Aurora dentist tried to pay inmate $20k to kill detective in wife’s murder case, DA says

An Aurora dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife allegedly tried to pay another inmate $20,000 to kill the lead detective on the case and pay the inmate’s ex-wife to bear false witness at his trial, prosecutors said in court Friday.

James Craig is charged with first-degree murder in the 2023 poisoning death of his wife, 43-year-old Angela Craig.

But shortly before his trial was set to begin in November, his attorney abruptly quit the case over ethical concerns and the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office sought to file new charges in the case — solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury.

District Court Judge Shay Whitaker ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to try Craig on the new charges during a preliminary hearing Friday, including testimony from an Arapahoe County Jail sergeant and sheriff’s office investigator and two letters allegedly written by Craig.

Craig told an inmate in his jail pod he would pay him $20,000 to kill the Aurora Police Department detective in charge of his case along with two other inmates in the jail and another police officer, the sergeant testified in court Friday.

Investigators have not been able to match the name of the second officer Craig allegedly wanted killed with anyone involved with the case.

In the letters, prosecutors say James Craig detailed how his fellow inmate’s ex-wife could pose as a friend of Angela Craig’s. He detailed his wife’s personal history, his multiple affairs and how to access an online drive containing photos that could be edited to make it look like the women knew each other.

Craig offered to pay the woman $20,000 for that scheme and to find other people to hire as witnesses to testify at his trial, prosecutors said Friday.

James Craig’s defense attorneys argued that there is no proof he was the author of the letters and that the inmate had the motivation to lie to investigators.

Craig’s new trial on all of the charges is set for July 14 through Aug. 1.

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