CO - Angela Craig, 43, mother of 6, allegedly poisoned by cyanide in protein shake by dentist husband, Aurora, Mar 2023

[mickey2942]

The phone. Definitely. When a spouse is SO protective of their phone, something is up. And when they get text messages, and don't answer them in front of you.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/james-craig-aurora-dentist-poison-murder-trial/73-0ee2f399-b8a9-493f-821e-b349d7165d11

7/18/25

AURORA, Colo. — Debt payments related to James Craig's Aurora dental practice totaled $18,000 per month, and on Jan. 16, 2023, almost exactly two months before prosecutors allege that he murdered his wife Angela Craig, his partner sat him down and told him things needed to change, and he needed to travel less, work more and take a take a "drastic" pay cut.

[...]

Craig's business partner, Dr. Ryan Redfearn, took the stand in his trial late Friday and explained that he met James Craig in dental school. In 2022, when he and his brother started a Dental Service Organization, called Fit to Smile, to provide management services, they invited Craig to join.
Under the agreement, all the practices paid into a company bank account, and after all debts were paid, each practice received a percentage of the amount collected. Craig was initially set to get 35% but when they met in January 2023, Redfearn told Craig his take-home pay would be reduced to 28%.

"The $18,000 became a burden, and we needed him to take some of that on through a pay cut," Redfearn testified. He said that Craig took the news better than he expected.

 

[Izzylizzy]

How in the world could you fall asleep through THIS trial?!

Lauren is in the courtroom and does a nightly update.
She addressed the juror who was supposedly "dozing."
Constant objections and long drawn out sidebars.

@20:10

 

[Cindizzi]

 

[BUF]

I had read that girlfriend Karin Cain is expected to testify on Monday….we’ll see

 

[Seattle1]

What Craig did to his wife and family is a given, but today I'm also thinking about his patients. For many of us, this is typically a lifelong relationship! And it seems Craig was actually good at his craft-- especially implants. IMO, this makes it worse -- so many put their trust in him and believed they knew him. Betrayal and questioning your judgement can be difficult to overcome...

Continued peace & comfort for his family during these difficult weeks.

 

[cujenn81]

From yesterday

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946130718742220942

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946162438241394882

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946177489165803694

 

[cujenn81]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946203160420438449

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946221324344467515

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946221385832948070

 

[cujenn81]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946229639405351202

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946231367336882548

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946267288564343073

 

[cujenn81]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946319965436383411

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946319997531205817

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946338292963954838

 

[cujenn81]

Sorry for the multiple posts. I couldn’t figure out how to embed more than three tweets (or whatever they’re supposed to be called now) in one post. This is the last one.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1946349103358595087

 

[Tortoise]

I'm honestly surprised that doctors can't recognize a list of symptoms as poisoning, even if the patient is unaware they could have been exposed to a toxic substance.

It also happened in the Erin Patterson death cap mushroom poisoning case in Australia.

Timing is critical in administering antidotes to poisons, but even if it's too late to save a patient if there is such a mystery and no natural illness fits, it could mean there is a crime to investigate and bloodwork should be checked for poisons IMO.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

His texts to Angela were so predictable and fake. He doesn't know how to feel real remorse, empathy, or love and just says what he thinks he's supposed to say to string her along, clichė galore.

 

[mickey2942]

What Craig did to his wife and family is a given, but today I'm also thinking about his patients. For many of us, this is typically a lifelong relationship! And it seems Craig was actually good at his craft-- especially implants. IMO, this makes it worse -- so many put their trust in him and believed they knew him. Betrayal and questioning your judgement can be difficult to overcome...

Continued peace & comfort for his family during these difficult weeks.

Dental is a high need area in prison. I wonder if he will be utilized in that capacity. They usually just pull teeth.

 

[BUF]

Timeline in this article puts it all together.

March 8-9 he purchased 19 packages of eyedrops, 12 first day and another 7 the following day (confirmed by his credit card).

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/20/us/timeline-james-craig-colorado-poisoning-trial

 

[Seattle1]

Dental is a high need area in prison. I wonder if he will be utilized in that capacity. They usually just pull teeth.

I really doubt this since inmates can't be held to the same standards as licensed professionals-- it would also be like rewarding him if they recognized his craft. Craig is going to be nothing more than inmate #xyz. This would be akin to letting Alex Murdaugh practice law from behind bars!

Poor dental care has long been a complaint, especially in state prisons.

However, I think inmates fare better in federal prisons (Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976)).
For example, in Canon City -- home of the USP Florence ADMAX ( “Alcatraz of the Rockies”), I recall seeing more dental practices within a 3-mile radius than any other small town I've visited before. JMO

How poor dental care in prison makes reentry harder for formerly incarcerated people

After leaving prison, the consequences of missing treatment fall on those formerly incarcerated individuals, since so few dental care resources are available, adding more expenses, more stress and more challenges to an already difficult transition to life outside.

www.pbs.org

 

[pseudo_hum]

IMO, the system will force dentist Craig to treat dentist Adelson and Charlie to treat James and then see which one survives

 

[ch_13]

I'm honestly surprised that doctors can't recognize a list of symptoms as poisoning, even if the patient is unaware they could have been exposed to a toxic substance.

It also happened in the Erin Patterson death cap mushroom poisoning case in Australia.

Timing is critical in administering antidotes to poisons, but even if it's too late to save a patient if there is such a mystery and no natural illness fits, it could mean there is a crime to investigate and bloodwork should be checked for poisons IMO.

In Erin Patterson's case, her husband had already suspected poisoning even before the family got to the hospital. So, it wasn't a question of "if" but "what". The last meal they had eaten had mushrooms in it, and death cap toxin is singular, very few poisons attack the liver and kidneys in that way. Once they had lab tests showing the organs were failing, the doctors pretty much knew what EP had done to her victims.

In contrast, Angela's symptoms were dizziness, headaches, fainting and then a seizure when she was in the hospital. That could be almost anything: cancer, stroke, anemia, low blood sugar, and so on. She deteriorated so quickly, I doubt the doctors had sufficient time to work through all the potential diagnoses.

One thing though...based on their texts, it does seem like Angela suspected James had poisoned her. But it doesn't look like she ever shared that with anyone. I wonder why. Shame? Or maybe she couldn't quite believe her husband would do this to her?

 

[musicaljoke]

I'm honestly surprised that doctors can't recognize a list of symptoms as poisoning, even if the patient is unaware they could have been exposed to a toxic substance.

It also happened in the Erin Patterson death cap mushroom poisoning case in Australia.

Timing is critical in administering antidotes to poisons, but even if it's too late to save a patient if there is such a mystery and no natural illness fits, it could mean there is a crime to investigate and bloodwork should be checked for poisons IMO.

There isn't a broad spectrum blood test that does a general check for poisons. So it is much more difficult than just doing a blood test. The person asking for the test needs to request the poison they are testing. If they don't know what poison they are looking for, it can get very costly and take a lot of time. Of course, the other difficulty is that they are useful only if the toxins are in the blood. Some toxins don't stay in the blood very long. Some blood tests only detect families of toxins and not a specific toxin.

So blood tests are certainly helpful, but they aren't necessarily as useful as we might hope.

 

[Niner]

Monday July 21st:
*Trial continues (Day 5) (@ 8:30am MT) - CO - *Angela Dawn Pray Craig (43) poisoned (potassium cyanide) by husband & left her brain dead & taken off life support (arrived at hospital on Mar. 16, 2023) & died Mar. 18, 2023, Aurora. *James Toliver Craig (45/now 47) arrested (3/19/23), charged (3/23/23), formally charged (7/12/23) & arraigned (10/9/23) with 1st degree premeditated murder after deliberations & tampering with physical evidence. Amended charges (4/12/24): 1st degree murder (F1) & 2 counts of solicitation to commit with physical evidence [1 for an inmate & 1 for family member]. Added charges [11/21/24] solicitation to commit 1st degree murder [of Aurora Police Detective] & solicitation to commit perjury in the 1st degree. Held without bond. Bond set at $10M on 6/28/23. Plead not guilty (10/9/23 to murder & on 2/14/25 to Solicitation).
Added charges [4/11/25] with Solicitation to commit tampering with physical evidence. Arapahoe County
Jury selection began on 7/10/25 & ended on 7/14/25. Jury: 12 jurors & 3 alternates.
Trial began on 7/15/25 & goes through 8/1/25. All start @ 8:30am.
Judge Shay K. Whitaker presiding. Senior Chief Deputy DA Michael Mauro, Assistant DA Ryan Brackley & Deputy DA Osama Maagrebi. Defense attorneys Lisa Fine Moses & Ashley Whitham.
Case & Court info from 3/16/23 thru 7/3/25 & Jury Selection Day 1-3 [7/10-7/14/24] & Trial Day 1-3 (7/15-17/25) reference post #872 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...entist-husband-aurora-mar-2023.670769/page-44
7/18/25 Friday, Trial Day 4: State witnesses: Angel Amerine, former dental assistant to Craig. Aurora Homicide Detective Molly Harris [she worked extensively on the case & reviewed Google records related to the investigation]. {see post #883, page 45]. Dr. Ryan Redfearn, Craig's business parter. {see post #902, page 46]. Trial continues on Monday, 7/21/25.