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James Craig’s trial is on hold after his attorney withdrew from the case and was charged with soliciting murder of an Aurora investigator from jail.
AURORA, Colo. — A murder-for-hire plot tied to a former Aurora dentist – who’s accused of poisoning his wife – involved not only an Aurora Police investigator working on the case, but two other intended victims, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
One of the others targeted in the alleged plan is a law enforcement officer, according to multiple sources.
James Craig, 46, was scheduled to go on trial for first-degree murder and other charges in the March 18, 2023, death of his wife, Angela Craig. But on Nov. 21, the day jury selection was supposed to begin, Craig’s attorney withdrew for unexplained reasons.
Harvey Steinberg, Craig’s former attorney, declined to comment on his decision to withdraw from the case. The hearing where he withdrew was held behind closed doors and the transcript is sealed.
The next day, Arapahoe County prosecutors filed two new counts against Craig, including solicitation to commit murder.
“These additional allegations, if proven by the evidence, make this case an absolute slam dunk for the prosecution,” said Scott Robinson, 9NEWS legal analyst. “From the part of the prosecution, I mean, they couldn’t ask for an easier case to try – an individual who allegedly poisons his wife, leaves an internet trail of searches and then attempts to have the officers who are investigating him murdered.”
According to court documents, Craig is accused of trying to get another inmate being held at the Arapahoe County jail to kill multiple potential witnesses. According to sources familiar with the case, one witness is an Aurora police detective who has been heavily involved in Angela’s death investigation – a detail that 9NEWS first reported on Nov. 25.
Since then, 9NEWS Investigates has confirmed with multiple sources that detective was not the only target of the alleged plot.
Records obtained by 9NEWS show that Craig and the other inmate, who Craig is accused of soliciting for murder, were in jail together in May and June of 2023 – and again on Oct. 18, 2024, when the other man was arrested on an auto theft charge. Newly filed court documents allege that Craig was in contact with the other inmate between Oct. 19 and Nov. 15.
The other man has not been accused of wrongdoing related to the alleged plot to kill the investigator.
In March 2023, Angela was hospitalized three times after suffering a mysterious illness. The third time, Craig’s business partner in the Summberbrook Dental Group told hospital nurses that he suspected she had been poisoned.
That sparked the police investigation, which began before she died. She was a mother of six children.
According to an autopsy report, showed that Angela ingested lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in Visine.
According to the affidavit, Craig used an office computer to research and buy “undetectable poisons.” He also ordered crystalline metalloid arsenic from Amazon a few weeks before his wife’s death. Five days before her death, according to the document, Craig received a package at his dental practice. It was opened by an office attendant who found a biohazard sticker and a circular canister labeled “potassium cyanide.”
Craig faces now six felony charges in connection with his wife’s poisoning and the murder-for-hire plot:
- First-degree murder
- Two counts of solicitation to commit tampering with evidence
- Solicitation to commit first-degree murder
- Two counts of solicitation to commit perjury
Craig is next due in court in connection with his wife’s death on Dec. 16. It’s possible he’ll have a new attorney by then, but it’s not clear when a new trial will be scheduled.
Contact 9NEWS investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story at kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
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