Secrets of Exam Room 9

Summary

Dateline NBC: Secrets of Exam Room 9

Aired: September 9, 2025
Host: Andrea Canning (Reporter), Lester Holt (Host)

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Overview

This episode of Dateline NBC unravels the chilling true-crime saga of James Craig, a well-liked Aurora, Colorado dentist and father of six, whose wife Angela's sudden and inexplicable illness and death turns from a medical mystery into a murder investigation. Through interviews with family, friends, detectives, and prosecutors, the episode reconstructs the events leading up to Angela’s death, exposing deception, infidelity, and a sinister plot involving undetectable poisons—all ultimately leading to a sensational trial and a life sentence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Angela and James Craig: The Seemingly Perfect Family

• Angela's Persona: Described as authentic, active, and deeply involved in her children's lives.
  • "She was who she was. And that, for me, was probably the most beautiful thing about her." – Vivian Fundermerva (04:03)
• James’ Public Image: The fun, generous dad and successful local dentist, adored by neighbors and patients.
  • "Jim was always the fun dad, just like the perfect, cool dad." – Vivian (04:59)

2. Angela’s Sudden Decline and Death

• Medical Mystery: Angela experiences perplexing symptoms—dizziness, weakness, passing out—resulting in repeated ER visits and hospital stays.
  • "The hospital staff were like, we've done all these tests and we can't find a medical reason for this rapid decline." – Det. Bobby Olson (03:00, 10:59)
• Final Days: Angela’s condition deteriorates rapidly after her husband gives her antibiotics (allegedly laced with poison).
  • "Once she consumed that antibiotic, is when she got violently sick again." – Det. Bobby Olson (13:25)

3. Suspicion and the Spark of Investigation

• Friends in Disbelief: The close-knit community is shocked by Angela’s critical illness and even more so by the police presence at the Craig home.
  • "They were putting the crime scene tape up and like no one was in the house." – Det. Olson (08:53)
• Detectives on the Case: Bobby Olson and Molly Harris, dubbed “the twins,” approach the case with relentless energy.
  • "We just don't stop. And so really on the onset of this case, that was… we have to figure out what’s going on here." – Det. Harris (10:28)

4. The Break in the Case: Cyanide at the Office

• Strange Delivery: A package labeled potassium cyanide is delivered to the dental office, prompting suspicion.
  • "Nothing that they had ever seen." – Det. Olson (17:20)
• Connection to Symptoms: Office staff Google cyanide poisoning symptoms and realize they match Angela’s.
  • "Dizziness, trouble focusing, and weakness. All symptoms of potassium cyanide poisoning. And Angela had all of them." – Andrea Canning (17:50)
• Poison as the Cause: Toxicology confirms both potassium cyanide and tetrahydrozoline (from eye drops) are found in Angela’s system and in shaker bottles.
  • "A fatal dose of potassium cyanide and a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline." – Det. Olson (23:00)

5. Evidence of Planning and Motive

• Double Life: Detectives discover James engaged in multiple affairs, including with women found on seeking.com.
  • "You learned that James Craig is living essentially a double life with other women." – Prosecutor Brackley (23:27)
• Affairs and Intent: Craig’s relationship with Karen Kane (an orthodontist) becomes serious, coinciding with Angela’s final days.
  • "He’s telling Angela… there’s no other woman… and then sending emails… that are racy, they’re explicit." – Det. Harris (26:54)
• Financial Support to Others: James provides substantial support and gifts to women he meets online.
  • "I think it was maybe around $15,000 in gifts." – Carrie Hegeseth (25:26)

6. The Digital Trail and Manifesto

• Secret Searches: Craig uses a separate email address to order cyanide, arsenic, and oleander and searches for "how to make murder look like a heart attack".
  • "How to make murder look like a heart attack. Top five undetectable poisons." – Asst. DA Michael Morgan (33:18)
• Home Security Video: Camera footage records Angela’s decline—and James preparing her drinks.
• Incriminating Note: A digital “manifesto” outlines his affairs, poisoning research, and even dosing method.
  • "I called it a manifesto." – Det. Olson (21:48)

7. Arrest & Jailhouse Plotting

• James Arrested: Craig is arrested under the guise of retrieving his cell phone (21:34).
• Further Crimes: From jail, he attempts to get a daughter to manufacture evidence and solicits another inmate to harm Det. Olson.
  • "He asked a fellow inmate to find a way to kill her." – Asst. DA Michael Morgan (31:27)

8. The Trial

• Prosecution’s Case: Focused on physical and digital forensic evidence, search history, manifesto, and witness testimony.
• Defense’s Attempt: Claims Angela was suicidal and that Craig only researched poisons to help her.
  • "She said key evidence was left behind… Why not take that perception off and look deep into what she was actually doing on that laptop?" – Lisa Moses, defense (40:33)
• Counterpoint: Friends and detectives adamantly deny Angela would take her own life.
  • "She was so strong… So I don't think that was even a thought." – Det. Olson (41:09)
• Angela’s Own Words: Security Cam footage: "Nobody in their right mind would ever think I would kill myself before I killed you." (41:24)

9. Verdict and Aftermath

• Guilty Verdict: James Craig is convicted of first degree murder and five other charges.
  • "We, the jury, unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt, find the defendant, James Craig, guilty of murder in the first degree." – Det. Harris (42:22)
• Sentencing & Family Impact: Life without parole plus 33 years. Children and friends struggle with the loss and betrayal.
  • “He was supposed to be my hero. And instead, he’ll forever be the villain in my book.” – Miriam Craig, daughter (43:42)
  • “It just seems so absurd that you would make a decision to do this." – Vivian Fundermerva (44:38)

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Angela’s character:
  “She was who she was. And that, for me, was probably the most beautiful thing about her.” – Vivian Fundermerva (04:03)
• Medical staff bewilderment:
  “They did CT scans, they did MRIs… The medical staff doesn’t know what caused this.” – Det. Olson (01:11; 10:59)
• Evidence discovery - Cyanide:
  “Dizziness, trouble focusing and weakness. All symptoms of potassium cyanide poisoning. And Angela had all of them.” – Andrea Canning (17:50)
• Craig's incriminating search:
  “How to make murder look like a heart attack. Top five undetectable poisons that show no signs of foul play.” – DA Michael Morgan (33:18)
• Angela’s despair (journal entry):
  “I feel abused, worthless, unwanted, and unloved.” – Defense reading from Angela’s journal (38:55)
• Angela’s own voice - dismisses suicide:
  “Nobody in their right mind would ever think I would kill myself before I killed you.” – Angela (41:24, via security cam)
• Daughter on her father:
  “He was supposed to be my hero. And instead, he’ll forever be the villain in my book.” – Miriam Craig (43:42)
• Judge’s comment via prosecution:
  “Dr. Craig unleashed a path of destruction as wide as a tornado and just as devastating.” – Prosecutor Brackley (44:20)

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Important Segment Timestamps (MM:SS)

• Family background & setting: 02:27 – 06:12
• Angela’s hospitalization & decline: 09:27 – 14:35
• Discovery of cyanide & breakthrough: 17:05 – 19:16
• Digital evidence & double life revelations: 21:00 – 26:00
• Arrest and jailhouse plots: 30:02 – 31:38
• Trial and the defense’s argument: 32:53 – 41:24
• Verdict and sentencing: 42:22 – 44:28
• Aftermath for children and friends: 44:02 – 44:51

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Conclusion

This Dateline episode delivers a comprehensive and emotional exploration of a shocking crime that upended a family and community. Through skillful storytelling and compelling interviews, the episode unpacks how a pillar of the neighborhood orchestrated a calculated murder beneath a façade of normalcy—leaving a lasting impact on all those involved. The case is a haunting reminder that behind some of the most ordinary exteriors can lie the darkest secrets.

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“He stole a beautiful mom and friend and sister and daughter from this world.”
— Prosecutor Ryan Brackley (44:44)

Transcript

[Lester Holt]

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[Vivian Fundermerva]

Every Friday was date night. She would always dress up so beautifully. She was so young. And they had so much still to do.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

The seemingly healthy female came in and within two, three hours, she crashes. They did CT scans, they did MRIs.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

I received a call that she had passed.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Just disbelief.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

The medical staff doesn't know what caused this.

[Detective Molly Harris]

We have to figure out what's going on here.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You go onto that computer and you.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Find how to make murder look like a heart attack. Top five undetectable poisons. The hospital surveillance showed that he was holding a small object that looks like a syringe. This man was literally killing their patient in front of them.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You find something almost mind blowing.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes. I called it a manifesto.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He's hiding in plain sight. Nobody suspected a thing.

[Detective Molly Harris]

I started to think I could be next.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

He's just on a rampage.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yeah, I mean, we'll stop at nothing.

[Lester Holt]

What began as a medical mystery ends in a chilling diagnosis. Cold blooded murder. I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. Here's Andrea Canning with secrets of Exam Room 9.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The life of a typical family captured on home security cameras. Husband and wife sharing an affectionate moment, juggling the chaos of parenthood. Why are you yelling at your sister? Well, the girls should be up for.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Prayers in about five or 10 minutes.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Getting the mail. And like any busy household, everything swirled around the kitchen. But hidden in James and Angela Craig's ordinary moments were clues to a medical mystery.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

The hospital staff were like, we've done all these tests and we can't find a medical reason for this rapid decline.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Or was it something much darker?

[Detective Molly Harris]

He did ask if I could help him with his problem.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Just absolute disbelief. We would have noticed never in our wildest dreams have expected any of that to be their story or part of their lives.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Aurora, Colorado, known as the gateway to the Rockies, was where James and Angela Craig called home.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You moved into Angela's neighborhood?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

From South Africa?

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Yes.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

When we first arrived in 2012, they were the first family that we met. And they loved on us, accepted us, and all our funny accents and funny words, they just were there for us as a family.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Vivian Fundermerva felt an instant connection with Angela, a history buff who loved tracing her family's genealogy in her spare time.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

She wasn't full of heirs and graces. She was who she was. And that, for me, was probably the most beautiful thing about her. She was just very authentic and genuine.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Staying fit was also a priority for Angela.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

She would go biking on the trails and just always active doing something.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Together, they navigated motherhood. Vivian with her three girls, Angela with her half dozen, who ranged from elementary school age to young adults.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Angela and myself, we have in common six kids, five girls and a boy. It's not easy raising that many girls. I can speak to that, you know, I want to know her secret.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Well, I don't know what her secret was, to be honest. She seemed like she had it always together.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The Craigs were active members of the Mormon Church, while Angela was the parent who kept the kids in line. James, or Jim had a different role.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Jim was always the fun dad, just like the perfect, cool dad.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

He was a family dentist, highly regarded around town.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Jim was a really nice guy. He was always so kind, carefree. He seemed always very successful, and he was very generous.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

And here's the Tooth Fairy.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And he had a sense of humor. To help put his patients at ease, his office even posted this video of him dressed up as the Tooth Fairy. He seemed to like being the center of attention.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Look. And he's gonna go visit a patient.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Tama and Jessica are two of Vivian's daughters. They remember James throwing impromptu pizza parties for all the neighborhood kids.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Their house was kind of like a train station. There was always kids coming and going, and everyone was welcome in their house. They would just open the garage up and have all the kids out and put food out and drinks and everything, and we would just all hang out.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

So from the outside, everything looked great with the Craig family?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

They both seemed besotted with each other. They just seemed like a power couple.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

They insisted on date night every week.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Every Friday was date night. That was a sacred time for them and an intimate time for them.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

On Friday, March 10, 2023. The Fundermervas and the Craigs had plans for a double date night, something they.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Hadn'T done in a while. So you were looking forward to this catching up.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

And it was always fun. They would always choose a great place to eat at and there was something always just fun to be around them and laugh.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The day before their scheduled dinner, Vivian texted Angela to see if they were still on.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Jim actually responded. Angela didn't respond. And he kind of just said, hey, Angela's having this weird medical thingy, he called it. And he just said that they were doing so many tests and that she was in hospital and that we would have to reschedule.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Was there any reason to be alarmed, you know, or did you just think, oh, she's just, she's fighting something and she'll be fine in a week, definitely.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

There's no reason. Just everybody gets sick every now and again.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

That was the last Vivian heard from James or any of the Craigs for six days. And then on March 15, we got.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

A desperate call from one of her children just saying, I don't think my mom's going to make. The doctors have said she's not going to make it.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Oh my gosh.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

I was in disbelief and I was like, what do you mean she's not going to make the evening? Nobody's told us how critically ill she is.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Angela had crashed in the hospital and would not recover.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

We just gathered friends and people we know just to pray for Angela and we were just praying that the Lord would just, yeah, do a miracle in this situation.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Vivian and her daughters also went over to the Craig's house to see James.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

He was very emotional and crying and kind of slumped in his body posture and he was just like kind of shaking his head in disbelief and just saying, oh, all the tests, all the tests.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

I mean, at that time it's like so hard to find words on what to say or how to console someone.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

So we just hugged him.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Angela was brain dead. Her family said their goodbyes before doctors took her off life support. Soon, Angela was gone.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Our concern is how are they going to cope with this tragic loss.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

What you knew was a very strong love. You called them a power couple.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Yeah.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

And now he's without her.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The friends couldn't understand what had happened to Angela, a healthy, active 43 year old. They were even more confused when they saw something at the Craig house. They didn't expect investigators.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

I think it was strange that they were putting the crime scene tape up and like no one was in the house.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

I would imagine you're thinking when you first hear that she's died that this is some type of natural death. She had a virus or something that you didn't know about. And then to see police cars, those.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Two things, they just don't go together.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Exactly.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Angela Craig, a mother of six, was dead, leaving those who loved her puzzled and wondering why. She was healthy and vibrant with no previous medical issues. It just didn't add up.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

She was always looking forward to speaking of weddings, like, any moment and, you know, seeing children graduate.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

And now here you were, about to go to her funeral. It's just so unfair.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Yeah, it's hard. A life taken too soon.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

But what friends like Vivian didn't know was that Angela's medical team had been equally puzzled and suspicious. So suspicious that on the day she crashed at the hospital, a nurse was on the phone with police.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

We respond to University Hospital frequently.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Detectives Bobby Olson and Molly Harris, the only two women in Aurora's Major Crimes Homicide Unit, got the case.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

So I've heard that people refer to you as the twins. Sometimes, yes.

[Detective Molly Harris]

We are deemed the twins because of our general work ethic and kind of how we operate together. Our whole unit is amazing and works crazy hours and does all sorts of things, but we are especially crazy, maybe some people would say, where we just don't stop. And so really on the onset of this case, that was. We have to figure out what's going on here.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

While Angela was still on life support, detectives spoke with the doctors and nurses treating her.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

They were like, we've done all these tests and we can't find a medical reason for this rapid decline. There was this seemingly healthy female who came in, and within two, three hours of arriving at the hospital, she crashes and is basically brain dead.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

It's a medical mystery, it appears.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Yes.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The detectives discovered that Angela first went to the emergency room nine days before she crashed.

[Detective Molly Harris]

She had Shakespeare, overall dizziness, having a hard time focusing.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Doctors ran tests but could find no answers.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

So she went home.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

That's frustrating for the patient.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Very frustrating.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You know, something's wrong.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The next day, she went to urgent Care. No answers there either. Soon after she was back in the.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Emergency room, she had complaints that she was vomiting, ultimately even describing having passed out at one point while at home.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

And that same ER doc happened to be working, and she again ran a bunch of tests. They did CT Scans, they did MRIs. I mean, they ran every test, I think possible. And because it was that same ER doc, she had said, I don't know what's going on? I really think we should admit you because these symptoms has been going on and they're increasingly getting worse. And so that doctor admitted her.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

She spent five days in the hospital.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

What is happening to Angela Craig? You know, during these days, as she's lying there in this hospital bed, she.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Just kept saying that she had children at home and she wanted to get home to him. I think that every specialty doctor came over and assessed Angela and not one doctor could figure out what was causing her symptoms.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

So not just frustrating for Angela, but. But all the people trying to save her.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes. All of a sudden, her oxygen level dropped, her heart rate dropped, her blood pressure went through the roof.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Detectives learned Angela fought through it and returned home. One day before she crashed, they sent.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Her home with oxygen. And that wasn't helping either.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

By then, Angela's brother was in town to help out. He told police that her husband, James, the dentist, prescribed her the antibiotic clindamycin to help with a sinus infection. He said James asked him to give her a dose the next morning, two capsules.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

And then once she consumed that antibiotic, is when she got violently sick again.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Her brother took her to a different.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Hospital this time, thinking, let's try somewhere else. Maybe they might have an avenue of progressing this in a good direction.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

So she got there at 11 o'. Clock. She was speaking when she came in. She was lethargic.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Did she say anything when she came in that offered any type of a clue?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

No. She had went into the hospital and again, just looked sick. Right. Not feeling good.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

This is torturous for her because everyone has been really sick in their life, but this is just. This won't stop.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Three hours later, she took that devastating turn. Whatever was wrong had caused Angela's brain to swell.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

That inner cranial pressure in her brain had spiked and was so high that there was really no coming back from that.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The detectives had their work cut out for them.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You never got the chance to talk to Angela?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

No.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

I mean, she could have given you so much information about how she was feeling and what was going on in her life, but you got none of that.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

No.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The detectives asked James Craig for his cell phone and Angela's, which he provided. That was a start. But they were about to dig much deeper into her life, her illness. And some strange activity at the dentist's office.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

This is not a regular delivery to the dental office.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

This is not a normal delivery.

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[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

While Angela Craig fought for her life in an Aurora, Colorado hospital, Detectives Bobby Olson and Molly Harris learned about a strange delivery to her husband's dental office.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

That was addressed to Jim Craig, Personal.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

An assistant opened the package, opened it.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

And then saw the biohazard sticker and then looked at the invoice and saw potassium cyanide and again, nothing that they had ever seen.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

This is not a regular delivery to the dental office.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

This is not a normal delivery.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The office manager resealed the box. But after hearing about Angela's symptoms, on a hunch, she did a search.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

She herself went on Google and Googled what would be the symptoms of someone ingesting potassium cyanide.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Dizziness, trouble focusing, and weakness. All symptoms of potassium cyan cyanide poisoning. And Angela had all of them. Word of the delivery got back to James Craig's business partner. He alerted Angela's medical team.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Is he thinking well, maybe there's an antidote, or if. If it is this potassium cyanide, that maybe we can save her.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes, and that's his whole reason for going to that forensic nurse. Was just hoping that the doctors could find a reason that was causing this and. Or reverse.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Did he say if there would be any need for potassium cyanide at a dentist's office?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

He did and said that there is zero reason to have potassium cyanide.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Angela was still on life support at that point. Doctors administered the antidote through an IV for six hours, but it was too late. Detectives wondered if Angela had been deliberately poisoned. They served search warrants on the dental office and family home.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Anything in the house that was pointing in the direction of, you know, this might explain what happened to her.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

When Angela first got sick, Jim had mentioned to one of the office managers that he had made Angela a protein shake and that he had put too much caffeine or too much B vitamins in it, and that's maybe why Angela wasn't feeling well. So we kind of had an idea or a thought maybe that. That Angela had ingested something through her protein shakes.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

What do you end up taking from the house?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

We took a handful of shaker bottles, some of which still had some remnants in it.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Any pills or anything that were significant or could be?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

No. And we. Again, we didn't know what we were looking for other than potassium cyanide.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The detectives also found a security camera in the house.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

It is still, even in this camera society, somewhat rare to have a camera, especially one with audio, in a house.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Yes, that camera was in the kitchen. As the detectives poured through hundreds of hours of footage, some moments caught their attention. James Craig mixing up protein shakes in plastic bottles. And a heated conversation between James and Angela after she got back from her first hospital stay. You weren't there for me because you were too concerned about what you were concerned about. It appeared Angela was frustrated that James wasn't advocating for her at the hospital. You asked all the details of every.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Medical, everything, everywhere we go, and you didn't even ask. The only thing that saved my life.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Last night was, God, what's that? Because nobody else did anything for me. The detectives sent the shaker bottles for testing and headed to search the dental practice.

[Detective Molly Harris]

We searched high and low in that office, trying to see anything that might constitute a poison bottle, if you will, or even a substance.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Detectives also spoke with one of the office managers. She said she'd recently noticed her boss, James Craig, working on a computer late one night in Exam Room 9. Not in his office.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

She had asked him what he was doing because he has his own office with his own computer. And he said he was following up on patient charting.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

But when they took a closer look at the hard drive, they discovered he was doing a lot more than that. James Craig had created a secret email address and used it to place an order for potassium cyanide, arsenic and oleander.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

This is just a plethora of poisons, Correct?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

I was just hitting the table and I was just. I mean, that was the aha moment.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Detectives felt they had enough evidence to make their movement. On March 19, 12 days after Angela first got sick, and one day after she was taken off life support, they asked James Craig to meet with them.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

He was under the impression that he was coming to the police department to meet with me to get his cell phone back. And ultimately we had an arrest warrant for him and arrested him. When he arrived, you were waiting for.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Him, Waiting for him. What was the expression on his face when he was not there for what he thought he was there for?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

He said, this is really shocking. This is not what I expected.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And there were more surprises to come. Investigators would learn that James Craig was leading a complicated life.

[Detective Molly Harris]

It really went from 0 to 100 very fast.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The sensational arrest of dentist James Craig, accused of poisoning his wife Angela with cyanide made headlines far beyond Aurora, Colorado.

[Lester Holt]

To Colorado now, where police have arrested.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

A dentist there accused of killing his wife.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

It's just very surreal to see somebody you had traveled with, somebody that you knew being arrested for the death of his wife, your friend, a mother. It was. It was really hard.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The investigation into Angela's death was just heating up. Aurora homicide detectives Bobby Olson and Molly Harris now had her latest blood results.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

And ultimately found that there was a fatal dose of potassium cyanide and a fatal dose of tetrahydrozoline.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Tetrahydrozoline, a drug typically found in over the counter eye drops. And it wasn't just in Angela's blood tests on one of the protein shaker bottles came back positive, too. Detectives were also diving into James Craig's digital life, and they discovered something truly stunning. He wasn't just hiding purchases.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You learned that James Craig is living essentially a double life with other women.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes, several other women.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

About six months before Angela got sick, James met Carrie Hegeseth, a single mom of three, trying to pick up the pieces after a difficult breakup.

[Detective Molly Harris]

It is still hard being a single mom.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Also, financially, it must have been a struggle as well.

[Detective Molly Harris]

That's been the hardest part Carrie says.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

She dealt with abuse in the past and at times felt desperate.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

How did you get by?

[Detective Molly Harris]

Well, I've had to be really creative. I. I actually started by selling my panties, my used panties. From there, I started doing sugar dating.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Sugar dating, A mutual arrangement with financial strings attached. Carrie, a sugar baby, was looking for sugar daddies on a website called seeking.com.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Who were you hoping to find as your sugar daddy?

[Detective Molly Harris]

I was hoping to find somebody that I could have, like, friendship with. And then I was also hoping to get financial assistance.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And that's where she first connected with Dr. James Craig.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Oh, my gosh, he seems so amazing. I hadn't really known what a good guy looks like before that. And so to me, I just remember thinking that, like, wow, he's a catch.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The two started talking regularly.

[Detective Molly Harris]

We're just, like, basically filling each other in on our entire lives, how he struggled and then how I've struggled with my past relationship and our kids and. And work and, you know, it really went from 0 to 100 very fast. So we were talking about the future, and he overstepped the boundaries of what a sugar relationship was supposed to be.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

What is it supposed to be?

[Detective Molly Harris]

It's supposed to be an agreement that you fill each other's needs, whatever those might be, but that you also respect that we each have our own lives and give each other space as well.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And Carrie says James Craig did fulfill some of those needs. He even bought her daughter a car.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

About how much did he end up giving you?

[Detective Molly Harris]

He didn't necessarily give me money, but helped provide in support, not just for me, but for my daughter. I think it was maybe around 15,000 in gifts. So not only was he, you know, essentially providing for his actual family at home and Angela and the children, but also, you know, maintaining these relationships through a financial means.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Eventually, their relationship ran its course, as had several others. Detectives discovered Angela was aware of her husband's multiple affairs, but still fought to save their marriage.

[Detective Molly Harris]

As a woman, I think we read through messages and a lot of the aspects of the case, and you understand why she remained in a fight to keep her family alive and keep everybody, you know, cohesive and, you know, some sort of family foundation at home.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

In the weeks before Angela's hospitalization, James Craig continued to cheat.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

We ultimately learned that he had a business trip to Las Vegas for a dental convention. While he was there, he met another orthodontist from Texas and began a pretty steamy relationship with her.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Her name was Karen Kane.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Does it appear to be serious?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

It appears to be serious. It's I love you, you know, can't wait to get to know you better.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Is this feeling like a possible motive to you as you're reading?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

[Detective Molly Harris]

He's telling Angela in their communications there's no other woman. There's no one else. I swear to you, that's not what's happening. And then sending emails on the flip side that we're finding in these searches that are, they're racy, they're explicit.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Detectives discovered that Angela was desperately texting her husband about her symptoms while he was making plans to bring Karen to Colorado.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

We found airline tickets. And so I ultimately believe that he's trying to buy these substances to put Angela in the hospital on the dates that his new love affair is coming into town.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

And what happens while she's there, given.

[Detective Molly Harris]

The circumstances, he's with her, spending time, not at the hospital with his wife.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Even on March 18, the day Angela was taken off life support, James Craig was nowhere to be found.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

He had told his family that he was going to go stay in a hotel because he couldn't sleep in their bed. He couldn't. Angela just passed away. He couldn't bear to sleep in their bedroom. And so. And he's with Karen and he's at the hotel with Karen.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

To the detectives, it was a head spinning turn of events, but they'd soon find out there was one more chilling scheme. The target, one of them.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

He's just on a rampage.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yeah, I mean, we'll stop at nothing.

[Lester Holt]

DATELINE is hitting the road for a first of its kind event and you're invited. Join us in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, September 28th for Dateline Live. The whole team will be there along with our hosts, Annette O', Toole, Michael McKeon and Holly Robinson Pete. Plus expert demonstrations of VIP reception and more. Just three weeks left to buy your tickets at DATELINE and Dateline Live. It would be a crime to miss it.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

I'm Julio Vaquero, anchor of Noticias Telemundo.

[Lester Holt]

You can watch Dateline, the hit true crime series on Telemundo.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And now you can listen to Dateline as a podcast.

[Lester Holt]

Stories of love and betrayal, of secrets.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Revealed of the men and women who stand between evil and justice.

[Lester Holt]

Every twist and turn can now be be heard in Spanish with new mysteries arriving every week. Just search Dateline en Espanol wherever you get your podcasts and start listening.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Good morning, welcome to Today.

[Lester Holt]

From back to school to tackling your to do list, the Today show is your best start to the day.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

It's a new season.

[Lester Holt]

And every morning we're here to help you take it all on. This week, we go inside the game with the Buffalo Bills. How a new tradition mission has fans taking the celebration off the field and into the water. Plus, Hoda's back in Studio 1A with an inspiring story. Then NBA superstar Steph Curry's here live and Steven Spielberg on 50 Years of Jaws. Watch the Today show this week on NBC.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

James Craig, the dentist, the fun neighborhood dad was now sitting behind bars at the Arapahoe County Jail just days after his arrest. Assistant DA Ryan Brackley says Craig made a phone call to one of his daughters with a strange request.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He asked her to bail out one of the fellow inmates and to tell the jail that the fellow inmate was a cousin of hers. She just lost her mom, her dad is in jail, really didn't know what.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

To do, but she went to the jail and posted the bail. Once released, the inmate handed her a letter.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

And that letter was from her dad, essentially asking her to create fake false evidence.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Prosecutors say he wanted his daughter to create a deep fake video of Angela that would get him off the hook.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

This is straight out of a movie script.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Senior Deputy DA Michael Morgan says the family turned in the letter right away.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

I said, well, we're obviously not going to do any of what he's asking us to do. We don't even want to touch this letter.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

But it didn't stop there.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

These letters kept coming from the Arapahoe County Jail. At some point, he had to go even a step further.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

More like a giant leap, further. Deputy DA Osama McGrevie says Craig's letters and conversations with inmates began to target witnesses in the case, including lead detective Bobby Olson.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He asked a fellow inmate to find a way to kill her.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

He's just on a rampage.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yeah. I mean, we'll stop at nothing.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

How fearful were you?

[Detective Bobby Olson]

I mean, it's definitely concerning.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

In addition to first degree murder for poisoning Angela, James Craig was charged with five counts of solicitation, including solicitation to commit murder, tampering with evidence and perjury. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial began in July 2025.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

I remember just like so often just saying to my girls, that's Jim. That's Jim sitting there. And it's just a hard thing to try and wrap your mind around. It's like, that's Jim.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Vivian and her daughters Jessica and Tama attended the trial almost every day.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

The first day of trial, he, like, looked at me and he was crying and he, like, hit his chest. He's like, thank you for being here.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Like, as if you're there for him.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yeah, we were not there for him.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The Craig's three oldest children were there, too. Some days they sat behind the prosecution, other days behind their father.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

They never said to us, we know he did it. They always said, we're going to wait and listen to the evidence, and then we'll. And then we'll let you know. Despite experts and exams and blood tests, they couldn't figure it out. But they fought and they fought to save life.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

In his opening statement, prosecutor Ryan Brackley described the steps medical professionals took to save Angela's life. But it was the actions of someone else he wanted the jury to focus on.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

There was another doctor in University hospital that day, Dr. James Craig.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The prosecution told the jury that James Craig left behind an incriminating search history on the computer in Exam Room 9 at the Dental office.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

How to make murder look like a heart attack. Top five undetectable poisons that show no signs of foul play.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You think he's thinking, they won't look on this computer?

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

I mean, there were nine exam rooms in that office. Each one had a computer. Computer. I'm sure he was thinking, nobody's going to look at this.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

They presented his credit card records and receipts showing that Craig had bought dozens of bottles of over the counter eye drops or tetrahydrozoline at a supermarket near his house. Why are you yelling at your sister? In the age of csi, juries like to see things on tape. So prosecutors pressed play on those videos from the home security system. Just minutes after the mailman delivered the arsenic order, James Craig walked over to the mailbox to get the package. Days later, Craig was captured on camera preparing a protein shake for his wife in the kitchen, where prosecutors said he continued to experiment.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

It shows that he keeps going back and back and back, trying different poisons, as you allege, that he's desperate and determined.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He's relentless.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

It's like trial and error in the worst way.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Right.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The jury saw that profile James Craig had on the dating website seeking.com and heard from the women he met, including Carrie Hegeseth. When she took the stand, Kerry revealed how their relationship took an alarming turn.

[Detective Molly Harris]

I started to believe that he was maybe using me to harm his wife.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Wow.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

What did he say that led you to believe that?

[Detective Molly Harris]

That he needed to get rid of his problem. He needed to get rid of his wife or, you know, get rid of the marriage.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He's essentially telling her, I'm not happy, but I can't get divorced right now.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

He didn't want to be that guy getting a divorce, given their lifestyle and their religion.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Absolutely. Personally, I think that is the strongest motivation he had to commit the crime is his image. Jim Craig is all Persona.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Prosecutors argued that his relationship with Karen Kane was different from his other affairs. And a countdown began once she had that plane ticket to Denver.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Every day, he did something to kill his wife.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Do you believe Karen Cain was the catalyst?

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

I think he used her as a catalyst. I think he had been thinking about killing Angela and he would finish what he intended to do by a certain day and time.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

She's a pawn in all this.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Right.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Karen testified that James told her he was going through a divorce. She knew Angela was sick, but she never suspected he was involved.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

It was clear she had no idea.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Then prosecutors turned to perhaps the most damning part of their case, a strange note Detective Olsen found on Craig's phone. Jurors were about to hear James Craig in his own words. Craig called it a timeline. Detective Olson called it his manifesto.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

We believe that part of that manifesto is truly what happened. Right.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

In the note, he admitted to having affairs with at least six different women and that he had researched different poisons and how fast they kill. He then went into incredible detail describing how he filled clindamycin capsules with the poison. Remember, he had asked Angela's brother to give her the antibiotic which made her violently sick. Investigators photographed the prescription bottle but did not collect it during their search of the home.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

You believe those pills were filled with poison?

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yes, and we went back to try to get them after he had had access to the house, and they were gone.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

There was another sinister admission in that manifesto. Craig wrote that he put cyanide in a syringe. Prosecutor showed the jury video of that moment.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

He was actually holding a small object that looks like a syringe in his hand in the hospital and heads over towards her door. That's Angela's room. Goes inside, shuts the door. What we believe happened next is that he used her IV line that had been placed by the hospital. He put the cyanide directly into her veins, disconnected, stepped out and told the staff that she was complaining about her arm hurting. And that was the end.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

It's unbelievable.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

You could see all of the nurses jumping up and huddling into that room to try to save Angela's life. He didn't go into that room to fight for her life, to support her. He went in that room to murder her.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The manifesto seemed to the prosecutors like a clear confession. But Craig's defense team was about to turn that theory on its head, using Angela's own words. James Craig may have been a cheater, said his defense attorney, Lisa Moses, but he was not a killer. It's not as simple as they would like it to be, because the reality. The reality of it is their marriage was not simple. Their marriage was complex. She explained to the jury that his infidelity was nothing new, but Angela couldn't handle it anymore. At the end of the day, 23 years of marriage, 20 some years of him cheating on Angela Craig, he broke her. And we see it in her journal. The defense showed the jury entries from Angela's journal, including this one where she. I am literally physically ill, and it just seems to be getting worse. I looked at Jim today, and I couldn't feel any love. All of the things I loved about him, about us, were a lie. I feel abused, worthless, unwanted, and unloved. That entry was from 2009. And by 2023, the defense said it was Angela who planned to do something tragic. James Craig wrote in his timeline that while he was the one who had researched the poisons, he only did that because Angela was planning to take her.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Own life, but that she needed help from him because she didn't have credentials to purchase these poisons that Angela had asked him to find fast, painless, quick poisons to kill herself.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

He also wrote, while I did prepare all the concoctions for her, I did not administer any of them to her broken investigation. His attorney argued the investigators had blinders on focusing on James Craig and never looking at any other possibilities. Why not take those blinders off? The search of the home wasn't thorough. She said key evidence was left behind, like some of the shaker bottles, the clindamycin prescription, and also Angela's laptop. Why not take that perception off and look. And look deep. Look deep into what she was actually doing on that laptop. Why? What were they so afraid of? But there were allegations the defense couldn't ignore Craig's shenanigans behind bars, asking his daughter and other inmates to tamper with evidence and his plans to murder Detective Olsen while in jail. That man made some really horrible, awful decisions. They want this as proof that somehow that this is admissions. This is also the. Of a desperate, scared, innocent man.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

The defense for James Gregg said that Angela was suicidal.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

That's not who Angela was.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

She was so strong.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

She stood up for herself and knew who she was. So I don't think that was even a thought. That crossed our mind or that we ever accepted. No, we didn't buy it for a second.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And hauntingly, the jury heard Angela herself dismiss the idea that she would end her own life. It was a conversation with her husband caught on their kitchen security camera. Nobody in their right mind would ever think I would kill myself before I killed you.

[Lester Holt]

Nobody.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Name one person.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

When the jury got the case, everyone held their breath.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

They don't reach a verdict that first day. Did that concern you at all?

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

No. No, There was so much evidence. It was dense evidence, too. I mean, hundreds of pages of text messages with multiple different people, handwritten letters. I'm sure they wanted to make sure they read every word of what this man wrote.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Jurors resumed deliberations the next day, and by lunch sent word they had their decision at this time.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Then I'll ask Dr. Craig and his.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Team to please stand for the reading of the verdict.

[Detective Molly Harris]

We, the jury, unanimously and beyond a.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Reasonable doubt, find the defendant, James Craig, guilty of murder in the first degree.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Guilty of first degree murder and five other charges.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

That must have been a big moment for both of you to be sitting there in court. I saw you. I was there.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Yeah. From the beginning, I wanted this over. I wanted the family to get peace.

[Detective Molly Harris]

Hearing guilty of first degree murder, that's, you know, kind of the first checkbox. And then, you know, ultimately waiting for her count. It was a relief.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

After a short break, everyone filed back inside the courtroom for an immediate sentencing hearing. Even some of the jurors returned to listen.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

It's very unusual.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Shows that they were clearly emotionally invested in that, right?

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

They were. And they got to hear about the impact of what this man did to this family and this community.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The Craig son, Toliver, spoke to the judge first.

[Detective Molly Harris]

It's hard to lose your mom, and.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Three days after that, lose your dad.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

And.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

You know, have to spend the.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Next two and a half years trying to untangle whatever he tells you and.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Whatever anybody else tells you and whatever.

[Detective Bobby Olson]

Might be going on.

[Detective Molly Harris]

And she was my best friend.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

Their oldest daughter, Miriam. He was supposed to be my hero.

[Detective Molly Harris]

And instead, he'll forever be the villain in my book.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

And it hurts so bad every day.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

And I miss her so much. While not all of the Craig children have spoken publicly about the case, Vivian says they are finding a way to move forward. Forward without their mother.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

I think she would be very proud of her children. I think they carry such a special piece of her within them. They carry a resilience and a fighting spirit.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

Dr. Craig unleashed a path of destruction as wide as a tornado and just as devastating.

[Narrator/Reporter Andrea Canning]

The judge sentenced James Craig to life in prison for murdering Angela. No chance of parole, plus an additional 33 years for the other counts.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

Was this worth it? It just seems so absurd that you would make a decision to do this.

[Prosecutor Ryan Brackley]

He stole a beautiful mom and friend and sister and daughter from this world.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

Yeah.

[Vivian Fundermerva]

It's affected so many lives and just, I don't know how it'll ever. It'll never be the same.

[Lester Holt]

And that's all for this edition of dateline. Check out our talking DATELINE podcast. Andrea Canning and I will go behind the scenes of tonight's episode, available Wednesday in the DATELINE feed. Wherever you get your podcasts, we'll see you again next Friday at 10, 9 Central.

[Assistant DA Michael Morgan]

I'm Lester Holt. For all of us at NBC News, good night.