When the defendant’s lawyer abruptly resigned, citing a conflict of interest, the jury selection process for the trial of a Colorado dentist who is accused of killing his wife by allegedly poisoning her protein drinks was stopped.
James Toliver Craig, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the passing of his wife, Angela Craig, 43. The 18th Judicial District counsel’s Office said on X that Harvey Steinberg, his former counsel, had withdrawn due to two provisions of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct.
One was when the client continued to use the lawyer’s services in a way that the lawyer reasonably believed to be illegal or dishonest, and the other was when the client insisted on doing something that the lawyer found offensive or with which the lawyer disagreed fundamentally.
Prosecutors said that after Craig refused to represent himself, the judge postponed the matter until an appearance of counsel hearing on December 16.
According to the Denver Post, Steinberg declined to comment on Thursday.
In March 2023, Angela Craig passed away. On March 15, 2023, James Craig was arrested a few days after his wife visited the hospital for the third time in nine days due to severe headaches, according to the Aurora Police Department.
According to investigators, the wife’s condition quickly worsened after she got to the hospital, and she was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. Shortly afterward, she was pronounced medically brain dead.
Locals were shocked to learn that their Summerbrook dentist had been charged with his wife’s suspected poisoning murder before more information regarding the state’s hypothesis of the case became available.
On his dental practice website, the dentist referred to himself and Angela as the delighted parents of six wonderful children, as Law&Crime reported at the time.
Authorities eventually claimed that Angela Craig’s husband was the main suspect, ordering potassium cyanide and arsenic through his dentistry practice, and that her odd illness and unexpected death were caused by poisoning.
According to an affidavit, James Craig may have been close to filing for bankruptcy and had been preparing a life with another woman in the weeks prior to his February 2023 Google searches for questions like “is arsenic detectable in autopsy” and “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?”
The search history provided YouTube searches for 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),’ the affidavit continued.
Starting on March 6, 2023, and continuing until her death on March 18, 2023, Angela Craig experienced symptoms that authorities concluded were traceable to the protein shakes her husband allegedly made for her.
An unnamed witness who knew the victim and spoke with her almost daily told investigators on March 17, 2023, that the Craigs marriage had always been tumultuous and that James Craig had multiple affairs with several women, plus a pornography addiction.
The witness also said that years prior, the guy had poisoned his wife.
Authorities said this must have been why James Craig texted his wife in March 2023, Given our history, I know that must be triggering. For the record, I didn’t give you any drugs.
Investigators said evidence showed the dentist appeared to have been carrying on a sexually intimate relationship with another woman he flew to Denver as the mother of his children was dying in the hospital. Craig was accused of trying to start a new life with the other woman.
Crime and Lawreported in Aprilthat while he was in jail, he was charged with a second offense for allegedly trying to get a family member and a second unidentified person to tamper with evidence.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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