Victim Or Manipulator? Colorado Dentist’s Murder Trial Paints Dueling Portraits Of Wife In Troubled Marriage

As prosecutors attempted to overgarment a Colorado dentist arsenic a calculated slayer who poisoned his woman to prosecute a caller romanticist life, nan defense took a dramatically different way by portraying his woman of 23 years arsenic emotionally manipulative and mentally unstable.

Dr. James Toliver Craig, 47, is charged pinch first-degree execution successful nan March 2023 decease of his wife, Angela Craig, a 43-year-old mother of six. Her origin of decease was wished to beryllium lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline.

In opening statements Tuesday successful Colorado, defense lawyer Ashley Whitham acknowledged nan couple’s rocky 23-year matrimony but described Angela not arsenic a unfortunate of betrayal, but arsenic personification who was emotionally broken, profoundly backstage and astatine times manipulative.

"You're going to perceive her ain girl picture her that she was besides manipulating words," Whitham revealed to jurors Tuesday. "Again, that if she wanted to effort to get something, she would beryllium manipulative."

COLORADO DENTIST'S ALLEGED INTERNET SEARCH HISTORY TAKES CENTER STAGE AS MURDER TRIAL BEGINS

James Craig tears up during opening arguments successful his execution proceedings successful Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, successful Centennial, Colo. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

The Colorado couple's marital strife was laid bare successful Tuesday's opening remarks. Prosecutors pointed to his narration pinch a Texas orthodontist, Dr. Karin Cain, arsenic nan information for nan murder. Cain has not returned Fox News Digital's requests for comment. The defense said nan 47-year-old hubby had extramarital affairs passim nan couple's marriage. 

"Karin Cain was conscionable for illustration nan others. This wasn’t immoderate caller obsession," Whitham said.

Along pinch a bid of affairs, Craig besides allegedly utilized nan website Seeking.com, advertizing himself arsenic "Jim and Waffles" and claiming a nett worthy of $10 cardinal successful hunt of "sugar babies."

Whitham described Angela arsenic an "extremely private" stay-at-home mom of six who, owed to her profoundly held Mormon faith, was reluctant to stock nan couple’s marital issues. She claimed Angela was isolated and personification who was "not astir to show group astir her marital struggles" and who was "broken."

Defense lawyer Kelly Hyman delved into nan dueling strategies arsenic nan high-stakes execution proceedings kicks off. She noted that nan defense's strategy to formed Angela arsenic manipulative and unstable plays into their intends to create reasonable uncertainty and reframe nan context.

"By doing so, nan suspect implies that [he] wasn’t responsible," she explained to Fox News Digital. "That could spell to nan heaty of nan defense that Angela killed herself and that it was suicide."

Ryan Brackley, a lawyer for nan prosecution, delivers his opening arguments during nan execution proceedings of James Craig successful Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, successful Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

Ashley Whitham, a lawyer for nan defense, delivers her opening arguments during a execution proceedings for James Craig successful Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, successful Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

While prosecutors based on Tuesday that Craig’s alleged Google searches, chemic orders and romanticist messages to his alleged mistress magnitude to premeditation, Hyman warned that speculative mentation of integer grounds isn’t ever a slam dunk.

"A measurement to do this is to situation admissibility and nan reliability of nan integer evidence. This tin beryllium done connected cross-examination aliases done a defense witnesser to antagonistic nan integer forensic and timeline reconstruction," she said.

The defense based on Tuesday that investigators operated pinch "tunnel vision" and grounded to analyse different leads. The defense said Angela’s individual laptop was ne'er seized aliases searched contempt prosecutors showing images of her utilizing it from her infirmary furniture to investigation symptoms.

SMALL-TOWN DENTIST FACING TRIAL FOR ALLEGEDLY POISONING WIFE'S PROTEIN SHAKE AMID SECRET AFFAIR

"The defense could reason that nan unexamined laptop whitethorn incorporate accusation supporting an replacement theory of events aliases perchance pointing to different personification and/or a different timeline," Hyman said. "This omission whitethorn propose an incomplete and/or biased investigation."

Hyman besides noted that nan absence of nonstop beingness evidence, specified arsenic cyanide residue connected containers aliases packaging, could activity to nan defense’s advantage.

"The absence of nonstop beingness grounds for illustration poison residue connected nan macromolecule shingle containers aliases nan victim's assemblage presents a cardinal statement for nan defense to use," she said.

Colorado dentist James Craig is accused of fatally poisoning his woman and nan mother of his six kids, Angela Craig. (Facebook)

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Investigators alleged successful tribunal documents obtained by Fox News Digital that, successful nan weeks earlier his wife’s hospitalization and death, Craig utilized a dental agency machine to hunt for "undetectable poisons" and really to get them, later purchasing arsenic and cyanide by mail, "how galore grams of axenic arsenic will termination a human" and "is arsenic detectable successful an autopsy?"

Alongside these online searches, investigators alleged Craig made YouTube queries specified arsenic "how to make poison" and "Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play."

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Fox News Digital has reached retired to James Craig's lead attorney, Lisa Fine Moses, for comment.