Colorado Mormon dentist appears in court charged with poisoning wife
Colorado Mormon dentist accused of poisoning his wife keeps his head bowed as he appears in court in shackles to be indicted in her murder
The Colorado dentist accused of murdering his wife by poisoning her protein shakes appeared in court this morning for the first time since his case shocked the United States.
James ‘Jim’ Craig kept his head down as he entered the courtroom, avoiding the glare of the many who had gathered to see him.
Among those in the courtroom were his parents, who were seated two rows behind him.
James ‘Jim’ Craig kept his head down as he entered the courtroom, avoiding the glare of the many who had gathered to see him.
![Colorado Mormon dentist appears in court charged with poisoning wife 2 Angela, Jim's wife, began feeling ill on March 6 and went to the hospital for help. She was sent home, but she continued to feel bad and she returned on March 15. Three days later, after suffering a seizure, she was taken off life support.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1679587126_235_Colorado-Mormon-dentist-appears-in-court-charged-with-poisoning-wife.jpg)
Angela, Jim’s wife, began feeling ill on March 6 and went to the hospital for help. She was sent home, but she continued to feel bad and she returned on March 15. Three days later, after suffering a seizure, she was taken off life support.
The hearing was brief, about 10 minutes, and concluded with his next court date set for April 7.
Craig is accused of poisoning his wife, Angela, by putting arsenic and potassium cyanide in her protein shakes.
She started feeling sick on March 6 and went to the hospital with a headache and nausea, but the doctors couldn’t find the cause of her illness, so she was sent home.
He returned to the hospital on March 15 and deteriorated rapidly, suffering a seizure and finally dying on March 18.
Prosecutors say Craig wanted to establish a new life with a mistress in Texas, even flying her to Colorado to be with him while his wife received hospital treatment.
![Colorado Mormon dentist appears in court charged with poisoning wife 4 Craig is taken to Arapahoe District Court Thursday to face first-degree murder charges.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1679587148_802_Colorado-Mormon-dentist-appears-in-court-charged-with-poisoning-wife.jpg)
Craig is taken to Arapahoe District Court Thursday to face first-degree murder charges.
![Colorado Mormon dentist appears in court charged with poisoning wife 6 The 45-year-old man was silent as he entered, chained at his feet and handcuffed.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1679587170_47_Colorado-Mormon-dentist-appears-in-court-charged-with-poisoning-wife.jpg)
The 45-year-old man was silent as he entered, chained at his feet and handcuffed.
Disturbing text messages included in his arrest affidavit also show Craig telling his wife that he loved her and asking her about her condition in the days before he died.
The affidavit also revealed that he drugged her once before, about “five or six years ago,” according to Angela’s sister.
In that case, he told her that he wanted her knocked out so he couldn’t intervene in her suicide attempt.
The Mormon couple have six children and seemed to have a “perfect life” which Angela proudly displayed on her shared social media account.
Behind closed doors, Jim had run the dental practice ‘down to the ground’ and spent his personal savings gambling, Angela’s sister told police.
He was arrested after his colleagues went to the police to report their suspicion that he had poisoned his wife.
They said how they intercepted a delivery of potassium cyanide to the office earlier in the week that she began to feel sick.
He has not yet responded to the accusations.