A Colorado man was charged with murder on Sunday after detectives discovered his wife was fatally poisoned, police said.
James Toliver Craig, 45, a dentist from Aurora, Colorado, drove his wife to the hospital last Wednesday, March 15.
Police Started Investigating After Hospital Reported Victim's Suspicious Death
At the time of her admission, Craig reported that his wife and the mother of his six children, Angela Craig, was having headaches and dizziness. Doctors removed her from life support early Sunday morning, police said.
"Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the wife's condition deteriorated rapidly, and she was placed on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. She was declared medically brain dead a short time later," Aurora police said.
Police said they were alerted after hospital stuff found the victim's "sudden illness and death" suspicious. Detectives from the Major Crimes Homicide Unit detectives launched an intensive investigation that revealed the 43-year-old was poisoned to death.
James Made Himself Scarce After Angela's Hospitalization
Angela started experiencing symptoms a couple of weeks ago and told family members about headaches and light-headedness.
She had been examined at the hospital at least twice before Wednesday morning, but her relatives thought it might be a sinus infection because she was susceptible to them. "One of her brothers who lives in Salt Lake went out to be with her," the person close to the family told The Daily Beast.
At that point, there was no reason to suspect foul play, but after Angela was admitted to the hospital again on Wednesday, her husband made himself scarce. "He has not been around the family much in the last few days," the source said. "That led to some suspicion."
In addition, they said, a "third party" went to police with some type of evidence that led police to suspect James was involved.
'A Calculated Murder'
"A warrant for first-degree murder was obtained early Sunday morning shortly after doctors made the decision to take the victim off life support," police said.
"It was quickly discovered this was in fact a heinous, complex and calculated murder," Division Chief Mark Hildebrand said. The motive behind the alleged murder is not yet known what poison was used or what the motive might be.
