The Colorado dentist suspected of poisoning his wife in order to start “a new life” with a Texas-based orthodontist has also been accused of trying to have a detective killed, PEOPLE confirms.
A week after the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced new charges against James Toliver Craig, a spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department told CBS News and NBC News that James, 46, allegedly attempted to have an Aurora police detective, who was investigating his wife Angela Craig’s death, killed.
Police claim that James, who is being held at the Arapahoe County Detention Center, tried to get a fellow jail inmate to commit the crime once in May and June 2023 and again last month, per the outlets.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Nov. 22 that James was charged with solicitation to commit murder in the first degree and solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree. He also was charged with first-degree murder in connection with his wife’s death last year, to which he pleaded not guilty.
A day prior to the district attorney’s announcement of the new charges, James’ attorneys withdrew from the case after citing a “professional conflict and other reasons,” according to CBS News and NBC News. This delayed Craig’s trial, which was scheduled to start on Nov. 21.
James is accused of poisoning his wife, and was arrested in March 2023 in connection with her death. An arrest affidavit from the Aurora Police Department obtained by PEOPLE claims that James slipped potassium cyanide and arsenic into his wife’s pre-workout shake beginning the morning of March 6.
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Angela, who was 43 years old at the time, had complained of feeling faint and dizzy. She was then subsequently admitted in and out of the hospital until she died on March 15.
An investigation into Angela’s death revealed that James had allegedly researched “undetectable poisons” and purchased potassium cyanide and arsenic, which caused symptoms including loss of consciousness and seizures. Those symptoms were the same ones Angela was experiencing up until the day she died, per the arrest affidavit.
Police also said that James had been in communication with a fellow dental professional in Austin, Texas, via email in “what appears to be a sexually intimate relationship.” The affidavit said it appeared as though “James was flying this woman into Denver while his wife and the mother of his children was dying in the hospital.”
A person close to Angela also told police that the couple had been experiencing marital problems for years and that James allegedly had a history of cheating and an addiction to pornography, according to the arrest affidavit.
The next hearing for James’ case is scheduled for Dec. 16, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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