by A Colorado dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife in a “complex and calculated murder” was arrested over the weekend, authorities announced.
Dr. James Toliver Craig, 45, a dentist in Aurora, was arrested Sunday, four days after he took his 43-year-old wife to the hospital because she complained of “bad headaches and dizziness.” aurora police saying.
After the woman arrived at the hospital, her condition “deteriorated rapidly.” She was placed on a ventilator in intensive care and “a short time later she was medically declared brain dead,” authorities said.
An investigation determined that she was poisoned. The police statement does not say what she was poisoned with.
A police affidavit filed in the criminal case mentions that Craig had recently purchased crystalline metalloid arsenic and potassium cyanidereported KUSA of Denver, an NBC affiliate.
Craig’s wife had been hospitalized three times this month: on March 6, Tuesday and Wednesday, Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson wrote in the document.
After Wednesday’s hospitalization, a business associate and friend of Craig’s told a nurse that she may have been poisoned, Olson wrote. The business associate said that Craig had recently ordered potassium cyanide and that there was no reason for the chemist to be in a dental office, the affidavit says.
KUSA
An Internet search history turned up YouTube searches including “Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play,” Olson wrote in the affidavit.
Olson also wrote that there was evidence to suggest that Craig was in a romantic relationship with another woman and was “working to start a new life” with her.
An arrest warrant was obtained for first-degree murder early Sunday morning, shortly after doctors decided to disconnect the wife from life support.
Craig was booked into jail at 2 a.m. Sunday on a first-degree murder charge. It is not immediately clear if he has an attorney.
“When the suspicious details of this case came to light, our team of homicide officers and detectives worked tirelessly to uncover the truth behind the victim’s sudden illness and death,” said Investigations Division Chief Mark Hildebrand. .
“It was quickly discovered that this was a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am very proud of the hard work of our Major Crimes Homicide Unit in solving this case and seeking justice for the victim,” he added.
