Angela Craig became suddenly ill in March 2023 and her condition worsened without a clear medical reason. Events in her home and workplace soon raised concern and guided the investigation toward a criminal cause.
The Perfect Family Image
From the outside, the Craig family looked stable. They lived in Colorado, had six children, and appeared close-knit in photos and church life. Angela was known for being kind, creative, and involved with her community. James presented himself as a successful dentist with a steady family life.
Behind that public image, their situation was very different. Money had been disappearing, and his dental practice was falling apart. Debts were building up. During this period, James took secret trips to Las Vegas, spent what little they had left, and started messaging other women.
One woman in Texas believed he was divorced because of how he presented himself to her.
Angela noticed the change. She told her sister she felt trapped and that James was not the same person she had lived with for more than two decades.
While maintaining normal interactions at home, James was already looking up information about poisons and ways to end the marriage permanently. His research took place in the days leading up to Angela’s medical crisis.
Angela’s Sudden Illness
Angela became sick on March 6, 2023. Her condition was serious enough that she went to the hospital, but the tests showed nothing unusual, so she was sent home. Within a short time, she returned again, and this time she was worse.
Friends noticed the decline, and the medical staff could not find a medical explanation for what was happening.
Her symptoms progressed quickly over the next several days. This led to a third hospital visit within ten days. By March 15, she was struggling to breathe, and the situation had become critical.
The doctors still did not have a diagnosis, and there was no indication from her medical history that explained why she was deteriorating so fast.
Throughout these visits, James stayed close to Angela and presented himself as a worried husband. What was not known to anyone at the hospital was that he had recently researched poisons and had made her a protein shake shortly before her first collapse.
At this point, Angela’s decline appeared sudden and unexplained, but the signs she showed later matched cyanide exposure.
The Cyanide Package
During the period when Angela’s health was declining, a small package arrived at James Craig’s dental office on March 13. He had already told his office manager, Caitlyn, that a personal delivery was coming and that no one else should open it. When she went to collect it, she saw that the box had already been torn open. Inside, the label showed it contained potassium cyanide.
Caitlyn handed the resealed package to James. He did not explain why cyanide was delivered to a dental office. He took the box, wrapped it in brown paper, and left with it. Later, Caitlyn searched potassium cyanide online.
The information she found listed symptoms that matched what Angela had been experiencing headache, dizziness, nausea, and low blood pressure.
Around this time, James had mentioned making Angela a protein shake before her first hospital visit.
With the new information about the cyanide package, that detail no longer seemed routine. Caitlyn shared her concerns with James’s business partner, Ryan Redfern.
By March 15, as Angela arrived at the hospital for the third time and was barely breathing, Ryan and his wife received Caitlyn’s warning while driving to see Angela.
The combination of the cyanide package, the unexplained illness, and James’s unusual behavior at the office created immediate suspicion that something more serious was happening behind the scenes.
Investigation Breaks Open the Truth
When Ryan reached the hospital and saw Angela unresponsive, he pulled a nurse aside and told her they needed to test for poisoning. The hospital contacted authorities, and the environment shifted into a quiet crime-scene protocol.
Shortly after, Angela suffered a massive seizure and was moved to the ICU. She was pronounced brain dead on March 18 and taken off life support.
Investigators obtained warrants for James Craig’s devices and office equipment. His search history showed repeated research into poisons, including “How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?” and videos about “undetectable poisons.” He had created fake email accounts to purchase potassium cyanide and to look up additional toxic substances.
At the house, police found protein powder containers, shakers, and bags of white powder that later tested as toxic. Home security video captured James preparing shakes and adding substances to them.
There was also footage of Angela confronting him about how doctors were treating her, saying they acted like she was responsible for her own symptoms.
Evidence from the hospital showed another pattern. While staff were working in Angela’s room, James briefly stepped away into a nearby bathroom. A minute later he came out with what prosecutors said was a syringe containing the final dose of cyanide.
Investigators also uncovered messages between James and a woman in Texas named Karen. Their emails were romantic and included plans for future trips. Records showed he bought plane tickets for her during the same period he ordered the cyanide. Karen later told police she believed James was already separated.
Alongside this, Angela had three life insurance policies. Prosecutors identified this, along with the affair and financial problems, as elements of his motive. Interviews with family members brought out more history.
Angela’s sister told investigators that five or six years earlier, James had given Angela something harmful in another incident that was never medically documented.
All of this evidence formed a clear sequence preparation, repeated attempts, and a final act that led to Angela’s death.
The Verdict
James Craig was arrested within 24 hours of Angela’s death. He was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. His bond was set at $10 million, and his trial was scheduled for late 2024.
As investigators continued reviewing his actions, they discovered that even in jail he was trying to influence the case.
Prosecutors found that James attempted to bribe inmates to provide false testimony. He also tried to reach his cellmate’s ex-wife and offered money to find people who would claim Angela had planned to harm herself.
Another part of the investigation showed he discussed having Detective Olsen, the lead investigator, killed. In a letter from jail, he called Olsen “the worst, dirtiest detective in the world.” There was also evidence he had asked one of his daughters to destroy materials that could be used against him. She refused and later testified.
During the trial, prosecutors presented the full timeline the financial issues, the affair, the purchase of cyanide, the search history, the home footage, the protein shake evidence, and the series of actions at the hospital.
They argued that James planned the poisoning and carried it out step by step. The defense attempted to claim Angela had acted on her own because of stress caused by James’s infidelity, but there was no medical or personal evidence supporting that claim.
After two weeks of testimony, the jury found James Craig guilty of first-degree murder. At sentencing, the judge described the case as one of deliberate and sustained destruction. James showed no visible reaction. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
For Angela’s family, the verdict confirmed what the investigation had already shown behind a long marriage and a polished public image, James had been planning a deliberate and methodical killing while presenting himself as a supportive husband.
The case closed with a life sentence and a clear record of how the events unfolded.
