Colorado dentist James Craig charged with plotting to kill detective in case of wife’s murder

A dentist is alleged to have poisoned his wife. Photo / 123RF

A Aurora, Colorado dentist who allegedly killed his wife with poisoned protein shakes has been charged with trying to plot the murder of a police detective investigating his case.

Prosecutors in Colorado’s 18th judicial district filed an amended complaint last week requesting to charge James Craig with solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury.

Craig, an inmate at the Arapahoe County Jail, allegedly tried to convince another inmate to kill a police detective investigating his case. The inmate declined, according to court documents.

Craig had been accused of trying to tamper with investigations by forging fake evidence. He allegedly gave an inmate a letter with instructions to make a fake video where his wife, Angela Craig, asks him for the poison herself. He also is accused of asking another inmate to forge journal entries to plant at the Craigs’ home to suggest that she killed herself.

Aurora police confirmed that Craig is accused of plotting to kill a police detective but declined the Washington Post’s request for comment.

“There’s nothing available that we can share, but I can tell you the reporting is accurate,” Aurora police spokesperson Matthew Longshore wrote in an email.

Craig has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife of 23 years. District Attorney John Kellner said at a July court hearing that before Angela Craig’s death, James Craig searched online for ways to poison his wife in a way that would make it look like an accident.

James Craig used potassium cyanide, prosecutors allege, which he told his practice he needed for a dental surgery. According to court documents, he added the poison to protein shakes that he made for her before their workouts together. Angela Craig, who died in March 2023, had a fatal amount of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline in her body, a coroner found.

An arrest affidavit from 2023 alleged that James Craig was “working on starting a new life” with someone else when his wife was sick.

Harvey Steinberg, James Craig’s lawyer, withdrew from the case on November 21, citing a professional conflict that prevented him from representing Craig. As of Friday, Craig does not have legal representation listed and his trial has been delayed indefinitely, according to court documents.