A dentist has been jailed for life for poisoning his wife’s protein shakes before delivering a fatal dose of cyanide while she was in hospital.
James Craig, from Colorado in the US, had searched on the internet “how to make murder look like a heart attack” weeks before Angela – his wife of 23 years – died, a trial heard.
The 45-year-old had also searched for answers to the question “is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?” on a computer at his dental practice in the Denver suburb of Aurora in Colorado, the court was told.
Prosecutors said the dentist had poisoned Mrs Craig, who was the mother of his six children, over 10 days in the month of her death.
When those attempts failed, prosecutors alleged the dentist gave the 43-year-old a final dose of cyanide while she was hospitalised in Denver with symptoms that confused doctors.
She was declared brain dead soon after on what was her third trip to hospital following the initial poisonings.
Police in the Denver had begun investigating Craig after his dental practice partner and friend told a nurse that the dentist had ordered potassium cyanide, even though it was not needed for their work.
Craig was convicted of first-degree murder and several other charges by a jury at the Arapahoe County Justice Center on Wednesday.
District Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced Craig to life without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Colorado.
The jury rejected his claim that he had helped his wife kill herself after he said he wanted a divorce following his repeated extramarital affairs.
His sentencing came after his oldest daughter, Miriam Merservy, spoke tearfully in court about how she missed being able to talk to her mother about her life and how she felt betrayed by her father.
“I was supposed to be able to trust my dad; he was supposed to be my hero, and instead he’ll forever be the villain in my book,” she said.
Craig appeared to shake with tears as his daughter spoke.
The couple’s son Toliver Craig told the court he and his mother didn’t always get along – but two weeks after she died he set an alarm on his phone that still goes off every night at 10pm. It just says “Mom”.
“I’m sad there’s not more time with her,” he said.
Craig didn’t testify during his two-week trial and he declined to make a statement before being sentenced.
Toxicology tests determined Mrs Craig died of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner.
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Toliver Craig returns to his seat after making a victim’s impact statement. Pic: AP
Prosecutors argued Craig wanted to kill his wife to get out of a marriage he felt trapped in, adding he didn’t want a divorce because he wanted to protect his money and image.
They said photos from a hospital security camera shown in court depict Craig holding a syringe before he entered his wife’s room.
After administering the fatal dose, Craig walked out and texted a fellow dentist with whom he was having an affair, Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Mauro told jurors in closing arguments on Tuesday.
His wife’s condition quickly worsened.
Speaking after sentencing, Mr Mauro said Craig clearly wanted out of his marriage but gave in to “greed and cowardice” with murder.
“The jury said it loudly: Angela was not suicidal. She had no knowledge of or participation in what happened to her,” the prosecutor said.
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What else was Craig convicted of?
Besides murder, Craig was found guilty of trying to cover up the killing by asking others to fake evidence and testimony that would make it appear his wife had killed herself or wanted to frame him for her death.
He was also found guilty of asking one of his daughters, who was not Ms Merservy, to make a fake video of her mother asking to be poisoned.
Craig was also convicted trying to get a fellow jail inmate to kill the lead detective investigating his wife’s death.
He was acquitted of just one charge – manslaughter.
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