Colorado Dentist Accused of Murdering His Wife Reportedly a ‘Degenerate Gambler’

Posted on: April 4, 2023, 08:50h. 

Last updated on: April 4, 2023, 05:42h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The Colorado dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife was heavily in debt and frequented Las Vegas casinos, news reports revealed this week. He was described as a “degenerate gambler” by The Toronto Sun.

James Craig, seen in a mug shot, above. (Image: Aurora Police Department)

Dr. James Craig, 45, of Aurora, Colo., was $2 million in debt in 2020 and recently lost over $2,ooo in a Las Vegas gambling trip, according to the New York Post. He reportedly lost money on cryptocurrency speculation.

Craig was forced to declare bankruptcy after his dental practice lost so much cash — as much as $170K a year — he was forced to sell it to a dental school classmate last year, according to news reports.

Murder Plot

Officers previously charged Craig with first-degree murder after his wife, 43, died on March 18. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

In the days leading up to her death, Angela suffered from several symptoms associated with poisoning, according to the Post. These include headaches and dizziness, according to the Guardian newspaper.

She was hospitalized shortly before her death.

Doctors alerted the police about her symptoms, with speculation she also may have been given arsenic, according to reports from the Sun. Craig was arrested shortly later.

Angela and Craig were married for 23 years and had six children. Angela also had three insurance life insurance policies in her name.

“I’ve never met a better woman or mother than Angela. She was the most amazing woman. She was a saint,” Courtney Lyons, who worked with James Craig, told the Daily Mail. “She just found time for everyone and everything.”

Poisoning

The investigation determined Angela’s death had been part of  “a heinous, complex and calculated murder,” Mark Hildebrand, a supervisory investigator at the Aurora Police Department, was quoted by the Guardian.

Detectives discovered Craig had purchased poisons online, according to the Post. After the dangerous substances arrived at his dental office, he allegedly slipped potassium cyanide into smoothies his wife drank after her workouts. The poison was detected during an autopsy and related tests.

Potassium cyanide is soluble in water and liquids and can be fatal if ingested.

Alleged Adultery, Porn Addict

During his bumpy marriage, Craig was also dating Karin Cain, identified as a Texas orthodontist, the Post reported.

He was also described as addicted to online porn, according to the Sun. Angela Craig’s sister revealed to police that James Craig “had multiple affairs with several women, [and] told Angela he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager,” the Sun revealed.

But Lyons told the Daily Mail, “They seemed like the perfect family.”

The couple lived with their six kids in a million-dollar home in Aurora, a Denver suburb.