Colorado dentist’s doting wife stayed with him despite affair and sent texts describing her symptoms
A devoted wife stayed loyal to her porn-addicted Mormon dentist husband for years putting up with affairs, drug abuse and gambling problems as he ‘slowly poisoned her to death’, it is alleged.
Angela Craig, 43, was determined to work on her marriage to dentist James Craig despite his multiple infidelities and other issues in their relationship.
She raised her concerns with her sister over their 16-year relationship – saying several times that she would leave her husband – but he always managed to talk her round.
Craig, 45, had ‘run the dental office into the ground’ according to his wife, and the family’s financial situation was ‘dire’.
Heartbreaking messages show the mother-of-six complaining about how she feels ‘dizzy’ and ‘nauseous’ as she deteriorates in hospital from what cops say was poison put in her smoothies by James.
But Craig continues to tell her husband how much she loves him. He’s now been charged with her murder.
Angela Craig, 43, was determined to work on their marriage to dentist James Craig despite his multiple infidelities and other issues in their relationship. The couple are pictured together during a trip to London
Heartbreaking messages show the mother-of-six complaining about how she feels ‘dizzy’ and ‘nauseous’ as she deteriorates in hospital – but continues to tell her husband how much she loves him
The dentist sent his wife several loving messages, including telling her that he had written her a song, despite police saying he knew she was slowly being poisoned with potassium cyanide.
He was arrested in Aurora, Colorado, on Sunday, accused of killing his wife by poisoning her protein shakes, all the while conducting an affair with an orthodontist in Texas.
Messages revealed by police in an arrest affidavit show seemingly loving messages between the couple as social media photographs all show Angela showering her husband in kisses for loved-up snaps on their shared Facebook page.
While his wife deteriorated in hospital and was dealing with mystified doctors, Craig also flew his mistress over from Texas while simultaneously messaging his wife to say he ‘wished he could stay longer’ at the hospital with her.
Angela and Craig started discussing her strange symptoms via text on March 6, just a day after she returned from a short trip to visit her sister in Utah – where she was perfectly healthy.
Messages obtained by police show Craig thanking her for making his drink before he admits to giving her too many B vitamins in her protein shake.
She said: ‘You’re welcome baby, I love you too,’ before adding that her head feels ‘funny and dizzy’ and initially blaming it on caffeine.
The pair continue to chat about her feeling unwell, with Craig insisting that he will ‘come home’ from the surgery to care for his sick wife.
While his wife deteriorated in hospital and dealing with mystified doctors, Craig also flew his mistress over from Texas while simultaneously messaging his wife to say he ‘wished he could stay longer’
The couple made their marital home in Aurora, Colorado, with their six children aged eight to twenty. It is here where Craig is said to have poisoned his wife
Angela Craig was taken to the hospital on March 15. She died on March 19, after four days on life support
Angela then reassures her husband at 6.38am on March 7 that he doesn’t have to miss work – with her sister later telling police that their finances were dire and Craig’s dental surgery was being ‘run into the ground.’
She then questions if her illness is due to a ‘sinus infection’ before telling her husband: I’m not sure what you were expecting, I don’t think this is a sleep thing’.
He sent repeated declarations of love before flying in his mistress from March 8 to March 10 – with her arriving just two days after he is accused of administering the poison on March 6.
Writing to his wife after she complained of nausea, headaches, exhaustion and vomiting, he said: ‘I love you. It was so nice hanging out with you and just watching a show and snuggling.
‘I am so grateful that the last couple of days have allowed me to have more flexibility in my schedule.’
Angela then references ‘reliving the past’, which her sister told police was referring to an incident where Craig had drugged her previously – something he claimed was because he intended to take his own life and didn’t want her to stop him.
She then thanks him for checking on her repeatedly throughout March 8, before saying ‘I love you’ and apologizing for falling asleep on the sofa.’
James Toliver Craig was arrested for murder on Sunday after detectives discovered his wife Angela Craig, 43, had been fatally poisoned
Craig admitted to drugging Angela five or six years ago and referenced the incident in a text message to his wife while she is hospitalized
Angela and Craig started discussing her strange symptoms via text on March 6, just a day after she returned from a short trip to visit her sister in Utah – where she was perfectly healthy
The mother-of-six was then admitted to Parker Adventist Hospital on March 9, three days after she was initially seen and released. She was ultimately discharged on March 14 before her death the next day.
On March 10, the day his mistress left Colorado, Craig tells her to ‘get some rest finally’, to which she replies, ‘I love having you here I just don’t wanna wear you out. Trying to take care of everything at home and be here with me.’
He said: ‘I’m fine. It’s really busy and crazy but that’s always the case when you’re not around/ I want to be up there with you 24/7.’
It appears he then came back to the hospital to visit his wife, with her texting him at 9pm to say ‘Thank you for coming back. I miss you so much and it’s nice to have some time. I love you.’
Craig, hours after his mistress jumped on a plane to Texas, messages his wife at midnight to tell her that he ‘workup dreaming about making love’ to her.
On March 12 he offered to have her hooked up to an IV at home, offering to fill it with fluids from his office – with Angela initially refusing before saying, ‘we can see if it would make you feel better’.
She then asks Craig to bring her several personal items before going for more medical tests and texting her husband to say, ‘My brain is normal, so there!’ I hope you’re getting some sleep. I miss you.’
Angela Craig was taken to the hospital on March 15. She died on March 19, after four days on life support
Angela then references ‘reliving the past’, which her sister told police was referring to an incident where Craig had drugged her previously – something he claimed was because he intended to take his own life and didn’t want her to stop him
Craig, dressed up as the tooth fairy, had researched poison on his office computer before purchasing anything
Later in the evening she replied to a message from Craig which said ‘I want to be close to you’, saying ‘I love you too baby,! Thank you for handling so much. Maybe someone will figure me out tonight’.
The couple continue to discuss her symptoms, before she tells him the day before she returns home that she needs to makes sure she ‘doesn’t feel like vomiting’ before they sleep together.
In their final exchange before she suffered a seizure, Angela told her husband that she was ‘having trouble staying upright’ with him responding several times as she was already rushed to hospital after suffering a seizure.
When speaking to police Angela’s sister said that Craig had had ‘multiple affairs with several women’ and said he was ‘addicted to porn since he was a teenager.’
Angela also complained to her sister that during a recent trip to Las Vegas Craig had gambled away over $2,000 – despite the family struggling financially.
She was pronounced brain dead on March 18, twelve days after Craig is accused of poisoning her.
Craig would not allow hospital staff to conduct an autopsy, with family members urging him to allow the process in case the cause was ‘genetic’ and to see if it could prevented from passing down their family.
The couple continue to discuss her symptoms, before she tells him the day before she returns home that she needs to makes sure she ‘doesn’t feel like vomiting’ before they sleep together
He was a practicing dentist and part of the Summerbrook dental office in Colorado, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021
Craig’s internet history showed he placed an Amazon order for ‘Arsenic Metal 99.9999% Crystalline Metalloid 10 grams for Element Collection’ among other poisons he ordered online
But he denied the request, saying he felt ‘if they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her when she was alive then he wouldn’t let them poke her more when she was dead’.
According to the charging documents, Craig had researched poison on his office computer.
Search terms included: ‘how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human’; ‘Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy’; ‘Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play’; ‘how to make poison,’ and ‘The Top 10 Deadliest Plants (They Can Kill You).’
Craig ordered more poison, with a delivery of cyanide dispatched on March 13, and Angela accusing her husband of poisoning her when she was discharged on March 14.
He was reported to the authorities by one of his co-workers, who was suspicious about his behavior and the poison deliveries.
The affidavit said Craig planned to ‘end his wife’s life by searching for ways to kill someone undetected, providing her poisons that align with her hospitalized symptoms, and working on starting a new life with [his lover].’
The dentist allegedly ordered the arsenic online on February 27 and received a package at home on March 4.
Craig’s second package arrived at work on March 13 and when an employee opened the box she found a bio hazard sticker and a canister marked ‘Potassium Cyanide’.
She googled the chemical compound and realized the symptoms of cyanide poisoning was similar to the symptoms Angela was experiencing.
He ‘had multiple affairs with several women’ and told his wife he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager according to his arrest warrant
Many patients have come forward after Craig’s arrest to say that they were ‘ripped off’ by the dentist
Craig told investigators that his wife had been intentionally overdosing on opioids since had asked for a divorce in December 2022.
Police raided his home and business seizing protein powders, shakers, a computer tablet, phones and two Ziploc bags with powdery substances.
A data analysis of his devices revealed the chilling searches he had conducted online, including a $13 Amazon order for ‘Arsenic Metal 99.9999% Crystalline Metalloid 10 grams for Element Collection.’
When police combed through his email account [email protected] they found additional purchases of poison, according to the affidavit.
Craig and his practice, Summerbrook Dental, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021, according to court records.
The couple had been married for more than 20 years and were parents to six children – five girls and a boy – aged eight to 20.
In a 2021 press release, Craig described himself as ‘happily married’ to Angela.
The release went on to say that the pair ‘have six children, and they all enjoy the outdoors, especially camping, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, and mountain biking.
‘They also enjoy visiting theme parks and are often traveling to Disney, Universal, and Sea World.’
It noted as well, that James Craig volunteered with WE CAN HELP, an anti-bullying program sponsored by the Denver Police Department.
Poisoning is a rare method murder. According to studies, poisoning accounts for less than 0.5 percent of cases.