By Shane Galvin
The Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife with poisoned protein shakes is facing a new charge for allegedly attempting to orchestrate the murder of a detective who had been investigating her death.
While awaiting the start of his murder trial, Dr. James Craig, 45, attempted to enlist a fellow Arapahoe County inmate into killing an Aurora police detective, according to a court filing reviewed by local News9.
Authorities filed a solicitation to commit first-degree murder charge —- but declined to identify which officer was targeted by the deranged dentist.
A second new charge was filed last week.
Prosecutors also accuse Craig of attempting to conscript a former inmate into a scheme to plant exculpatory evidence in his home.
In a letter, Craig asked the ex-jailbird to plant phony suicide notes around his family home to make it appear that his wife, Angela, took her own life.
Craig offered free dental work to the former inmate’s mother in exchange for the dirty work.
That letter was returned to the jail due to having an incomplete address.
Craig faces a solicitation to commit a first-degree perjury charge stemming from that letter.
His lawyer resigned from the case, claiming the “client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement.”
Angela Craig died in May 2023 after consuming a lethal dose of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in Visine, according to an autopsy report from the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.
James Craig used an office computer to research and buy poisons online, including arsenic purchased from Amazon a few weeks before Angela’s death, according to Aurora Police.
The dentist has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder but has not pled to the new charges as they have not yet been accepted by the court.
Craig is due back in court on Dec. 16, where he is expected to present a new lawyer.
No new trial dates have been set.
