A Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife’s protein shakes tried to rig his murder trial by getting a fellow inmate to plant evidence that would make the woman’s death appear to be a suicide, according to reports.
Dr. James Craig wrote a jailhouse letter to a former inmate trying to persuade the ex-con to commit perjury by placing phony suicide notes through his family home, Aurora Police say according to the Denver Gazette.
Craig would write those fake notes from prison and provide them to the man who had recently been released, according to that letter, that outlet reported.
The alleged murderer outlined how his would-be accomplice should also find attractive women who would agree to lie to the court and say they had an affair with Craig, cops said in court.
Those affairs would then supposedly serve as motivation for Angela to commit suicide out of spite for her unfaithful husband.
Craig offered his fellow inmate’s mother free dental work in exchange for the favor, the Denver Gazette reports.
The letter was never received — being returned to sender after the dentist had forgotten to include his would-be accomplice’s apartment number in the address line, according to that outlet.
A jail staff technician would then receive, open, and read the letter, cops told the court.
Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg abruptly withdrew from the case earlier this week ahead of jury selection.
He cited two rules of professional conduct, claiming that his client was attempting to have the lawyer commit fraud or other criminal acts, according to The Denver Post.
The judge delayed the trial to accommodate the abrupt change.
Dr. Craig is due back in court on December 16th where he is expected to introduce a new attorney, according to the Denver Post.
Angela Craig, 43, died on March 18, 2023, from a lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a decongestant found in over-the-counter eye drops.
Prosecutors say Craig searched online about how to poison someone and bought arsenic and cyanide in the days leading up to Angela’s death.
Those searches, allegedly made on a public computer, included: “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human’, ‘is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy’, ‘Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That SHow No Signs of Foul Play’, ‘how to make poison’, and ‘The Top 10 Deadliest Plants (They Can Kill You)’, according to prosecutors.
Craig made those searches and concocted his murderous plan shortly after beginning an extramarital affair, prosecutors allege.
The dentist faces charges of first degree murder, tampering with evidence, first-degree murder first-degree solicitation to commit perjury stemming from his conniving letter.
Craig maintains that he is innocent of all charges.
The trail is set to begin in early January.
