A man accused of murdering his wife allegedly spent weeks impersonating her ex-boyfriend before killing her, in an attempt to pin the blame on her old flame, according to a newly released arrest affidavit.
Daniel Krug, 43, is charged with first-degree murder – after deliberation, criminal impersonation, and two counts of stalking in the death of his wife, Kristil Krug, 43.
Kristil Reported Receiving Threatening, Explicit Messages from Her Ex-Boyfriend
An arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily Camera states that Broomfield police responded to reports of harassment from Kristil Krug, who believed she was receiving threatening and explicit messages from an ex-boyfriend.
Kristil Krug and her ex-boyfriend broke up in 2000 after dating for a little over a year. In the years since, she told officers that her ex contacted her at least four times, and messages included propositions for sexual encounters and rude comments. The affidavit stated that she did not previously report him because he stopped communications when she did not respond.
This year on Oct. 2, Kristil Krug received a text message that police now believe was from Daniel Krug posing as the ex-boyfriend. In the message, he offered to meet with Kristil Krug to "hook up." When she did not respond, an additional text on Oct. 3 insulted her and encouraged her to kill herself.
The 'Ex' Also Threatened to Kill Her Husband, Sent Her Photographic Evidence of Her Being Stalked
The affidavit states that Kristil Krug decided to open a case with the police Oct. 31 when she received an email that threatened her husband and included a photo of him exiting his car at his workplace.
From the time she filed the report to her death Dec. 14, Kristil Krug received eight more texts and emails from Daniel Krug posing as the ex-boyfriend, all containing explicit content and proposals, according to the affidavit. Two of the messages in early November implied that she was being stalked, one message correctly stated that her license plate tags were expired and another implied that the sender followed her to a dentist appointment on Nov. 9.
Another message on Nov. 13 threatened Daniel Krug, stating he didn't "deserve" or "satisfy" his wife, and that he could "save" her. The message quoted in the affidavit reads, in part, "U belong with me.,Ill get rid of him and then we can be together...they let me park and walk right into his (workplace)...Give me the signal and he wont come home."
After receiving this message, Glendale police officers were sent to Daniel Krug's workplace to ensure his safety, and Broomfield detectives checked on Kristil Krug as well and determined that they were both unharmed.
IP Address Traced to Daniel's Workplace
The affidavit states that around noon on Dec. 14, Daniel Krug contacted the police, saying he was concerned that he could not reach his wife. While performing a welfare check, police found Kristil Krug in the garage with a "substantial wound" near her right temple. Preliminary information from her autopsy shows that she sustained two or more blunt-force trauma wounds on the back of her head and one stab wound on the left side of her chest.
After Kristil Krug's death, police obtained the IP address behind the messages and found that it originated from a public Wi-Fi network at Daniel Krug's workplace, which his supervisor confirmed.
In addition, the Utah County Sheriff's office and data from license plate readers confirmed that the ex-boyfriend was near his residence in Utah at the time of Kristil Krug's death. Flight records obtained by police did not show the ex-boyfriend as a passenger on any commercial flights at the time.
While investigating, police also found that three of the Krug's four security cameras were offline at the time of Kristil Krug's death. The affidavit states that Daniel Krug could not provide an explanation for the cameras being offline.
Daniel was 'Rough with the Kids,' Kristil Had Photos of Injuries He Inflicted on Kids and Planned to Use it to Get Full Custody
The affidavit details a statement from Daniel Krug's mother-in-law, stating that Kristil and Daniel Krug were planning to get a divorce, and described their relationship as "not good." Also in the affidavit was a statement from Kristil Krug's stepmother in which she said the Krugs had "marital problems" and that Daniel Krug was "sometimes rough with the kids." She also stated that Kristil Krug planned to use a photo of injuries on one of the children's' arms to obtain full custody after the divorce.
Daniel Krug has been in custody since Dec. 16. The affidavit states that in an interview with police on the day of Kristil Krug's death, he denied killing his wife and having "anything to do with her death."
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help raise funds for the Krug children. As of Thursday afternoon, almost $45,000 had been donated.
