A Colorado dentist accused of fatally poisoning his spouse had been buying and selling “intimate” and “sexually explicit” emails with an orthodontist in Austin, Texas, who experienced flown into city to see him whilst his partner was ill in the hospital, in accordance to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Day-to-day Beast.
James Toliver Craig meant “to end his wife’s life by hunting for means to eliminate a person undetected, furnishing her poisons that align with her hospitalized indicators, and performing on commencing a new lifetime with [his lover],” the affidavit states. (The Everyday Beast has redacted the woman’s identify from the document.)
Craig, 45, experienced a canister of fatal potassium cyanide delivered to his business two times before 43-year-outdated Angela Craig was admitted to the healthcare facility for a suspected poisoning, according to the affidavit, which consists of disturbing new promises about the times before the mom of six’s murder. She was taken off life assistance on Sunday.
Craig had searched on-line for “buy Oleander,” a poisonous plant, “how a lot of grams of pure arsenic will get rid of a human,” and “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?” and accessed an article titled: “6 Deadly ‘Undetectable’ Poisons (and How to Detect Them),” the affidavit states, noting that a cargo of arsenic experienced been shipped to Craig’s property on March 4. (Craig also purchased $330 well worth of oleandrin, an oleander spinoff researched for use in treating cancer, from a scientific investigate firm, which was intercepted by police, it says.)
At just one level, a revenue rep at a scientific source company told Craig they would need to have a “usage statement” right before they could send him the cyanide potassium, the affidavit states. Craig, making use of his personal Gmail account, said he was “a surgeon performing a craniofacial reconstruction,” and would be employing the chemical to “check and see if it will assist with the layering of different metals,” it goes on. If it labored, the affidavit suggests, Craig claimed the procedure would be “published as a paper in the Nationwide Institutes of Overall health.”
Remarkably, this wasn’t the first time Craig experienced experimented with to poison his spouse, Angela, according to the affidavit. Her sister informed cops the 45-12 months-aged “had various affairs with various women… had been addicted to pornography due to the fact he was a teenager, and drugged Angela about five to six several years ago,” it states.
“Angela instructed [her sister] that James drugged her (an not known drug) for the reason that he prepared to go into their rest room and give himself a lethal injection of something and dedicate suicide,” the affidavit proceeds. “James advised Angela he drugged her so she would not come across him nor be in a position to help save him, which would give the lethal medications time to kill him.”
Craig and Angela, 43, were having marital complications, and Craig “was on the verge of bankruptcy” for a next time, in accordance to the affidavit. Angela informed her sister “several instances about the past 16 several years that she was going to depart James but said that James often confident her to remain,” the affidavit states. “Angela instructed [her sister] that James experienced ‘run the dental office into the ground’ and that their funds were dire. Angela complained to [her sister] that James a short while ago traveled to Las Vegas, where she explained he gambled absent about $2,000.”
On Wednesday, Craig drove Angela to an Aurora clinic, telling clinical employees that his spouse was suffering from problems and dizziness, which family members customers claimed she had been complaining about for some time. But she nearly right away took a turn for the even worse, and was declared medically brain dead on Sunday afternoon, Aurora police claimed in a statement.
The two had mentioned her signs or symptoms previously, with Craig enjoying the component of a dutifully worried spouse, according to text messages involved in the affidavit.
Angela had visited the hospital at minimum two times ahead of Wednesday, but as a particular person near to the spouse and children earlier informed The Daily Beast, kin considered her signs and symptoms could be a sinus an infection, due to the fact Angela was prone to them.
Included in the arrest warrant affidavit is a copy of a text concept from Craig to his small business partner’s wife, reading, “If it was not my wife this would be kind of a enjoyment puzzle to consider to work out!”
Immediately after Angela’s sudden death, a longtime pal and organization associate of Craig’s advised investigators he assumed Angela experienced been poisoned, according to the affidavit.
On March 6, Craig advised the practice’s office supervisor that he would be receiving a offer and instructed her not to open it, the affidavit states. That early morning, Craig experienced prepared a protein shake for Angela in advance of they worked out together.
“James gave her additional protein because she was feeling sluggish,” the affidavit states. “After the exercise, Angela turned faint and dizzy, and in the end James took Angela to the healthcare facility.”
On March 13, a offer arrived. A further personnel had opened it, and the place of work supervisor decided to take a peek. Inside, she found “a bio-hazard sticker and what mentioned ‘Potassium Cyanide’ on a round canister,” the affidavit continues.
The office environment supervisor sealed up the deal, and googled “potassium cyanide.” She then realized that Angela’s signs and symptoms seemed to match people of cyanide poisoning.
On March 15, when the office environment manager heard that Angela was in the medical center, she identified as a colleague, who notified Craig’s small business partner—who was on the way to the healthcare facility to lend ethical help to Craig—about the bundle. When he arrived, Craig’s business enterprise companion “spoke with a single of the attending nurses about his suspicion that Angela was the doable victim of poisoning,” the affidavit goes on.
He informed the nurse that Craig experienced recently ordered potassium cyanide for their dental observe, but that “there was no clinical cause or purpose” to do so.
“As a required reporter, the nurse termed the police, and an investigation ensued,” the affidavit states.
A small time later on, Craig named his business associate and claimed he experienced “heard some disturbing facts,” inquiring if the other male “had reported anything at all to the healthcare facility personnel.”
He stated he realized about the package deal, to which Craig replied it was “a ring for Angela and that he desired to surprise her.” The enterprise husband or wife explained to Craig he understood it wasn’t a ring, and questioned why he would purchase potassium cyanide, according to the affidavit.
“James sooner or later recanted and admitted the package deal contained Potassium Cyanide but claimed that Angela questioned him to purchase it,” the affidavit continues, stating that Craig claimed to his small business spouse that Angela had been suicidal.
“James claimed that Angela couldn’t purchase the Potassium Cyanide since she didn’t have the proper credentials. James informed [his business partner] he requested the Potassium Cyanide, but he ‘didn’t imagine she [Angela] would truly acquire it.’ James explained the scenario as being similar to a game of ‘chicken.’ At that place, [Craig’s business partner] advised James to cease speaking and get a law firm.”
In a collection of e-mail considered by investigators, Craig allegedly manufactured journey options for his mistress to take a look at him on dates that lined up nearly specifically with Angela’s various hospitalizations.
The woman was scheduled to take a look at Denver from March 8-10, which corresponded with Angela’s former healthcare facility remain from March 9-14, in accordance to the affidavit. The 2nd flight itinerary was for March 16-20, commencing the working day Angela went to the healthcare facility and later on died. The flight was obtained on March 4, the exact same day that the arsenic was sent to Craig’s residence, the affidavit states.
Craig informed Angela’s sister that he would “not allow” an autopsy, according to the affidavit. She pleaded with him to improve his thoughts, it states, arguing that if it was genetic, knowing now could avert just one of their little ones from suffering afterwards.
“James mentioned he felt if they could not figure out what was improper with her when she was alive he would not let them poke her a lot more when she was useless,” the affidavit states.
A March 16 e-mail to Craig from his alleged mistress “suggested that James had informed her something experienced transpired to Angela,” according to the affidavit.
It suggests she advised Craig “how sorry she was for him and that she wished she was supporting him, not pulling him absent. She said she realized it experienced to be so tricky what he was going by and that she desired to be there for him but did not want to blend in with his loved ones and friends and faux to be only a mate when there was something much more.”
A 2021 push launch explained Craig as “happily married” to Angela.
“They have 6 kids, and they all enjoy the outdoors, particularly camping, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, and mountain biking,” stated the announcement, which trumpeted Craig’s “leadership, motivation, and qualified excellence” as a dental service provider. “They also delight in checking out concept parks and are generally touring to Disney, Common, and Sea Entire world.”
Craig’s observe, Summerbrook Dental, filed for personal bankruptcy defense in 2021, courtroom documents demonstrate.
A client of Craig’s for the earlier 10 decades explained to The Everyday Beast on Monday that the dentist was “very variety and nice and this came as a shock to us.”
“I hardly ever noticed anything at all abnormal about him, so this was wholly sudden,” Josh Stoker explained. “His dental do the job and mannerisms ended up major notch… Though it is pretty disturbing taking into consideration he was within my mouth though he was allegedly poisoning his spouse to loss of life.”
Angela was “a phenomenal female, outgoing, and the best mom you could consider,” the source shut to the loved ones advised The Everyday Beast. “She was incredibly supportive of her husband, even working in his practice for the duration of economical complications.”
Now, her cherished ones will have to endure a murder demo.
“There’s a great deal of grief,” the supply said, “and a good deal of anger.”
Investigators think there is more evidence implicating Craig in his wife’s murder, in accordance to the affidavit. He “ordered a number of poisons that were being not acknowledged to have been located throughout the searches of his home or business enterprise,” it suggests, noting, “James has not attempted to talk with police concerning what occurred with his wife but has produced statements that he experienced the answers to what took place. James has only regularly requested for his telephone again.”
In a statement, Aurora PD Division Main Mark Hildebrand stated: “When the suspicious particulars of this situation came to mild, our workforce of officers and homicide detectives tirelessly worked to uncover the truth powering the victim’s unexpected illness and death. It was speedily found this was in fact a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am really very pleased of our Significant Crimes Murder Unit’s really hard function in fixing this case and pursuing justice for the victim.”
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