When the defendant’s lawyer abruptly quit, citing a professional conflict, the trial of a Colorado dentist who is accused of poisoning his wife’s protein drinks and killing her was put on hold during jury selection.

James Toliver Craig, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the passing of his wife, Angela Craig, 43. The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office claims that Harvey Steinberg, his former lawyer, withdrew over two provisions of The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct.

Associated coverage:

The first was when the client continued to use the lawyer’s services in a way that the lawyer reasonably thought was illegal or dishonest; the second was when the client insisted on doing something that the lawyer found offensive or with which the lawyer disagreed fundamentally.

According to the prosecution, the judge set a hearing for an appearance of counsel on December 16 after Craig declined to represent himself.

Steinberg declined to comment on Thursday, according to the Denver Post.

In March 2023, Angela Craig passed away. James Craig was taken into custody by the Aurora Police Department a few days after his wife went to the hospital on March 15, 2023, for the third time in nine days because she was experiencing excruciating migraines.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the wife’s condition quickly worsened, according to investigators, and she was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. The medical staff pronounced her brain dead shortly after.

Locals were shocked to hear that their Summer Brook Dental dentist had been charged with his wife’s alleged poison murder before more details of the state’s hypothesis of the case were known.

On his dental practice website, the dentist described himself and Angela as the delighted parents of six wonderful children, as was reported at the time.

Authorities eventually stated that poison was the cause of Angela Craig’s unexplained illness and unexpected death, and that her husband was the primary suspect since he ordered potassium cyanide and arsenic using his dental profession.

According to an affidavit, James Craig, who might have been close to filing for bankruptcy, had been preparing a life with another woman in the weeks before his February 2023 Google searches, which included questions like Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy and How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?

According to the declaration, the search history included YouTube searches for “The Top 10 Deadliest Plants (They Can Kill You), How to Make Poison, and Top 5 Undetectable Poisons That Show No Signs of Foul Play.”

Authorities concluded that Angela Craig’s symptoms, which started on March 6, 2023, and continued until her death on March 18, 2023, were brought on by the protein shakes her husband allegedly prepared for her.

On March 17, 2023, an unidentified witness who knew the victim and chatted with her nearly every day informed detectives that James Craig had a pornography addiction and that the Craigs’ marriage had always been turbulent.

The man allegedly drugged his wife years ago, according to the witness.

When James Craig texted his wife in March 2023, authorities suspect he said, “Given our history, I know that must be triggering.” To be clear, I didn’t give you any drugs.

According to investigators, there was evidence that the dentist was flying to Denver to have a sexually intimate relationship with another lady while his children’s mother was terminally ill. Craig was charged by investigators with attempting to start a new life with a different woman.

Reported in April that he faced a second offense charge while in jail for allegedly attempting to persuade a family member and another unidentified individual to tamper with evidence.

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