Colorado Dentist Accused of Fatally Poisoning Wife Now Charged with Asking Fellow Inmate to Plant Letters to Make Wife Look Suicidal

James Toliver Craig
James Toliver Craig Facebook

The Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's protein shakes and trying to persuade his daughter to tamper with evidence against him has now been charged with asking a fellow inmate to plant letters he wrote to make it look like his wife committed suicide.

James Craig has already pleaded not guilty to killing his wife, Angela Craig, in March 2023 and trying to convince his adult daughter to cover up the crime.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office filed an amended complaint last month adding another tampering charge, but the complaint provided little information. This week, however, a judge heard testimony about the evidence and agreed to add the new charge, KMGH reported.

Craig Offered to Pay the Inmate's Bond or Give Him Free Dental Services in Exchange for Planting the Letters

In a hearing on Wednesday, Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson, the lead detective on the case, told the court that a fellow inmate of Olson's had contacted police and told them Olson had offered to pay his bond or give him free dental work in exchange for planting letters that made Angela Craig sound suicidal in his garage and truck.

Craig allegedly wrote the letters, but they were meant to appear that his wife had written them. Instead of accepting the offer, the inmate contacted police.

Craigs Attorney Claims Inmate Not a Credible Witness

Craig's defense attorney argued that the inmate, who wasn't named in court documents, wasn't a credible witness. However, the judge disagreed.

Angela Craig, a 43-year-old mother of six, died from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning. Tetrahydrozoline is found in over the counter eyedrops. A detective testified in a hearing after Craig's arrest that the dentist had searched online for "is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?" and "how to make murder look like a heart attack" a few weeks before his wife died.

Prosecutors say Craig was dealing with financial troubles and was having an affair around the time of his wife's death, as previously reported. His trial is set to begin on August 8.

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