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48 Hours: Post Mortem | Who Poisoned Angela Craig?
Live from CrimeCon (September 23, 2025)
Host: Anne-Marie Green
Guests: Natalie Morales (48 Hours), District Attorney George Brockler
Episode Overview
This live Post Mortem episode, recorded at CrimeCon Denver, peels back the layers of the infamous James Craig case—a shocking Colorado true crime story involving a respected dentist convicted of poisoning his wife, Angela Craig, in 2023. Host Anne-Marie Green, correspondent Natalie Morales, and District Attorney George Brockler recount the investigation, trial twists, and the avalanche of evidence that secured Craig’s conviction.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Case in Brief: Angela Craig’s Mysterious Death
- Angela & James Craig: Married 23 years, seemingly perfect family (six children, community standing)
- Timeline:
- March 6, 2023: Angela texts James she’s feeling ill; repeated hospitalizations follow
- March 18, 2023: Pronounced brain dead; taken off life support
- Hours later: James Craig is arrested ([02:33])
- Cause of Death: Poisons found in Angela’s body—tetrahydrozoline (eye drops), cyanide, arsenic ([03:20])
- Prosecution’s Allegation: James poisoned Angela’s protein shakes, implicated by ER footage showing him carrying a syringe
2. How the Investigation Broke Open
- Dental Office Employees’ Role: Package containing cyanide delivered to dental practice, mistakenly opened by vigilant staff ([08:24])
- This triggered suspicions leading James’s partner, Ryan Redfern, to relay concerns to a nurse (a mandated reporter), sparking a police investigation ([09:51])
- Digital Forensics:
- Unusually high volume of text messages—between James and Angela, and between James and extramarital partners ([07:46])
- Investigation into James’s alternate email accounts with odd handles, e.g., “Jim and Waffles” ([10:58])
- “He was looking for on YouTube, top five undetectable poisons…Is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?” – Natalie Morales ([11:09])
- James acquired arsenic via Amazon and obtained cyanide abusing his dentist credentials ([11:26])
3. Crucial Evidence
- Home Surveillance Footage: Captured James’s morning routine—seen preparing Angela’s shakes, with March 6 marking the onset of her symptoms ([13:35])
- Financial Motive:
- James was over $2 million in debt ([14:23])
- At the same time, he was starting an affair with Karen Kane (dental hygienist from Texas, met at a dental conference in Las Vegas) ([14:37])
- Past Marital Struggles:
- Evidence of repeated infidelity, financial deception, and prior attempts to drug Angela ([15:03])
4. Motive & Psychology
- Angela’s Forgiveness & Faith:
- “She was a person of deep faith…so forgiving over and over and over again…It was that big heart that got used against her.” – George Brockler ([15:33])
- James’s rationale: Unable to contemplate divorce, saw murder as only “solution” to his desires ([16:25])
5. Prior Drugging and James’s Cover-Up Attempts
- Revealed in Text Messages:
- “Hey, I know this must be triggering for you, but to be clear, I did not drug you.” – James Craig (approximate text, cited by Brockler) ([17:23])
- James attempted to frame Angela’s death as suicide via:
- Fabricated four-page iPhone note (in Angela’s voice), asserting she asked James for help dying ([18:28])
- “The problem is…she is doing a search history…what’s wrong with me?…Those two things don’t make sense.” – Brockler ([19:08])
- Angela’s own search history showed concern for her symptoms, contradicting suicide narrative ([19:30])
6. Escalating Desperation Before and During the Trial
- Multiple Defense Teams:
- Several attorneys withdrew, the last reportedly due to James soliciting a cellmate to kill the lead investigator ([20:10])
- “Nothing screams I’m innocent like trying to kill the lead investigator.” – Brockler ([20:14])
- James also tried to have his daughter plant evidence to suggest Angela was suicidal. Daughter refused and testified against him ([20:35])
- Daughters’ testimony painted Angela as “great,” planning home renovations, not showing signs of depression or suicidal intent ([21:37])
7. Building the Victim’s Voice
- Angela’s Journals & Texts:
- Defense tried to introduce old journal entries hinting at depression; prosecution emphasized these reflected a history of working through adversity, not suicidal intent ([22:35])
8. The Karen Kane Affair & Other Relationships
- Karen Kane:
- Over 4,000 messages exchanged in a short span—relationship escalated rapidly ([23:31])
- While Angela was in the hospital, James had sexual encounters with Karen in Denver; Karen testified she believed his lies about being separated ([23:54], [24:34])
- “I really think Karen Kane is just another victim of Jim Craig’s lies…” – George Brockler ([24:37])
- Prior Affairs:
- Testimony of Carrie Hage-Seth: James helped buy her daughter a car in exchange for assistance solving his “married problem” (even discussed finding a hitman) ([26:15])
- Referenced watching “The Purge” with Carrie, discussing who they’d “purge”—James specified Angela ([27:00])
9. Trial Strategy & James’s Demeanor
- Defense Tactics:
- Called no witnesses; possibly to preserve lines for appeal ([27:47])
- Speculation about whether James would testify—ultimately did not; narcissism noted as a key personality trait ([28:29])
- James at Trial:
- Displayed emotion, possibly perceived as performative by the jury ([28:59])
- “There’s really only one of two conclusions…One, it’s all for show…or [he] feels really badly about the justice that’s about to be delivered to him.” – Brockler ([28:59])
10. The Verdict and Impact
- Outcome:
- July 30, 2025: James Craig convicted of first-degree murder, multiple counts of solicitation and perjury ([29:35])
- Sentenced to life without parole plus 33 years ([29:35])
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Why James Murdered:
“At the end of the day, I don’t think it was just the money and I don’t think it was just the relationships and the lust…he realized that the impediment to all the things he wanted was his marriage. But he couldn’t bring himself to get divorced. So the only way…was to make his wife go away.”
— George Brockler ([16:25]) -
On Angela’s Forgiveness:
“She seemed to me to be so forgiving over and over…It was that big heart that got used against her…”
— George Brockler ([15:33]) -
On the Evidence:
“You combine that with the texts that they had…and my presumption is other texts, it’s hard to imagine this guy had time to put his fingers in anyone’s mouth because they were constantly on his phone.”
— George Brockler ([08:24]) -
On the Suicide Fabrication:
“The problem is, at the same time he’s creating this narrative…she is doing a search history…why am I suffering this symptom?…Those two things don’t make sense.”
— George Brockler ([19:08]) -
On Criminal Desperation:
“Nothing screams I’m innocent like trying to kill the lead investigator.”
— George Brockler ([20:14]) -
On James’s Relationship with the Truth:
“This guy lies like he breathes. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in his life to whom he has told the truth on a consistent basis.”
— George Brockler ([25:14])
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Angela’s Illness & Death Recap: [02:33]–[04:25]
- How the Dental Office Employee Sparked Investigation: [08:24]–[09:51]
- Digital Evidence Facts: [10:58]–[11:26]
- Financial Motive & Affair: [13:35]–[15:03]
- Discussion on Angela’s Forgiveness: [15:33]–[16:25]
- James’s Suicide Cover Attempt: [18:28]–[19:30]
- Soliciting Daughter to Plant Evidence/Testimony: [20:10]–[21:35]
- Karen Kane Testimony & Relationship: [23:31]–[24:37]
- Testimony from Prior Affairs: [26:15]–[27:12]
- Jury Verdict & Sentencing: [29:35]–[30:05]
Final Thoughts
This Post Mortem episode vividly chronicles the Craig case—underscoring the chilling calculation, the digital trail, and the relentless work of investigators. It highlights both Angela’s tragic vulnerability and the community effort to break the case wide open. Through expert commentary, gut-wrenching testimony, and real-time insights from those closest to the trial, listeners are compelled to consider not just the “how” of this crime, but the devastating “why.”
For those following true crime, criminal justice, or the psychology of betrayal, this is an essential and illuminating listen.