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Narrator/Host
This show is supported by Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast. Meet Candace, mother of two, nurse, CEO.
Interviewer/Reporter
And founder of multi million dollar companies.
Narrator/Host
Candace went from being a stay at home mom to making millions, traveling the world and saving lives. There was just one problem. Was it all a lie or was it all true?
Interviewer/Reporter
It turns out the truth might be even harder to believe.
Narrator/Host
From the creator of Scamanda. This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced produced by Seven Hills Apple TV plus subscribers get special early access to the entire season. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. There's something weird going on here though. You are working on a case about a murder that hasn't happened yet. How it started before the murder trial of the season.
Interviewer/Reporter
A seemingly healthy female that was brought into the ER that was potentially now brain dead. It's like we entered the Twilight Zone.
Detective/Investigator
There's an investigation going on right now.
Narrator/Host
The package comes right to this desk. But it's like a Pandora's box because when it's opened, it sets off a chain of events, changes everything and the.
Detective/Investigator
House of cards come crashing down, including.
Narrator/Host
On this woman who's speaking out only to 20, 20, 20. And so in the space of about 24 hours, you go from being complete strangers to basically being a couple.
Interviewer/Reporter
I didn't know a lot about this guy. Right.
Narrator/Host
The gates of hell had just been opened in front of you.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah.
Narrator/Host
University Hospital, Aurora, Colorado. What you're seeing are the last moments of Angela Craig. She's a healthy mother of six and she's being rushed into the emergency room with these mysterious symptoms. In only hours. She's going to crash with very few clues as to why.
Interviewer/Reporter
It just gives you goosebumps, it hits you in your core. She doesn't look herself and it breaks your heart knowing that these are her final hours. These are her final minutes.
Narrator/Host
And so you're watching the slow motion murder happen in real time and you have to try to stop it.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes. Yeah.
Narrator/Host
Family, friends and authorities at this point are just desperately trying to piece together what has happened here.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'm going to tell you something and it's going to sound really insane. Maybe I watch any crime shows and maybe I shouldn't even say this.
Detective/Investigator
The Roar Homicide unit and I was wondering if you have a minute to.
Narrator/Host
Speak with me, what is the motive? Is it money?
Detective/Investigator
Was it somebody snapping spur of the moment.
Narrator/Host
Do you have any idea what you were actually getting into here?
Detective/Investigator
There was no way of knowing because it just kept changing. It kept getting more stunning, more crazy.
Narrator/Host
It begins 21 days earlier and over the course of those 21 days, trust will be broken, lies will be told, and it will end with Angela Craig's murder. It's February of 2023, and James Craig is heading home after presenting at this high profile dental convention in Las Vegas, while his wife Angela is about to visit her older sister in Utah. Now, Angela's from this very tight knit family. She's the youngest of 10 siblings and incredibly close to all of them. And what should have been a pleasant break from the Craig's routine will set off a stunning chain of events. James and Angela Craig have been married for 23 years. They've got six kids ranging in age from 8 to 23. And the younger four still live at home. And the Craigs have lots of close friends they've made over the years, including their neighbors who moved from South Africa. And they became like family.
Interviewer/Reporter
From the beginning, we really just, we just loved them. We always made the joke if something happened to us, we're moving in the basement with them because we always felt like they had our back.
Narrator/Host
James and Angela live in Aurora, Colorado, which is just outside of Denver.
Detective/Investigator
Aurora is basically a suburb of Denver. You know, you cross one street, you're going from Denver to Aurora. It's the third largest city in Colorado.
Narrator/Host
The Craigs house is part of this community of like, pretty big homes. It's a really lovely neighborhood with a.
Interviewer/Reporter
Lot of wealth on the whole street. Like, everyone knew that house. They just opened the garage and it's like a train station all day.
Narrator/Host
Just people coming and going, grabbing a bite to eat, leaving, hanging out.
Interviewer/Reporter
Mostly kids, just. Yeah, just all the street kids. We were always there.
Narrator/Host
James and Angela have a relationship that many people admire. They even post photos together on their joint Facebook account. And friends say that his sense of humor and her quick wit were just this perfect blend.
Interviewer/Reporter
A lot of people looked up to their marriage and they made it seem fun raising six kids together in a crazy house. Jim and Ange were very affectionate with each other in a way that I actually thought was really cute. Public displays of affection at that age, that long into a marriage I thought actually was very refreshing.
Narrator/Host
James and Angela are very active in the Mormon church.
Interviewer/Reporter
They attend church, they pray together as a family. They study their scriptures together as a family. They actually serve in their local congregation. And James Craig was the Elders Quorum president. And that's a big deal. You're making sure that men are taken care of, that their families are taken care of. It's a big responsibility and a very.
Narrator/Host
Respected leadership position besides faith, Angela's other true calling is motherhood.
Interviewer/Reporter
Her whole life revolved around her kids, 100%.
Narrator/Host
She had six children that she was caring for. She sounds like a super mom.
Interviewer/Reporter
She definitely did. I always looked up to her. If I needed some mom advice, I would always. I would reach out to her. She was like, very witty and comments, like, even to the kids, like, I think one of her biggest sayings was like, I love your stinking guts. Like, she just said that all the time.
Narrator/Host
While Angela runs the home, James Craig is the provider. Now. James is actually Dr. James Craig, and he runs Summerbrook Dental Group, a practice he's owned for 17 years and which he promotes online. My approach to dentistry begins with sincerely.
Interviewer/Reporter
Listening to the patient and wanting to find out more about where they're coming from and what they're looking for and what they want.
Narrator/Host
I also have a very strong philosophy that a happy team makes happy patients.
Detective/Investigator
Jim Craig was my dentist for the better part of a decade and did his advertising. When I was a radio newsman. I remember talking about, you know, trying to convince a radio audience, if you need a dentist, go see my friend, my dentist, Dr. Jim Craig.
Interviewer/Reporter
He's excellent for a dentist. He has a great smile. It's his best calling card, right? When he smiled, it was his whole body that smiled. I mean, he leaned in for it. He giggled a lot. He just was very charismatic. He could get you to like him in two seconds. He really was a positive guy.
Narrator/Host
On Summerbrook Dental's Facebook page, the team would post snippets of the levity of daily life at the practice. It was always front and center, including when James dressed up as the tooth fairy.
Interviewer/Reporter
And here's the tooth fairy.
Narrator/Host
I think you need a tooth extracted.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'm here to do the work.
Narrator/Host
In 2022, Dr. James Craig partners with Dr. Ryan Redfern, his longtime friend and fellow dentist who had gone to dental school with Jim.
Detective/Investigator
Was extremely busy. Had a lot of irons in the fire, but seemed to handle them very well. I thought that he was one of the smartest people I've ever met.
Narrator/Host
And fellow dentists are drawn to work at the practice because he's on the cutting edge of dental technology.
Interviewer/Reporter
I couldn't believe all the cool stuff that he was doing at the office, all the exciting technology, things that really were a dream for a newer dentist.
Narrator/Host
And it's pretty financially lucrative as well.
Interviewer/Reporter
He had a very large house. He was going on these lavish vacations with his family. I was like, wow, this guy has been very successful financially for a Very long time.
Narrator/Host
James Craig is heading home to Angela and his kids from this dental convention in Las Vegas.
Interviewer/Reporter
It was just another convention that he went to. So many of them that he just. I'm going to go train here and I'm going to go teach here. I'm going to go speak here.
Narrator/Host
But this convention is different. A countdown begins. Angela has 21 days left to live. And someone who attends that convention will unknowingly hold some of the clues as to what happens to Angela.
Interviewer/Reporter
It's pretty terrible.
Narrator/Host
James and Angela Craig together, together again in their million dollar home. Remember he'd been at that dental convention in Las Vegas. She was visiting family in Utah. Now it's back to their routine, recorded on their security cameras. What do you see in the video?
Detective/Investigator
They're being a loving couple, you know, normal husband and wife, normal mom and dad to their kids that are running around the house. They're doing dishes, they're making protein drinks. They drank a lot of protein drinks in that family. That was like a thing for them. Everybody's mixing up protein drinks.
Narrator/Host
What is not seen on camera? The calendar of a crime. Precious time is ticking away. From 21 days to murder, Angela Craig now has just 12 days to live. Can you describe the last days of Angela's life?
Detective/Investigator
It begins on the morning of March 6th. Angela woke up and she did a really hard workout on her bike.
Interviewer/Reporter
She rode her indoor bicycle, was very athletic, always drinking her protein shakes or workout smoothies. And she starts to feel sick. She's not sure what's happening. She doesn't feel like herself.
Detective/Investigator
At some point in the morning, Angela texts James Craig and says, says, I worked out, I drank the smoothie and I'm not feeling well, I'm feeling dizzy, I'm feeling off.
Interviewer/Reporter
Caitlin, the office manager, he came up to her and said, I just got a call from Angie. She's not feeling well. Her blood pressure, she's saying that her blood pressure is high.
Narrator/Host
Dr. Craig, still in his scrubs, races home and rushes Angela to the hospital.
Detective/Investigator
The symptoms are, you know, severe headaches, she's got nausea, she can't focus. Extremely sick.
Narrator/Host
Even after a battery of tests, Angela and her doctors are baffled. So this is not just a personal medical mystery. Medical professionals also couldn't figure it out.
Detective/Investigator
Correct. She was confused about what was happening to her. Medical professionals were confused about what was happening, happening to her.
Narrator/Host
Doctors finally diagnosed fatigue and elevated blood sugar.
Interviewer/Reporter
And Angela's released and she is desperately searching for why she is so sick. She was searching, I believe we were presented with 40 different searches from her phone alone that were all related to dizziness, being lightheaded, feeling very heavy.
Narrator/Host
When did you first learn that she had been feeling ill?
Interviewer/Reporter
He texted me telling me that Angela's having this weird medical thingy, he called it. I thought, well, it's just probably a virus. There was no indication of the seriousness of it.
Narrator/Host
The next day, there's Angela. You can see she's supported by one of her daughters on her way to an urgent career. Then just days after that, another emergency. And there's Angela again, slumped on the counter as her daughter calls 911.
Interviewer/Reporter
911. What's the address to the emergency? I'm at home with my mom right now. She's been feeling a little sick for the past couple days.
Narrator/Host
She's thrown up, and she's thrown up a lot.
Interviewer/Reporter
And she's worried that she's gonna crash and pass out. She doesn't think she could make it to the car so we can get.
Narrator/Host
To the hospital earlier that day. And this is hard to watch. After passing out, Angela crawling on hands and knees.
Detective/Investigator
She's so, so sick. She's so sick.
Interviewer/Reporter
Once again, she goes to the ER desperate for answers. This time, she is admitted because her symptoms are so much worse.
Detective/Investigator
She's feeling horrible, and no one can figure out what the hell's going on with her. Somebody knew. Someone knew.
Interviewer/Reporter
Angela ends up being in the hospital for five days, and James is coming over every evening after work and taking care of the children. He's bringing her food.
Narrator/Host
Angela Craig is strong, though, and she recovers enough to be released. And she's looking forward to a return to normal life with her husband and. And kids, never knowing that now she has only four days to live. She thanks him at one point for taking such good care of her.
Interviewer/Reporter
Thank you for essentially carving out time for me. I know that you're holding the fort down, you know, at home and doing all these other things, but I really appreciate it.
Narrator/Host
Angela Craig has just three days to.
Interviewer/Reporter
Live, and then, boom, sick again. And new symptoms and different symptoms.
Narrator/Host
And in the vein of trying to care for her, Jim Craig is saying, why don't we give you clindamycin?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. So originally, they potentially thought that she had a sinus infection. And so as a dentist, he can prescribe antibiotics. Clindamycin, a medication meant to treat sinus infections, among other things, and something that James Craig had prescribed to his wife, Angela Craig.
Narrator/Host
Dr. Craig reminds Angela's brother Mark Prey to give. Give Angela her medicine.
Interviewer/Reporter
He gives her two of those capsules in the morning. And around 20 minutes later, Angela Craig is saying she can't hold herself up anymore. So Mark pray, Angela's brother rushes her to the hospital.
Detective/Investigator
She ends up going to University Hospital and checking in and never checking out.
Interviewer/Reporter
By 2:00 clock that afternoon, Angela has deteriorated. Her organs are failing. She's put on life support. She is intubated. One of their daughters just called and she was just crying and she just said, the doctors are saying that my mom's not going to make it. And I was like, what? Like, what do you mean?
Narrator/Host
And people start to wonder, how did things go so wrong? Because you know, there's nothing more contagious than a bad case of suspicion.
Interviewer/Reporter
You're getting ready to accuse somebody the.
Narrator/Host
Moment you say something.
Detective/Investigator
Pandora's box is opened.
Narrator/Host
This show is supported by Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast. Meet Candice, mother of two, nurse, CEO and founder of multi million dollar companies. Candace went from being a stay at home mom to making millions, traveling the world and saving lives. There was just one problem. Was it all a lie or was it all true?
Interviewer/Reporter
It turns out the truth might be even harder to believe.
Narrator/Host
From the creator of Scamanda. This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills. Apple TV subscribers get special early access to the entire season. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.
Interviewer/Reporter
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Narrator/Host
Angela Craig is running out of time. She's dying right before her doctor's eyes. And the cause of her illness is still unknown until one extraordinary day. This day, this March 15th day, it's.
Interviewer/Reporter
Like we entered the Twilight Zone.
Detective/Investigator
Yeah, that's a weird day.
Interviewer/Reporter
It's a crazy day.
Narrator/Host
James Craig alerts their business partners and their longtime friends, Ryan and Michelle Redfern.
Interviewer/Reporter
And when he basically conveyed that she was not looking good, I said, would you like us to come to the hospital?
Narrator/Host
Not looking good as in she might die.
Interviewer/Reporter
She might die. Yes.
Narrator/Host
And Michelle, when you're driving to the hospital, you get a call from Jackie Calderon, the operations manager.
Interviewer/Reporter
She called and she said that she had Caitlyn on The phone. And Caitlin was pretty upset that she had opened a package on Monday. And I said, what was in the package?
Narrator/Host
This is Dr. Craig's office. We got access to where he actually practiced dentistry. And offices like this, they get a lot of packages. And on March 13, 2023, a package comes right to this desk. But it's like a Pandora's box, because when it's opened, it sets off a chain of events, changes everything.
Interviewer/Reporter
The package itself, out of the box, it was about this big, and it was like a thick foil, and it was sealed shut.
Narrator/Host
Office manager Caitlin Romero will later tell detectives that while his wife is fighting for her life, Dr. Craig is anxiously awaiting a special delivery.
Interviewer/Reporter
He said, I'm going to have a personal package delivered to the office. So. And he had asked me multiple times about it during the wait. Did my package come in?
Narrator/Host
Dr. Craig's package does come in, but an employee opens it, and Caitlin Romero takes a look and says, huh?
Interviewer/Reporter
I saw that it said potassium cyanide. And so I closed the box back up. I gave it to him.
Narrator/Host
Two days later, she tells her boss about it, Operations manager Jackie Calderon.
Interviewer/Reporter
I called Jackie, and I told her, I'm gonna tell you something, and it's gonna sound really insane. And I said, no. Are you sure it wasn't potassium chloride? Was he ordering salt? She goes, no, it was potassium cyanide. She goes, I didn't know what that was. This. The next day, I looked it up. Kind of was looking at the side effects from that. And that was everything that his wife was going through. All the symptoms match exactly what's wrong with Angie.
Narrator/Host
And so Jackie and Caitlin get on a call immediately with Michelle and Ryan Redfer.
Interviewer/Reporter
And she said it was potassium cyanide. And my gut dropped.
Narrator/Host
Is there any medical need in dentistry for potassium cyanide?
Detective/Investigator
Absolutely not.
Narrator/Host
It's poison.
Detective/Investigator
It's poison.
Interviewer/Reporter
And he goes, caitlyn, are you sure that is what you saw? And she said, yes.
Detective/Investigator
And I said, well, I'm going to tell somebody. I have to.
Narrator/Host
Is there a thought in your mind right now that if you don't intervene quickly enough, that Angela could die?
Detective/Investigator
I felt like she was alive and fighting for her life.
Narrator/Host
And time is of the essence.
Detective/Investigator
And time is of the essence.
Interviewer/Reporter
Ryan had to make a couple of really quick decisions here. He had to decide whether this information was important enough to tell the hospital. And he also had to face the really hard realization that his business partner and friend may be the reason that Angela is in the hospital fighting for her life. You're Getting ready to accuse somebody of killing their wife.
Narrator/Host
The moment you say something to an official at the hospital, Pandora's box is opened. Pandora's box is open.
Detective/Investigator
Nothing's ever the same, whether it's true or not.
Interviewer/Reporter
Hoping you're wrong, but knowing that, regardless, life just changed. Jim was our friend. I liked him. He was a great guy. He was funny. And we were gonna. We were gonna lose both of them.
Narrator/Host
And the first person Ryan sees at the hospital, James Craig.
Detective/Investigator
And all of a sudden, I heard my name, and I look up, and it's Jim. And we embrace, and he cries. I cry with him. And he says, it doesn't look good. She might die tonight, is what he said to me.
Narrator/Host
Inside the hospital, in a dark hallway, Ryan flags down a nurse.
Detective/Investigator
I said, I received some news on the way to the hospital here that I just got, like, 30 minutes ago.
Narrator/Host
And I'm not accusing anyone of anything.
Detective/Investigator
I don't even know how to say this. I'm not saying he did or didn't, but it's possible that she is a victim of potassium cyanide poisoning.
Narrator/Host
And what happens?
Detective/Investigator
I went back out to the waiting.
Narrator/Host
Room as if nothing happened.
Detective/Investigator
As if nothing happened.
Narrator/Host
And Jim is right there. And Jim's right there.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. At that point, we're seeing security running down the hall. They're entering the icu. Security is now in the waiting room. You're beginning to see the hospital's response. People are kind of running around. And so Ryan says, I think it's time for us to leave. So they walked out to their car. They both went into Michelle's car. And Jim called Ryan. Right away, Jim calls Ryan. I've heard some disturbing news.
Detective/Investigator
And I said, yeah, Jim. And I said, yeah. I said, you had a package delivered to the office. What was in the package, Jim? He was like, well, it was, if you have to know, it was a ring for Angie. And I said, no, Jim, it wasn't a ring. And I said, what do you need potassium cyanide for, Jim? And he was just like, oh, Ryan, what have you done?
Interviewer/Reporter
Oh, Ryan, what have you done? And then he immediately said, I bought it. Yeah. And I thought.
Detective/Investigator
I said, yeah, I bought it.
Interviewer/Reporter
Well, now there's no doubt.
Detective/Investigator
At the end, near the end, I said, jen, stop talking and get a lawyer. Stop talking and get a lawyer. You're gonna need one.
Interviewer/Reporter
So the hospital calls. Yeah. Their forensic nursing staff calls us.
Detective/Investigator
Aurora police detectives are at University Hospital. And the house of cards come crashing down.
Narrator/Host
Now. A pair of Aurora detectives is on the case. They're armed with search warrants, and they are determined to get to the bottom of what's killing Angela Craig. In the case of Angela Craig, there was a time for doctors. Now it's a time for detective detectives. In the five years you've been doing homicide, you've probably seen shootings, right? Probably stabbings.
Interviewer/Reporter
Oh, yes. Yep.
Narrator/Host
How about poisoning?
Interviewer/Reporter
No, this is our first poisoning. We get to the Aurora police station.
Detective/Investigator
And we're there for hours, hours, hours and hours.
Narrator/Host
We're finally releasing about 4am About 4am after a few hours of sleep, Michelle and Ryan Redfern wake up to a text message from their good friend James Crank. You wake up to this text.
Interviewer/Reporter
He's reading it to her.
Detective/Investigator
I'm reading it to her. I am very, very mad at you. And now what you thought was responsible has become reckless and so, so destructive.
Narrator/Host
It still angers you to read this today?
Detective/Investigator
It does. And so I'm asking if there was ever any love in your heart for me, please don't make this any worse by talking to any officers or anyone else about this. My response was forward to Bobby Joe Olson immediately. That's what I did.
Narrator/Host
Strange as it sounds, Angela Craig's death investigation is well underway, even though she is still alive. Although the end is near, there's an.
Detective/Investigator
Investigation going on right now. So it's a crime scene.
Narrator/Host
Family and friends gather at the Craig home.
Interviewer/Reporter
It was a cold evening, and I remember it had just started, like, snowing, and we pulled up there and there was a lot of police activity.
Narrator/Host
We're supposed to come out here and.
Detective/Investigator
Sit on this address and not let anybody else in.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay.
Narrator/Host
Officers, allow the family dogs to leave.
Interviewer/Reporter
You guys want to take the dogs or something? That's fine.
Detective/Investigator
You can take the dogs.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay.
Narrator/Host
Then Dr. Craig arrives.
Detective/Investigator
Say, Brian, we got the husband right here.
Interviewer/Reporter
Craig. Yeah.
Narrator/Host
Jim Craig.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay. So he's just. Craig is the last name.
Detective/Investigator
So we've been directed by our detectives.
Interviewer/Reporter
That nobody's allowed back inside the house. Okay.
Narrator/Host
So it's basically a death investigation right now.
Interviewer/Reporter
Wow.
Narrator/Host
Yeah.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay.
Narrator/Host
Detectives send word that they'd like Dr. Craig to come down to headquarters.
Detective/Investigator
We'd like you to go to headquarters and talk tonight.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. Okay.
Detective/Investigator
If I get down there, I'm not.
Narrator/Host
Gonna want to answer any questions.
Detective/Investigator
I'm gonna probably lawyer up. So you don't want to go down there right now.
Interviewer/Reporter
I don't want to now. Okay.
Detective/Investigator
Yeah.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay. So you're free to go.
Narrator/Host
And at this point, detectives Bobby Olson and Molly Harris are working round the clock.
Interviewer/Reporter
We did not go home. I mean, this was again, sleeping under a desk, taking 15 minute naps, like power naps. And waking up and going.
Narrator/Host
Next morning, it's time for an unscheduled dentist appointment with Dr. Craig, who's staying at a friend's house.
Detective/Investigator
It's freezing out here.
Narrator/Host
Yeah.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'm Detective Olson, this is Detective Gras. Okay, I guess we're coming to, I guess talk to you or kind of see if you want to talk to us. Okay. Is that something you're interested in?
Detective/Investigator
No.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay. And that's fine. So we have a search warrant, basically for your cell phone, Angela's cell phone, your wallet and. Or your laptop. Okay. And yeah, that was our first interaction. March 16th at about 8:30 in the morning.
Narrator/Host
What'd you make of him?
Interviewer/Reporter
He was scared out of his mind.
Narrator/Host
So am I a suspect in something right now then?
Detective/Investigator
So here's where we're at.
Narrator/Host
There are questions. Yeah, and I have, based on what we've heard.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. Well, my understanding is you wanted to talk to an attorney before you talk to us. Yeah.
Detective/Investigator
Perfectly within your rights, and I totally get it.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. But we do have those questions. Right? So.
Detective/Investigator
Until they're answered, it's hard to say yes or no to what you just asked me.
Interviewer/Reporter
Am I a suspect or not? Well, I guess it kind of depends.
Narrator/Host
And the next stop is a search of the Craig family home. All right, so this is the house. And do you have any idea what you're looking for?
Interviewer/Reporter
We still don't. Right. Like, all we know is the potassium cyanide was delivered to the dental office.
Narrator/Host
Visitors to the Craig family home are greeted with that inscription, welcome to our happily ever after.
Interviewer/Reporter
We did find some medications related to Angela Craig. We did find numerous powders, if you will. But you know, we were really looking for any and everything without the knowledge of what exactly the consistency was of those potential poisons. Yeah, we didn't even know what a cyanide looked like.
Narrator/Host
They don't find a smoking gun, but still their suspicion begins to throb like a toothache when investigators find a text message. Dr. Craig said, Angela when she first got sick.
Detective/Investigator
This is very early on in her illness. And she's telling him, I feel drugged. And his response is, well, given our history, I can see how that would be triggering. Just for the record, I didn't drug you.
Narrator/Host
So he has a history of drugging her?
Detective/Investigator
As far as we know, in 2018, he sedated Angela without her knowledge or consent. And he says he did so because he wanted to take his own life and he didn't want her to interfere.
Narrator/Host
Vivian Fandomarva and her daughters Jessica and Tama say they got a glimpse of something strange when they went to comfort the Craig family. Dr. Craig was leading everyone in a prayer.
Interviewer/Reporter
He was basically like yelling and he was like so red in the face and just so, just like animated about it. And he was just screaming that, like, he will see Angela in heaven again and all sins are forgiven. It wasn't a prayer about her, but almost just like about his salvation and that it doesn't matter what sins we've done, he will still make it into heaven and he'll be with her again. He was demanding his salvation.
Narrator/Host
He was demanding his salvation.
Interviewer/Reporter
I think that's when we saw a gem that we never knew. We walked away in absolute shock.
Narrator/Host
And then the end of 21 horrible days. The clock stops. The death investigation now has a death. Angela Craig is gone. When is Angela officially pronounced dead?
Interviewer/Reporter
March 18. Family members had told us that he had called them and said that he did not want an autopsy because if they couldn't figure out what had happened to her when she was alive, he did not want them poking and prodding when she was dead. Fortunately, James didn't get to make that decision.
Narrator/Host
This is a homicide investigation and there is going to be an autopsy. Now, what that autopsy and the investigation turn up next is enough to turn your stomach.
Detective/Investigator
Arsenic, potassium cyanide. They're drugs out of, you know, some dime store novel or, you know, murder mystery from 100 plus years ago.
Narrator/Host
But proving Dr. Craig is the poisoner, that's another matter. Detectives binge on endless hours of Craig family security video. What will they find?
Interviewer/Reporter
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Narrator/Host
Okay, so we're talking about like a medical plaza. This is not just a standalone dental clinic.
Interviewer/Reporter
No, that's correct. And then they're up on the. That third floor. Do you see the.
Narrator/Host
I do. I see the dental chairs and the apparatus. The dental office of Dr. James Craig in Aurora, Colorado. Scenes of cavities, root canals, countless cleanings.
Interviewer/Reporter
No problem.
Narrator/Host
Really appreciate it.
Detective/Investigator
Thank you.
Narrator/Host
And now a search for evidence in Angela Craig's unexpected illness and untimely death.
Detective/Investigator
You have seen the office manager, Caitlin Romero, who really is one of the major heroes of this whole story, because without her, there's a chance that the. This goes undetected. I know that there's been some concerning observations that you guys had in the practice itself as it relates to Jane. She told us about how on March 6th in the evening, she was locking up. She thought she was the only employee there.
Narrator/Host
We got exclusive access to the dental office at the very center of this case. And so we can show you exactly, exactly what Caitlin Romero saw that night. Right here, she noticed in Exam room number nine, Dr. James Craig sitting at a computer here.
Interviewer/Reporter
He was sitting in there, and he was sitting in the dark. The light was off, and he was on the computer in there.
Narrator/Host
This was really unusual because typically Dr. Craig did not stay late. And if he were working on a computer, it would be on a laptop in his office.
Interviewer/Reporter
And he said that he had gotten, like, his wife home and situated and it had been a stressful day and he just needed a break, which is why he came back to the office.
Narrator/Host
So what was he doing there in Exam room number nine?
Detective/Investigator
One of the first searches that he does is how to make murder look like a heart attack. There are hundreds of searches about poisons. And he read a lot of news articles about other poisonings.
Interviewer/Reporter
Cyanide, oleander, arsenic, tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in eye drops.
Detective/Investigator
He's trying to cover his tracks. He doesn't think anybody's ever going to look at exam room number nine's computer.
Narrator/Host
Also on that computer, according to police, evidence of a poison shopping spree. And the arsenic is in the mail and it's captured on home security video. This is the moment he goes to pick up the arson.
Interviewer/Reporter
The arsenic gets delivered. Yes, at 1:49. And we see the post office truck driving past. And then you see him exit the house at 1:51. He's at the mailbox, getting it out of there.
Detective/Investigator
Then he buys a lot of Visine, a Lot of eye drops. We're talking 19 bottles in two days.
Narrator/Host
Plenty of poison. The question is how to get his wife to ingest it. Now, authorities watched this home security video. That's how he did it. They say James Craig spiked his wife's shakes and smoothies.
Detective/Investigator
Now, we do get a couple of images on the home surveillance of James Craig doing suspicious things. You see him in and out of the refrigerator with Angela's shaker bottles, and you see him preparing the drinks that she then later is consuming. So it's probable that he's administering arsenic on March 6 in her protein shake. When Angela went into the hospital on March 9, she had an elevated level of arsenic in her blood. Enough to make you feel sick, to make you feel dizzy, enough to make you feel like you've been drugged. And so he's giving Visine to her, probably also in her drinks, because her bottle on the bedside table that we collected and had analyzed, it has tetrahydrozoline in it.
Narrator/Host
Prosecutors also point to this hospital video of James Craig arriving on March 15 with food and a drink, heading right to Angela's bedside.
Interviewer/Reporter
My job as the forensic pathologist is to speak for the decedent and to tell their last story. They can't speak for themselves. I have to be that person that brings to light what has happened to them.
Narrator/Host
And Dr. Kelly Lear says what happened to Angela Craig was murder.
Interviewer/Reporter
Her cause of death was cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning. Her manner of death was homicide.
Narrator/Host
How many separate occasions do you believe that James Craig poisoned Angela?
Detective/Investigator
It was throughout those 10 days, from March 6 through March 15. He never stopped poisoning her.
Narrator/Host
The night after Angela Craig is pronounced dead, detectives lure her husband to police headquarters. And with a ruse, I had called.
Interviewer/Reporter
Him and told him I was gonna give him his phone back.
Detective/Investigator
How you doing?
Interviewer/Reporter
Well, thank you. Hi.
Detective/Investigator
All right, Bob, you are under arrest.
Narrator/Host
Okay.
Interviewer/Reporter
Okay. First pre murder, he didn't seem surprised. Calm and collected. And really no sort of fight or, you know, dispute of why he was there. I didn't expect this.
Narrator/Host
Sorry. Inside the police station, detectives tell the accused murderer he's got two options. Talk or take the fifth.
Interviewer/Reporter
We're gonna take your cuffs off here for you. Just don't. Have a seat. So I do have an arrest warrant for the murder of Angela. Oh, my gosh. I just want to give you that opportunity to tell us what you know. As you can imagine, this is terrifying for me. And you both seem very nice and like you're on my side, but I know how this works. And I don't want to incriminate myself or say anything stupid or. I don't know how to navigate this. I've never done this before, and I'm scared to death. That's understandable. Yeah. I can tell you I did not kill my wife.
Narrator/Host
And this is where it's really unusual, because Craig asks the detectives who had just arrested him for advice.
Interviewer/Reporter
Oh, this is horrible. Detective Olson, what would you do if.
Detective/Investigator
You were in my position?
Interviewer/Reporter
I feel for you. I really do. I trust you. So what would you do? And I can't give you legal advice, and I can't tell you what to do.
Narrator/Host
And at this point, the dentist, who'd spent years telling patients to open wide, he decides to keep his mouth shut.
Interviewer/Reporter
Oh, my gosh. I have all of the answers that you need, but I can't. I can't talk. I can't.
Narrator/Host
The next sound you hear.
Interviewer/Reporter
We gave.
Narrator/Host
That marks the beginning of the end of James Craig's career as a dentist and the start of his new calling as a defendant.
Interviewer/Reporter
I suppose so. Thank you. Thank you.
Narrator/Host
Police now begin to rewind the last 21 days in the life of James Craig. You're talking about a case with poison. Infidelity, betrayal, Vegas.
Detective/Investigator
How did you meet him?
Interviewer/Reporter
At a dental meeting in Las Vegas.
Narrator/Host
And rest assured, what happened in Vegas is not going to stay in Vegas.
Interviewer/Reporter
It just kept going. The deceit, manipulation, shock value of this case kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger, and it was shocking.
Narrator/Host
I'm gonna take a leap here and say that this is probably the first time that you've ever seen a protein shaker as a murder weapon.
Detective/Investigator
Yes. Marriages only end in two ways. Death or divorce or murder.
Narrator/Host
In the trial that just wrapped, Dave.
Interviewer/Reporter
Proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this guy was a pretty crappy husband. He cheated on his wife. Constant.
Detective/Investigator
There's always another woman, and this one.
Narrator/Host
Is talking exclusively to 2020. So he invited you to his house in the hours after his wife had died?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah. She has no idea what she's getting herself into.
Detective/Investigator
Probably one of the more insidious, horrible things that I have ever seen in this business.
Narrator/Host
How common is it for you to have a case in which the person facing murder charges tries to put a hit out on the lead detective?
Interviewer/Reporter
I was a sitting duck.
Narrator/Host
We're about to see deep fake videos. Murder for hire, a secret sugar daddy. It can't get any worse.
Interviewer/Reporter
That kind of manipulation is just in movies.
Narrator/Host
Investigators have just made a shocking arrest in the murder of Colorado mother of six, Angela Craig. It's her devoted dentist husband James.
Interviewer/Reporter
There are answers. There are answers.
Narrator/Host
And this makes a lot of sense.
Interviewer/Reporter
Once those sensors come out.
Narrator/Host
Dr. James Craig had seemed to be the very picture of success. A business owner with a thriving dental practice who was a loving father.
Detective/Investigator
Looking back, there was just nothing that would indicate there were any problems.
Interviewer/Reporter
A father of six children and an Aurora dentist is accused of poisoning his wife.
Detective/Investigator
You can see a lot about a person through their eyes, a lot. He looked dead in his eyes, in the mugshot. It's a shot of full exposure without hope.
Interviewer/Reporter
It looked like he had been crying, but it didn't look like he'd been crying because he just lost his wife. It looked like he'd been crying because he got caught.
Narrator/Host
The Aurora dentist accused of poisoning and killing his wife was in court this morning. James Craig is formally charged with first degree murder. He pleaded, pleads not guilty, but he's accused of poisoning Angela lacing her protein shakes.
Interviewer/Reporter
The poisoning aspect to this was so unique. We were seeing this story play out all over the country. I think the fact of who the Craigs were lent a great deal into this national interest. The fact that a dentist, it's a profession that you believe you can trust.
Narrator/Host
The arrest warrant is 52.5. And it's got a lot of the evidence that police have collected so far, including photos and text messages.
Detective/Investigator
You read page after page after page, you're going, there's no way that somebody could be so cruel.
Narrator/Host
On page 36, there is this huge revelation, right? There is a name. Dr. Karen Kane. She's an orthodontist from Texas. Was this an aha moment in the case?
Interviewer/Reporter
It was definitely an additional person that we needed to find.
Narrator/Host
When detectives search James Craig's email account, which they say he used to order poisons, they find this trove of what they say are steamy emails with a Fellow Dental professional, Dr. Karen Kane. And the correspondence seems to indicate that the two had just met about three weeks earlier. But their relationship seems to have gotten very serious very quickly.
Detective/Investigator
It seems like you do these types of stories news long enough, there's always another woman.
Narrator/Host
Now Dr. Karen Kane is speaking for the first time to us in this exclusive interview. And I first met her back in 2023, only months after James Craig was arrested. And back then she was still sifting through the wreckage. And Karen Kane has a very different story to tell about what was unfolding those last 21 days of Angela Craig's life. And we start at the very beginning. And this is where Karen first meets James Craig at that dental convention in Vegas where he was speaking. When was the first time that you.
Interviewer/Reporter
Saw James standing in line to get on this shuttle bus to take us to our corporate dinner that the meeting was putting on? We just started talking, ended up sitting next to each other on this shuttle ride over to dinner. And he was like, can I, you know, sit with you at dinner and finish this conversation?
Narrator/Host
At this point, Karen is in the process of finalizing a divorce. She'd been married for 27 years. Two grown kids out of the house. Her husband had moved out just over a year before. And she says she'd made peace with her new life living alone. But that's when she meets James Craig. First impression.
Interviewer/Reporter
I mean, there's not, like, an immediate physical attraction. Sweet eyes, great smile. Just easy. So easy to talk to.
Narrator/Host
So initial reaction is this friend vibe or is this. This could be something more than friend.
Interviewer/Reporter
Definitely friend vibe.
Narrator/Host
Karen says in those initial conversations that they're connecting because there's so much common ground. She says that James kind of like, opens his heart up to her, that he's also going through a painful divorce. And he tells her that he and his wife of 23 years just split at the end of last year. What did he tell you about his life, his marriage?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah, he had six kids and that he had four. Filed for divorce in 2022. That they hadn't been living together. He had an apartment, and that he was staying at the apartment, but they would trade and he would, you know, do kid duty.
Narrator/Host
Karen says their connection was also spiritual. They're both deeply connected to their faith.
Interviewer/Reporter
There's somebody who's kind of going through the same struggle I'm going through and, you know, leans on the Lord the way I would and just seems super easy to talk to. So we spent this Thursday evening getting to know each other, and then we texted until, like, you know, 4:00am that night.
Narrator/Host
What are you texting about until 4:00am.
Interviewer/Reporter
You know, at that point, it was like, just, you know, compliments. Then the next day, we, you know, spent pretty much the day together.
Narrator/Host
She knew she was falling fast, but she was still wary. And so in the space of about 24 hours, you go from being complete strangers to basically being a couple.
Interviewer/Reporter
Well, at least having the semblance of knowing a lot about each other still.
Narrator/Host
She told him she had boundaries, and she says their relationship wasn't consummated. What was the goodbye like?
Interviewer/Reporter
It was nice. We kissed and he left, and then my flight got delayed, and so he came back and got Another kiss and then I actually left.
Narrator/Host
You come back to Texas. He goes to Colorado and it continues.
Interviewer/Reporter
So we're FaceTiming and I don't think I went to bed before 2 o' clock in the morning. Any night over the next two weeks, a few nights.
Narrator/Host
She says he even put in an earbud and he let Karen listen as he did Bible study with his children before putting them to bed. So you were a fly on the wall in his family. He took you right in there.
Interviewer/Reporter
In my mind, I didn't know a lot about this guy. Right. And so I was like, well, if I can see him through his kids eyes, then that's going to be my most true look into who he really is.
Narrator/Host
Well, that and the 4,000 text messages authorities say they exchanged over 21 days. And within a number of days already they were using the L word. Love. How big was the rush you were feeling during this time? Texting and talking and FaceTiming.
Interviewer/Reporter
So great.
Narrator/Host
Yeah, like a drug almost.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah, just. Yeah, there was a lot of just feeling like, so connected.
Narrator/Host
He says he even composes a song in her honor.
Interviewer/Reporter
She saw him standing there.
Narrator/Host
It's called Enough. And it's a sad ballad with lyrics that say her life was bleak and bad until she met him. But after she meets him, she finally knows she's enough and she finally feels like he enough. The two decide they want to meet again in person, with Karen booking a ticket to Colorado the following week, March 8th. Now remember, James Craig has told Karen he's living apart from his wife and he's in the end stages of his divorce. But just before the trip, James tells Karen that Angela is in the hospital. Nobody knows what's wrong, and he's going to have to watch the kids. And Karen reschedules her trip for a week later, March 16.
Interviewer/Reporter
When she first went, he was like, they can't find anything wrong with her. They've done all this testing. So really it was all so mysterious.
Narrator/Host
Karen says that James Craig told her he suspects that Angela might be harming herself.
Interviewer/Reporter
He would kind of talk with like a frustration like, I can't believe she's doing this.
Narrator/Host
Nonetheless, Karen still heads to Colorado, but this trip will go nothing like she's planned.
Detective/Investigator
Hi, Karen?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes.
Detective/Investigator
My name is Sergeant Lawnaker with ROAR.
Interviewer/Reporter
Homicide unit taking Jim into custody for homicide.
Narrator/Host
Angela Craig is in critical condition, and Karen Kane feels that it's not the right time to visit. But James Craig urges her to come anyway.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'll go ahead and come and I'll just sit in the hotel until, you know, you're able to spend some time, and then I can be there to just kind of be a break and help carry some of this weight.
Narrator/Host
Karen says James has told her that Angela is not likely to recover. He also tells her that police have blocked his entry into his own home as they investigate, his house is taped off by police. They've had a search warrant.
Interviewer/Reporter
Mm.
Narrator/Host
Do you think at some point maybe I shouldn't take this trip?
Interviewer/Reporter
I knew the police were looking, and I knew they were gonna find that she had somehow hurt herself. Karen gets on a plane from Texas and lands in Denver. She has no idea what she's getting herself into. No idea.
Narrator/Host
When you were in Colorado with him, did he ask you to come meet his family and be there?
Interviewer/Reporter
He offered at one point that I could come. There would be a lot of people in the house. I would just be his friend from Austin and yada yada. And I was like, nope, that seems like a pretty sacred space and time that doesn't need an involvement. And we had two dinners was pretty much the only time I saw him while I was there.
Narrator/Host
Did he seem distracted in those dinners?
Interviewer/Reporter
You know, I would just be like, are you okay? Like, are you really okay? Tell me, did he seem sad?
Narrator/Host
Did he seem distraught? Did you talk about Angela at all?
Interviewer/Reporter
We talked about how he was doing, how the kids were doing, but not a lot, really specifically about Angela in that moment. He at no point seemed stressed or anxious. He didn't seem heavy hearted. He seemed pretty, you know, at ease.
Narrator/Host
He might have appeared at ease to Karen, but police are narrowing in on their suspect, and they've been poring over his communications on his phone and email. And so you realize during the search of these emails that he's having this steamy romance with this woman named Karen Kane. And she's in town right now?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes.
Narrator/Host
How do you track her down?
Interviewer/Reporter
The night he was arrested, he had a hotel key on him. And lo and behold, at that hotel is Karen Cain. And so officers went to the hotel and asked if he had a room or if Karen had a room and made contact with her in the hotel room.
Narrator/Host
The officer.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes, our sergeant did.
Narrator/Host
It sounds like the truth came knocking on your hotel room door at 2:00am.
Detective/Investigator
Hi, Karen?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes.
Detective/Investigator
My name is Sergeant Lawnacker with Aurora Homicide Unit. We've taken Jim into custody for homicide, and I was wondering if you have a minute to speak with me, can.
Narrator/Host
You walk me through what. What happened?
Interviewer/Reporter
When I opened the door and saw, I just kind of went right into, like, Almost like robotic mode of like. All right, I'm just gonna brace myself for whatever's happening in this moment.
Detective/Investigator
We are aware of yours and Jim's relationship, and he's been taken into custody for killing his wife.
Narrator/Host
What are they telling you?
Interviewer/Reporter
We just want you to know that we've arrested him for first degree murder of his wife. What did he tell you has been.
Detective/Investigator
Going on with his wife?
Interviewer/Reporter
Just that he said he told her in November that he wanted a divorce. They told the kids together in December. He filed in January for Carly Underage. I'm kind of worried that she might hurt herself. We've had a history with that.
Detective/Investigator
Has he taught you at all about poisons?
Interviewer/Reporter
Just told me that he had gotten some stuff in the past from his work. It was about 10 minutes maybe, that they were in there. They told me there's lots of evidence, you know, against him in this.
Narrator/Host
But the information Karen is learning only gets worse.
Detective/Investigator
Okay, so here's basically where we're at. He's never told her he wants divorce. He's never told her he's. There's no talk of him moving out with the kids. She has no idea anything about a divorce. He's purchased poisons, and she's now dead because of poison. So a lot of the things he's.
Interviewer/Reporter
Told you, assuming you've told me the.
Detective/Investigator
Truth, are all nonsense. There's no history of suicide by her. There's no anything.
Narrator/Host
So are you concerned at this point that you might be a target of the investigation?
Interviewer/Reporter
No.
Narrator/Host
Are you concerned that this investigation is going to go anywhere?
Interviewer/Reporter
No.
Narrator/Host
You think this is just totally bogus?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah.
Detective/Investigator
All right, ma'.
Interviewer/Reporter
Am.
Detective/Investigator
Take care of yourself.
Narrator/Host
When did you first speak to Karen yourselves?
Interviewer/Reporter
On the morning of the 20th. I had called her, and then I met her again at the hotel. Nice to meet you. I'm Karen. It was apparent when we met her that she had no idea that he was doing this. He had lied to. He had told her that he was living in an apartment. Like, he would have a week with the kids at the house, and then she would stay at the apartment and they would flip. He's very savvy when he speaks, and she believed him. And he 100% manipulated her as well. She knew. She knew nothing.
Narrator/Host
A stunned Karen leaves Colorado to go home to Texas as she tries to process the. The past 48 hours. And when she reads the arrest affidavit, it's almost impossible for her to comprehend because she learns that within days of meeting her, James has allegedly researched potassium cyanide and buying other deadly poisons. What was that like?
Interviewer/Reporter
That's real dissociative for me. I don't have any sort of headspace of my reality where that fits. That's all like stuff of a novel and like movie. I mean, I went back and I reread all our messages and kind of replayed it all and I don't feel like I missed red flags. I mean, you don't know you're being lied to until you know. Right.
Narrator/Host
He was just so good at spinning these tales.
Interviewer/Reporter
All the plates, spinning all the right ways.
Narrator/Host
And as detectives dig further, further into James Craig's past, they're going to uncover other women. They're also going to learn that the murder plot may have started before Karen Kane even entered the picture.
Interviewer/Reporter
At first I thought he was just joking. Yeah. But then they got darker and darker and I still can't believe it. To this day, I can't believe it.
Detective/Investigator
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Narrator/Host
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Detective/Investigator
Yet, here are 15 reasons why you should.
Interviewer/Reporter
One, it's $15 a month.
Narrator/Host
Two, seriously, it's $15 a month. Three, no big contracts. Four, I use it. Five, my mom uses it.
Detective/Investigator
Are you, are you playing me off? That's what's happening, right?
Interviewer/Reporter
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Narrator/Host
When James Craig is arrested, the whole world learns about Karen Kane. Could she be a possible motive behind the murder of his wife? And as investigators dig deeper into his digital world, they discover something else. Actually, they discover someone else.
Interviewer/Reporter
He told me that he was very well known dentist and that he was very involved in his church. That he had six kids.
Narrator/Host
Carrie Hegeseth meets James Craig through a dating website called seeking. And authorities would later determine James Craig has carried on sexual relationships with at least three women he met on this site over the past several years.
Interviewer/Reporter
This app was set up to arrange sugar dating relationships. So some kind of a relationship where you benefit in some format from that connection. So on this app James created, Craig had a number of women who he would support financially in some ways or other means as well.
Narrator/Host
And James Craig's profile name on the site is Jim and Waffles. Both really nice to wake up to, he writes. He also says he's worth about $10 million. Carrie Haggisath is this mother of three who met James Craig after she got out of what she describes as this troubled relationship. And in comes James, and she says he's showering her with all these expensive gifts. She says he even pays her attorney's retainer in her custody battle. And he buys her daughter an almost $9,000 car. He had also sent Carrie an original song, like he did for Karen Kane. Hers is much more upbeat, but I.
Interviewer/Reporter
Only think of.
Narrator/Host
It'S called I don't want to be all right without you.
Detective/Investigator
Carrie Hegeseth is an important witness in the case because he is arguably the most honest with her about how he feels about the state of his marriage.
Narrator/Host
Detectives find a series of potentially damning text messages in which James is asking for help dealing with his problem. The problem he's talking about about is his wife. It's Angela.
Detective/Investigator
He describes it over and over to her as a problem and as a situation. And he's talking about needing a solution to his problem. And he talks about feeling stuck and hopeless and helpless.
Interviewer/Reporter
He started telling me, well, I don't know how to leave her because of the finances. He just said, our finances are very intertangled and it would be almost impossible to separate them.
Narrator/Host
Despite those appearances, James Craig has had a really rocky past few years financially. He'd been through two bankruptcies in 2020. He paid off one of them and he partnered up with Ryan Redfern. That arrangement was helping him service the other bankruptcy. But times were still pretty tough for him. And Ryan Redfern says he. He sits James down to tell him things need to change if he's going to keep his practice afloat.
Detective/Investigator
Ryan Redfern says, you're going to have to take a big pay cut and you're going to have to work more hours, take less time off. That's just two days after he's telling Kerry Hegiseth, I can't get divorced. The financial leash is tightening.
Narrator/Host
January 2023, two months before Angela Craig's death. And he texts Carrie something That she says stops her cold, in her tracks.
Interviewer/Reporter
He kind of made it sound like if he couldn't figure this out, that he was suicidal.
Detective/Investigator
She sort of tells him, you have so much to live for. And his response to her is the most telling statement we get from James Craig in the. The entire case. And he says, I'm not suicidal. I'm just stuck. I'm not happy, but I can't get divorced right now. And that's on January 14th of 2023. He's saying it clearly that he cannot get divorced.
Interviewer/Reporter
But I still did not think that he was, like, really talking about hurting Angela.
Narrator/Host
But then Carrie says his tone begins to change, and he seems to proposition her.
Interviewer/Reporter
Well, I remember thinking, this is really dark, you know, and there's no way I'm getting involved. So I kind of tried to make it. Lighten it up and make it more of a joke, like, just to get out of the conversation, like, hey, there's a lot of homeless people, people that live by your work. Why don't you talk to them about one of these or your problem? Because they have nothing to lose. So he ends up getting frustrated, it seems, and says, well, maybe that is actually my only option is to hit up a homeless person. And then he goes on to kind of try to reel me into it, even though I'm not, you know, engaging, and says, I could pay handsomely. I made $60,000 last month, and I know you need help. I would love to help you. And that was like, whoa. It just made it so real, I guess.
Narrator/Host
Within weeks, she says she stopped answering his texts. And then about a month later, she sees an article online, and it has James Craig's mugshot.
Interviewer/Reporter
I immediately just started crying. Like, I. I was like, oh, my God, he did it. Oh, my God. Like, I just couldn't believe it.
Narrator/Host
Carrie admits she feels guilty for not calling the police, but they eventually track her down, and she tells her story.
Interviewer/Reporter
I think you said it just like that, Like, I have this problem.
Detective/Investigator
Marriages only end in two ways, death or divorce. And he is giving Cary Hegeseth the impression that it's financial, that he doesn't want to suffer those financial consequences of divorce.
Narrator/Host
Before this case can go to trial, there will be even more astounding allegations against James Craig. This time from behind bars.
Detective/Investigator
The first thing he does is probably one of the more insidious, horrible things that I have ever seen in this business.
Interviewer/Reporter
Over the course the of. Of the roughly two years that this case really unfolded, we first saw James Craig as this jovial Appearing father, very big smile in all the pictures. Tali's a dentist. His teeth were very prominent in all of those pictures.
Narrator/Host
Turning dental care into a positive experience. You've done it a lot. How do you do it? Oh, man. Well, when patients come to our practice, the first thing that we go over with them is you don't have to be afraid.
Interviewer/Reporter
As the court process really unfolds, you start seeing him appear, looking more scruffy, ragged.
Detective/Investigator
To see him go downhill physically looking has definitely stuck with me. I don't know if he's trying to.
Narrator/Host
Look the part, but it'll be more than two years before this case goes to trial. And during this time, James Craig somehow astonishingly manages to rack up even more serious charges from behind bars. And one of the plots he's accused of hatching involves his own teenage daughter.
Detective/Investigator
The first thing he does is probably one of the more insidious, horrible things that I have ever seen in this business.
Interviewer/Reporter
James Craig's daughter says he called her and said, hey, you need to come bail out this inmate. He's going to have some information for you. The daughter does as she was asked. At some point, she realizes, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. She calls her older brother and her uncle. They rush over there. The inmate hands the daughter a letter and she reads that letter. And in that letter, it's essentially a step by step instruction guide for James Craig's daughter on how to build a deep fake or an AI video of her mother essentially depicting that she had wanted these poisons, that she was suicidal, that she did this to herself. He really wanted the metadata on that video to be connected to February 27, 2023. That's the day of that initial arsenic being ordered as well.
Narrator/Host
So he's asking his own daughter to commit a felony to help him in his case, yes.
Detective/Investigator
Without batting an eye. 18 years old, recently turned 18 years old. She had her 18th birthday while Angela was still in the hospital.
Narrator/Host
And how do you find out about this?
Detective/Investigator
She, through the family attorney, gets it to the authorities. She was absolutely not going to do any of the very detailed step by step instructions that her father had provided her.
Interviewer/Reporter
Bringing your daughter into it and potentially having your daughter culpable in a cross crime, having your daughter bond out an inmate that you don't know, I mean, all the things, there's so many things that are wrong with that is mind blowing.
Narrator/Host
And shockingly, this is not the only crime that he's alleged to have cooked up from inside jail. Other inmates claim James is soliciting them to lie on his behalf. And as payment, these inmates say he's offering them money, even dental work. And then another inmate comes forward to authorities.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'm just like this, dude. It's like the movies, man.
Detective/Investigator
He had a fellow cellmate named Nathaniel Harris, and James Craig and Mr. Harris would spend a lot of time together. James Craig started to say really nasty things about the lead detective, Bobby Jolson. So from these conversations, James Craig offered Nathaniel Daniel Harris an opportunity to make some money. You mentioned that he offered money to people, or what was the deal?
Interviewer/Reporter
Bobby. Some female named Bobby Olson, I think was her last name. I don't know.
Narrator/Host
I think it was Bobby Olsen.
Detective/Investigator
That's who he wanted to kill.
Interviewer/Reporter
Yeah.
Narrator/Host
Police say he allegedly offers Nathaniel Harris $20,000 to kill the lead detective on this case, Bobby Joe Olsen, effectively putting a Becky bounty on her head.
Interviewer/Reporter
Then the cellmate says that James Craig gave him a letter as well. In that letter, it refers to Detective Bobby Joel as the world's dirtiest detective, says that she's out to get him.
Narrator/Host
He called you the worst, dirtiest detective in the world?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes.
Narrator/Host
Who he said deserved to die?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes.
Narrator/Host
Was that scary?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes. We do this job knowing the possibility of being injured or, you know, killed in the line of duty. However, I was nothing but pleasant to Jim Craig. Every time I talked to him, I had broken my ankle, and so I was in a cast. At that time, I was a sitting duck.
Narrator/Host
Well, and your family could have become collateral damage as well. That must have been probably the most torturous part of it.
Interviewer/Reporter
Absolutely. Being in law enforcement. Right. I feel I can handle. But my family's a different story. They didn't sign up for this job, and you know that. I felt guilty for putting them in this situation.
Narrator/Host
Five additional charges are brought against James, including solicitation to commit murder in the first degree. He pleads not guilty to all charges.
Interviewer/Reporter
I have never seen a defendant rack up five more charges in their time incarcerated.
Narrator/Host
It's been really two and a half years since Angela's death, and it's time for trial. The Redferns, the detectives, and Karen Kane will all be taking the stand. And when you locked eyes on him, was anything rekindled? Did you see the man who you'd fallen in love with? So in a case where nothing is ordinary, brace yourself for easy. Even more new revelations on the stand.
Interviewer/Reporter
That absolutely broke my heart. I'm sure everyone else's heart in that courtroom. Court's going to call 23-TR-664. Important note at this time, that the parties are present. We are in the presence of the jury.
Narrator/Host
Two years after the death of Angela Craig, and her husband faces a judge and jury in Arapahoe County, Colorado.
Interviewer/Reporter
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have been selected as the jurors to try the case of the people of the State of Colorado versus Dr. James Craig.
Narrator/Host
James Craig, on trial for first degree murder in the poisoning of his wife Angela and other crimes. What do you think was in that smoothie?
Detective/Investigator
It's probable that he's administering arsenic on March 6 in her protein shake. We learned that when Angela went into the hospital on March 9, she had a very elevated level of arsenic in her blood.
Narrator/Host
I mean, I'm gonna take a leap here and say that this is probably the first time that you. That you've ever seen a protein shaker as a murder weapon.
Detective/Investigator
Yes. You see James Craig handling this shaker bottle on the evening of the 14th, and then the morning of the 15th.
Narrator/Host
Remember the antibiotic James Craig prescribed to his wife, that bottle found at her bedside?
Detective/Investigator
The important thing about the clindamycin is it's a capsule that he could take apart, dump out the clindamycin and repack those with the cyanide. He wrote the script, he picked it up, he modified it, and then perhaps most sinister of all, he gets her brother, who's there to take care of her, to administer some of this clindamycin to her while he's at work the next morning.
Interviewer/Reporter
On the morning of March 15, James Craig had told the preys to make sure they give Angela her dose of clindamycin. That antibiotic incessantly texted Mark and his wife saying, remember, Angela gets her meds at 10. Remember Angela? Did you give her meds? Did you give her her meds? Mark Craig didn't think twice about that. And the they gave her the dose, and only around 20 minutes later, she was struggling to hold herself up.
Narrator/Host
Then the evidence jurors may never be able to unsee for many hours of footage a single frozen moment.
Detective/Investigator
It's one frame. You have to go frame by frame to see this. It's one frame when he goes into a bathroom and he walks out of the bathroom, he is holding a syringe.
Interviewer/Reporter
He puts it in his pocket, goes back into Angela's room.
Detective/Investigator
This was a sample syringe like the one that we see Jim Craig holding.
Interviewer/Reporter
I believe he had that syringe. It was ready. He had made it. And he 100% screwed it onto one of her IV ports and gave her that final dose of Cyanide.
Narrator/Host
The evidence is in her blood, drawn at University Hospital once when she arrived and again after she crashes and becomes unresponsive.
Interviewer/Reporter
The cyanide went up significantly and was consistent with an administration of another dose or exposure to cyanide while she was in the emergency department. The hospital staff, when they got that information, they did try to give Angela the antidote for the potassium cyanide. Unfortunately, it was not reversible.
Detective/Investigator
First and foremost, he wanted out of his marriage. He was tired of it.
Narrator/Host
Prosecutors argued James Craig worried about the appearance and the cost of a divorce, and he saw a chance to collect millions of dollars in life insurance. And he'd also fallen in love with another woman. Prosecutor said that you were one of the motives for James Craig to murder his wife.
Interviewer/Reporter
I certainly never aligned with that. I don't know if I even now agree with that. I don't feel like I'm the primary impetus of the idea.
Narrator/Host
When you were sitting in the witness box, did you see the man who you'd fallen in love with?
Interviewer/Reporter
No.
Narrator/Host
Did you feel anger?
Interviewer/Reporter
No. There's a lot of pity and disgust, just disbelief. When you look at this case, it's actually pretty complicated. The defense strategy in James Craig's case was to really point the finger back at the victim in this case, Angela Craig, and to say that she could have been suicidal. 23 years of marriage, 20 some years of him cheating on Angela Craig, he broke her heart.
Narrator/Host
According to James Craig and his attorneys, this was basically assisted suicide. Angela wanted to die, and they claim he was just trying to help.
Detective/Investigator
There is no evidence whatsoever, no credible evidence to support that. The only person who says that is the murderer.
Interviewer/Reporter
The bottom line is when we're looking at, is this a suicide, there's no evidence of that that I see anywhere there was love in the relationship.
Narrator/Host
Craig's attorneys take this argument that there was really no financial motive, that the insurance that wasn't a recent purchase, and they say there wasn't going to be a divorce, that Craig was a serial cheater and that Karen Kane, they say she was just the latest infatuation.
Interviewer/Reporter
You know what they have proven beyond a reasonable doubt from this table, from these people, you know what they proved? They proved beyond reasonable doubt that this guy was a pretty crappy husband. He cheated on his wife constantly. Lots of cheating, not a motive.
Detective/Investigator
He spent 10 days killing Angela Craig. He could have stopped on day one or day two or day 10. He kept going, kept going right until the end. Angela Craig was innocent. James Craig is killed with that.
Interviewer/Reporter
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to excuse our jurors to begin their deliberations. Please rise.
Narrator/Host
And still ahead, anger and eloquence in the courtroom. What James and Angela's children have to say to their own father.
Interviewer/Reporter
Denver7 is on verdict watch as the jury deliberates. Please stand for the reading of the verdict. Count one, murder in the first degree. We, the jury, unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt, find the defendant, James Craig, guilty of murder in the first degree. Count two, guilty.
Narrator/Host
Count three, he is found guilty on six counts.
Interviewer/Reporter
I thought there'd be some closure. And in the end, there was this overwhelming, great sadness. Jim was still not who he thought he would be, and Angie was still gone.
Narrator/Host
And in this moment of profound courage in court, two of Angela's children, her oldest son and daughter, deliver remarks.
Interviewer/Reporter
It's hard to lose your mom and.
Narrator/Host
Three days after that, lose your dad and have to spend the next two and a half years trying to untangle whatever he tells you.
Interviewer/Reporter
I'm supposed to be able to trust my dad. He was supposed to be my hero. And instead, he'll forever be the villain in my book.
Narrator/Host
After the verdict, Karen Kane said she thought she'd feel some closure, but instead she tells me she just feels sadness. In court, she was able to meet and speak briefly with members of Angela's family.
Interviewer/Reporter
That was definitely the thing I wasn't prepared for. I thought I was going to leave and be like, done and feel just a weight had lifted. But that interaction, sorry. But, yeah, I ended up leaving heavier because now I have these people and these faces that. I mean, their lives were affected in way more severe ways than mine was. It breaks my heart that she likely did everything in her power to keep her family alive while she was being tragically manipulated and ultimately killed over it.
Narrator/Host
Can't help but notice you're both wearing purple. Purple suit, purple tie. Why?
Interviewer/Reporter
Angela's favorite color was purple.
Narrator/Host
So this is an homage to her.
Interviewer/Reporter
Absolutely. Tribute to Angela. Yep.
Narrator/Host
You didn't know her, you never met her, but it feels like you know her, doesn't it?
Interviewer/Reporter
Yes. I think both of us reading through her messages felt like she was just like us. She was doing regular Google searches of planning to sew and, you know, start new hobbies. Somebody that just had a lot of future left in them.
Narrator/Host
Angela's big brother, Mark Prey, who'd been his little sister's advocate throughout the whole court process, speaks to Denver's local ABC affiliate hours after the verdict, and you can tell he's still processing the past two and a half years, you never.
Detective/Investigator
Get used to having her gone. The family text messaging that we do.
Interviewer/Reporter
And her voice isn't there anymore.
Narrator/Host
And you don't get used to it. It's almost like she took a trip.
Interviewer/Reporter
To Europe and we're too poor to go over there.
Detective/Investigator
So we'll see her eventually.
Narrator/Host
Mark Prey, he's a man of deep faith, just like his sister, and he believes he will be reunited with her once again.
Detective/Investigator
Families aren't just for this life, but for the next.
Narrator/Host
And so she's still part of our family and she's still Angela.
Interviewer/Reporter
I know that she's still there and we'll see her again.
Detective/Investigator
James Craig is serving life without the possibility of parole. The judge said he, quote, unleashed a path of destruction as wide as a tornado.
Narrator/Host
DAVID as for Angela's family, they tell us that they're glad to have the court process behind them and that her.
Interviewer/Reporter
Younger children are now living with extended family members. That's our program for tonight. Thanks for watching. I'm Deborah Roberts.
Narrator/Host
And I'm David Muir.
Detective/Investigator
From all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good night. You've seen the headlines, heard the debates.
Interviewer/Reporter
The three point ball has created a monotonous rhythm to the game.
Narrator/Host
Has the three pointer ruined basketball? And how did we get here? The rise of the three point shot.
Detective/Investigator
Can be partially traced to an eccentric Kansas genius named Martin Manley, whose story.
Narrator/Host
Didn'T turn out quite the way he imagined.
Detective/Investigator
I decided I wanted to have one of the most organized goodbyes in history.
Narrator/Host
30 for 30 podcast presents Chasing Basketball Heaven, available now wherever you get your podcasts.
This gripping true crime episode documents the shocking murder of Angela Craig, a mother of six from Aurora, Colorado, poisoned to death by her husband, Dr. James Craig, over a meticulously planned 21-day period. Through interviews with family, friends, investigators, and key witnesses—including James’s extramarital partners—the episode traces how a seemingly perfect family unraveled into betrayal, deception, and ultimately, murder. It also follows the stunning developments following James’s arrest, including attempts to obstruct justice and further criminal plots.
The tone is deeply empathetic and heavily investigative, with narrative urgency. Friends, detectives, and forensic experts speak with shock and bitterness at James Craig’s betrayal, and family members grieve Angela’s loss with poignant authenticity. The podcast moves chronologically, interweaving present-day interviews with key evidence and trial moments. The language echoes awe at James Craig’s duplicity and heartbreak at the consequences—amplified by direct, often emotional, speaker quotes and investigators’ analytical clarity.
“21 Days to Murder” exposes the complexity behind a high-profile murder: beneath a facade of success and family values, James Craig orchestrated his wife’s death for freedom, finances, and new love, leaving a legacy of devastation. The case’s chilling details—meticulous planning, digital traces, poison, and brazen cover-up attempts—underscore the investigative tenacity of police, the heartbreak for Angela’s family, and the ultimate triumph of forensic truth over lethal deception.