the hospital, say, can I bring you a smoothie? 1,000%.

That is in the affidavit. I've seen the screenshots of the text messages. She's in the hospital three different times. There's text messaging, I mean dozens and dozens of them, if not hundreds of them, going back and forth. Do you feel like something? What do you feel like? Can I bring you anything? And it was usually in the form of a smoothie.

And then the other shoe drops, listen. With suspicions raised, Angela Craig is sent for an autopsy with additional toxicology screening. Tests reveal the otherwise healthy mom of six died of poisoning from both cyanide and tetrahydrozzaline, a common ingredient in eyedrops. While investigators have no definitive evidence, Angela's food and drinks were poisoned with cyanide, the test revealed her cyanide levels increased while she, was in the hospital. Stefan Tubbs, her levels increased while she's in the hospital?

Yeah, I think that was probably the biggest shocker in a shocking story in the Denver metro area that we got word and read the autopsy. Her levels of cyanide increased while she's in the hospital. I mean, to me, it was and remains unprecedented. I've never heard a story like that. And doctors didn't know again what they were looking for, right? it was just when the domino started to fall and people started to talk, the business partner that they started to look into, wait a minute, these are the signs of poisoning

and certainly we know what the autopsy revealed. But I mean, to me, Stefan, it would all blow up when the dental assistant opens up a package and it's cyanide. Oh, remember though, Nancy, it was supposed to be a ring for Angela. I mean, the cockamamie stories just were over and over and over. Where do you get cyanide, Stefan? You can just order it up on Amazon. I mean, where do you get cyanide?

So one of the two, there were purchase orders for Amazon.com, which was amazing. I can't believe it was either cyanide or the potassium. That was a joke. Are you serious? You can get cyanide on Amazon? There you go. Right there on your screen. Yeah, I'm going to buy this on Amazon.

First of all, somebody. Arsenic. Arsenic. Yeah, arsenic. Holy moly. Yeah. And then the test. Yes. Package left inside Residence's mailbox.

So I guess he thought he was being a super smart by having it delivered to the dentist office so his wife wouldn't find the arsenic. Right. Don't open this. Okay. So what happens, Stefan, when the dental assistant opens up a box and it's arsenic? I think her eyes about bugged out of her head is what happened. She sees this package. She opens it up.

Another office assistant came in and said, you weren't supposed to open that. Well, that's out of the bag. She sees the skull and crossbones. And then she, again, puts the pieces together. Wait a minute. Potassium cyanide. She calls Dr. Redfern, the partner of Jim Craig, and says, you got a package here. And then that's where you fast forward.

You know, Redfern confronts Jim Craig and says, why are you buying potassium cyanide for the dental practice? And, of course, the lie was, oh, that's really, it's a gift. it was a ring for Angela. Well, there was no ring inside. Dr. Ernest Chiodo joining us, a renowned physician and lawyer and author. Dr. Chiodo, she couldn't taste something odd in her protein shakes. I mean, what does arsenic or cyanide taste like? Arsenic is going to taste, sort of have a garlic sort of taste, whereas cyanide really wouldn't.

sometimes it has an odor of bitter almonds. So whether or not she could taste the arsenic or cyanide would really be a matter of how much was in the shake. A small amount you may not taste it. He clearly thought he was more intelligent than he was. He was using a different computer in his dentist practice, the one that he owned. And then he had this alternate email address.

I think it was something along the lines of Jim and Waffles at gmail.com at gmail or at aOL or at hopmail.com. I don't recall which exactly, but hardly a criminal mastermind. He was actually in $2 million of personal debt, and it was because he made some really terrible investments in some dodgy cryptocurrency turned out to be worth absolutely nothing. He gambled the family pot with these really, really risky investment choices and then by the time we came to find out about him he was

really up to his neck he filed for personal bankruptcy he filed for professional bankruptcy oh my stars eric fattis renowned attorney don't you just hate it when your mastermind client just uses a fake email to find out all about cyanide and order arsenic from Amazon. That really worked. Well, Nancy, you know, there is a potential alternative explanation as to why I was doing that. As we've talked about, his marriage of 23 years was on the rocks. He had filed for bankruptcy twice. He had a history of depression. Sinai can be used to hurt others, but it can also be used to hurt oneself. And that's something that one might not want to broadcast to other people and might use surreptitious means to try to procure it, which it sounds like he did. You know, Eric, you know something you've got to tell. And I better better inform you. you about it before you go to Vegas, the crazier your arguments get, the faster you talk, and I love that about you. And I'm telling you, because I really don't think you can stop yourself. But that said, so you're suggesting now, you're just spinning it out, right? Like you're throwing a frisbee, you're just throwing it at me, that he really ordered the cyanide

and the arsenic for himself, right? It just says that. His actions are equally consistent with that in some people's appraisal. Well, what about this? Have you ever had a client try to, to subborn perjury, kind of a deal, dentures for perjury? Listen. According to prosecutors, this isn't the first time James Craig has tried to recruit fake witnesses. James Craig gets friendly with several inmates at the Arapaho Detention Center and learns William Billy Walden's mother hates her dentures but can't afford implants. Craig asks Walden to let him talk to his mom the next time he gives her a call. Over the phone, Craig tells Rebecca Walden, he'll give her a brand new set of teeth when he gets out, saying he's certain

to get off because he didn't kill his wife. Craig gets Walden's address and tells her he'll give her more details in a letter. So Faddis, dentures for perjury. Thoughts? Not the best deal. Certainly a bad look. But on the other hand, defense is going to say, hey, look, he was, he's been in jail for a long time. He's been adamant about his innocence. He's getting desperate. He needs to do something to try to change things. And this is the sort of hairbrains. scheme he came up with. It's problematic, but doesn't mean he committed murder. Okay. I had a funny feeling you would say that about the dentures for perjury scheme. Well, what about hotties for dentures? Hotis, HOTT-I-E-S. Listen, Fattis. In early 2024, a letter from Craig to

Rebecca Walden, inmate William Walden's mother, was returned to the Rappahoe Detention Center as undeliverable. The letter contains an offer to provide Rebecca Walden with free dental implants if she recruits several young, attractive women to pose as Craig's affair partners. Craig instructs Walden to have the women tell authorities that Angela confronted them about Craig's affairs, then recruited them to help her frame Craig for her murder. Okay, what happens, Stefan Tubbs? Where do the hotties enter the scene? In a desperate plea to get out of the Arapaho County Jail. I mean, at this point, there's no death penalty in Colorado. He has nothing.

to lose. He's been accused of trying solicitation for murder of the lead detective in this. I mean, it's not just the hotties or the free teeth or whatever. Jim Craig is trying any way that he can, at least according to those of us following the case closely, watching him do whatever he can to possibly grasp its straws to convince one juror once this thing finally starts to create that doubt. But it's been crazy. The hits just keep on coming. I literally, less than two weeks ago, had a guy reach out to me, don't know them from anybody. He says, hey, I was serving in the Arapaho County detention facility with Craig until last October.

You won't believe what he told me. He even gave me a letter. It's crazy and it continues. In the letters to Constantinitis, Craig offers a blank check in exchange for spoofed texts, phone records and doctored photographs that can help convince authorities. Constantinitis knew Angela in life and that the mom of was suicidal after learning of his latest affair. Craig details some of his previous affairs in the letter, admitting he first cheated on Angela with a patient in 2009 and provides personal information about his children in an attempt to make their lives seem credible.

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They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA. Right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha.

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Evidence came in that one of the many, many mistresses of James Craig, the porny dentist, testified he sent her a photo of his wife as she lied dying in the hospital. What? He sent his mistress a photo of his wife in the hospital bed as she was dying. Oh, man. Oh, he then asked the mistress to come visit him just a few hours after he learned his wife, the mother of his six children, was brain dead. You know, I convict him right there. I would convict him right there. But there was so much more evidence, hard evidence, not me just disliking him.

I'm going to go back to Eric Fattis, veteran trial lawyer, defense attorney. In all seriousness, I've been pulling your leg a little bit with the fantastical nature of some of the facts we're learning. But we have a mother of six dead, not just dead, but suffering for months from cyanide and arsenic poisoning before she died. You say it's not the husband? I say it is. He's still innocent. He has not been proven. guilty in a court of law.

But let's just take a look at what we're hearing right now. Not only did he try to arrange, quote, hotties, attractive women to claim they were his sex partners, to tell authorities his dead wife confronted him about his affairs and that she was going to commit suicide. So your suicide fantasy is actually hatching. in the defendant's mind, all right? So he's taking your cue. But he's soliciting suborning, for lack of a better word, perjury by hoddies to say his

dead wife confronted them. Not only that, he has a dentures for perjury scheme with somebody else. Now we're learning, according to Stefan Tubbs, we're learning he tried to order a on a detective, have a detective murdered. What about it? You know, I think what he'll say is that a person who feels that they are innocent, they are being railroaded, they have been in jail for a long period of time, months and months, that they don't feel like they have a way to get out.

They're going to resort to desperate acts. And perhaps in his mind, he thought that, hey, if I eliminate the head honcho in this investigation, perhaps the investigation falls apart. certainly not lawful, certainly not okay, but also not the same thing as proving him guilty of murdering his wife. Dr. Ernest Chiodo joining us, renowned physician and author. Dr. Chiodo, what does a victim experience as they die from cyanide or arsenic poison? Well, if it's, they're going to be different. arsenic is going to be sort of a slow agonizing gap or a cyanide is going to be very

rapid you're really going to end up with sufficient cyanide you're going to end up dying within moments so there are really two different types of gap due to two very different toxin. Phil Waters joining us, former homicide detective, Houston PD, president of kindred spirits investigations.com. You know, Phil, you and I have handled a lot of murders, a lot of homicides, be they involuntary, voluntary, or malice murder. It takes a special kind of mind. When do you agree, Phil, this is not getting angry and pulling a gun and shooting. This is a months and months of planning, of scheming, Google searches, and lovingly feeding your wife protein shakes

laced with poison and then watching her suffer feel. Well, exactly. You know, this is an evil act on this guy's part. I won't even recognize him by saying his name. And we see this, and this is a, he is obsessed. with killing his wife, murdering his wife, the mother of his six children, and this is something that, as you put it, for months, has been thinking about this every minute of every day.

And so when he's going into these search engines and trying to figure out what kind of poison is the best one he's and that kind of thing, I tell you what, it's just, I hope he's a, better dentist than he was a murderer because what he did is idiotic in terms of trying to accomplish the task, which is murder his wife, and try to have some sort of a story that's going to take the suspicion away from you. Everything he did in the process here pointed to him. So when we get in these investigations, we always look for affirmative links. We let the evidence take us where we need to be, and it's always a journey for the truth.

In this particular guy, I listened to the defense, with all due respect, these episodes of isolation that we're talking about where, yeah, he's cheating, that doesn't make him a murder and so forth and so on. This has to be looked at in a timeline of events if we can determine where this started, and then, of course, we know where it ended. And what were the events that occurred in between that got us to the point? you know, this taking pictures and so forth of the, of his wife in the hospital when she's dying, you know, I, when I was listening to that discussion, I'm more prone to believe that he was going to use those pictures to gain some sympathy from the woman that he was wanting to squire around. So, you know, he had a purpose for all the things that he did. And it was just, It's just kind of stupid is as stupid does.

It just continued to get more idiotic as he went through this process, thinking that what people are going to believe, this story that he's come up with. And, you know, another thing, Phil, as you and I, you as a homicide detective, me, as a felony prosecutor, we would go about our business every day, not thinking that an inmate behind bars is trying to have us killed. have us killed to thwart the investigation. I bet you never thought about that while you were detecting. No, when I worked narcotics, I did have a contract put out on me, so I'm a little familiar with it. But in terms of my work on the onsides. Well, didn't we all, for Pete's sake, we've all gotten death threats.

The first one I had was faxed over from the Fulte County Jail. Didn't take too much to figure that one out. But for someone to actually manifest. Yes. Yes. Yes, the level of arrogance to think he can get away with everything and fix it all by doing a dentures for perjury scheme and having the lead detective murdered. This woman is dead. And probably her last thoughts were, who's going to take care of my children?

Prosecutors alleged to a jury, James Craig, the Colorado dentist, considered his wife a, quote, problem. really he didn't think that when she gave birth there was six children did he and poisoned her with a combination of cyanide arsenic and tetrahydrosoline that is in eyedrops it constricts your if you put it in your eyes it constricts your veins in your eyes so you don't see the red in your eyes it does the same thing to someone's heart it constricts the blood vessels around the heart and gives you a heart attack now again the third The third oldest child, Annabel, testified about one of his many, many plots, including soliciting first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence and subording perjury

from behind bars. Her dad, she testified under oath, called her from behind bars shortly after his arrest and asked her to create a deep fake, claiming that the mom wanted the poisoning. The letter that he wrote admitted to past sex affairs and told the daughter, her parents had been playing a, quote, game of chicken, with Craig claiming Angela asked him to order the fatal poisons. That's when he wanted a, quote, deep fake video of mom saying she asked Craig to order cyanide, arsenic, and oleander, and she was going to take it herself, dragging his daughter into this? The letter, written by him, offered instructions including buying a cheap

laptop, installing a VPN, a private network, and using the dark web, even asking his daughter to set up an anonymous email and buying a prepaid visa gift card. I mean, he then told his own daughter to burn the video onto thumb drives, tell investigators she found them amongst her mother's things, and then destroyed the laptop. He pulled his own daughter into this. Colorado dentist James Craig guilty in the deadly poisoning of his wife through her smoothies, now sentenced to life behind bars with no possibility of parole. So now when I said Friday night special, see, this was special. You believe me? Nancy Graye, signing off. Goodbye.

Every case that is a cold case that has DNA. Right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. On the new podcast, America's Crime Lab, every case has a story to tell, and the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. And I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology is already solving so many cases.

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