
Unkempt Colorado dentist accused of poisoning wife appears in court as coroner details sky-high cyanide levels
Colorado dentist and father-of-six James Toliver Craig leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs through his handcuffs on Wednesday, his beard unkempt above his orange prison jumpsuit, as court took a brief recess from a preliminary hearing on the first-degree murder charge he faces for allegedly poisoning his wife. The casual display came shortly after the prosecution laid out a litany of evidence they say supports their case that Craig deliberately poisoned his spouse of more than two decades, Angela Dawn Pray Craig, with shakes while pursuing a relationship with a Texas orthodontist. Craig, 45, was arrested one day after Angela, 43, was pronounced dead on 18 March following her third hospitalisation in a month for a host of concerning and worsening symptoms. Prosecutors on Wednesday revealed Craig was also now facing a second charge without specifying what it was. But testimony from the Arapahoe County Coroner and lead detective – as reporters and several of Angela’s relatives sat in the courtroom – included a number of explosive claims. According to evidence given by Arapahoe County Coroner Dr Kelly Lear, samples showed that Angela had an arsenic level of 68 around 11.50am on 15 March – but that level had increased to 330 just after 8.20pm. That would be “consistent with her receiving additional cyanide exposure in that time period,” Dr Lear said. The cause of death she listed in her report was acute “cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning; the manner of death is homicide,” she testified Wednesday. Tetrahydrozoline is the decongestant used in Visine eye drops. The dentist had researched other types of poison before his wife’s death, including an internet search for oleander, Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson testified on Wednesday. A search warrant obtained for an exam room computer at his dental practice found that, in the weeks leading up to Angela’s final hospitalization, Craig had searched for “how to make murder look like a heart attack,” “is arsenic detectable in an autopsy” and “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?” Det. Olson also testified about how hospital staff, then police, were informed by Craig’s business partner and his wife about their concerns regarding the dentist’s behavior. Ryan Redfearn and his wife, Michelle, who has a PhD in nursing, had been informed by staff at the joint dental practice he owned with Craig that his business partner had ordered a delivery of potassium cyanide to the office. He had instructed an office employee to look out for a private package but it was mistakenly opened by another worker after it arrived on 13 March, Det. Olson said. A staff member “reconstructed the box, put the packaging slip back in; prior to doing that, she saw that it said ‘potassium cyanide,’ described the container, said it was like a tinfoil cardboard type container” she’d never seen before in the dental practice, Det. Olson said. “There was also a biohazard type sticker on the box, as well; she put it back together and then handed it to Mr Craig.” The dentist was later seen leaving with the container, the detective said. The employee googled potassium cyanide and its symptoms, connected them to Angela’s illness and told the Redfearns, who then told nursing staff, who called police. Det. Olson said both Redfearns were interviewed in the early morning hours of 16 March. At that time, Michelle Redfearn pointed out to police the previous recent hospital visits Angela had made, the detective said. Mr Redfearn, meanwhile, told police that Craig had filed for bankruptcy in 2021 and the debt payments were being covered by his own part of the business to the tune of $18,000 a month. He said he’d informed his partner in January that he “needed to work more, be around more, take less time off and that he was going to have to take a pay cut,” the detective testified. Craig’s pay was $39,000 in January and less than $16,000 the following month, she said. The dentist had taken out four life insurance policies on his wife from two companies totaling nearly $4.5million, the court heard. Throughout all of this, prosecutors allege Craig was enjoying his burgeoning relationship with Texas orthodontist Karin Cain, who is named in the charging documents. Det. Olson on Wednesday confirmed that the dentist continued to write letters to Ms Cain from jail after his arrest professing his love for her. Just hours before Wednesday’s hearing, Ms Cain broke her silence to claim that Mr Craig lied to her about the state of his marriage and that she would never have gotten involved with him if she had known the truth. Rather than being his “mistress”, the Texas orthodontist said they had only met three weeks prior to his wife’s death at a dentistry conference. “I don’t like the label,” she said. “If I had known what was true, I would not have been with this person.” Ms Cain shared doubts that she played a part in Mr Craig’s alleged murderous motive, as she said they had never planned a future together. “There’s no way I’m a motive. There’s been no planning a future together,” she said. Ms Cain said that she met Mr Craig at the dental conference in February and that he lied to her by claiming his marriage was over and that he did not live in the same home as his wife. At the time, Ms Cain was also in the middle of divorcing her husband of three decades. While she was “not looking for love,” she said that they bonded over their apparent shared experiences and shared devotion to their children. In total, they spent just three days together at the conference, meeting on a Thursday before parting ways – her to Texas, him to Colorado – on Saturday. After that they messaged constantly and she felt “so connected” to her new companion, she said. She planned to visit him in Colorado but the first trip fell through. The second planned trip came in March when she said Mr Craig told her his wife was ill. The day before she was due to arrive in Denver, she said that Angela had a seizure and was placed on life support, with a low chance of survival. While she said she reconsidered going to Colorado at that time, Mr Craig allegedly encouraged her by saying that he could do with her support. They went for dinner twice, she said, where she noted his behaviour seemed odd. “He at no point seemed stressed or anxious,” she said. “I mean really I had to drag it out of him like, ‘Are you sure you’re ok?’” Days later, Angela was dead. Now, Ms Cain says she feels lied to by the person she felt she was falling in love with. “I don’t have any sort of headspace in my reality where it fits” what she has now learned in the criminal affidavit, she said. “I didn’t willingly have a relationship with somebody who was in a marriage.” Read More Poison shakes, an illicit affair and ‘crocodile tears’: What we know about Denver’s alleged killer dentist Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's shakes Colorado dentist is charged with murder for allegedly poisoning wife who complained of headaches for weeks
2023-07-13 06:11

Chloe Bailey in tears after accidentally eating beef burger for the first time in 10 years
Chloe Bailey was left in distress after she recently accidentally ate a beef burger, interrupting 10 years of dedicated veganism. The Little Mermaid star, 25, and her younger sister Halle Bailey, 23, have both been vegans for the last decade and have been outspoken about their dietary choices. However, Chloe revealed in an Instagram Live stream that she was mistakenly served red meat instead of a plant-based Beyond Meat burger over the weekend, just before attending Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour concert in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Chloe, the incident occurred on Saturday (12 August) after she ordered burgers for her and Halle in the hotel they were staying in before the show. She told fans: “So I called to get a Beyond Burger for sis and I like usual. Specified that it’s vegan, no butter on the bun, nothing like that. “So we get the burgers, I’m getting out of the shower… and she’s eating the burger and she’s like, ‘Are you sure this is Beyond?’” Confident in her ordering, Chloe said it was. However, when she took a bite of the burger herself, she realised something was wrong. The “Do It” singer continued: “I touched the patty and smelled it and was like, ‘Of course it’s Beyond, yeah’. So I finish getting dressed, I take a bite and the juice dripping from the burger is not like a Beyond burger. I just knew it was not a fake burger. “The one bite I took and I just knew. Immediately I said, ‘This doesn’t feel right’.” She quickly rang the hotel’s front desk to ask if they delivered vegan burgers to her hotel room. However, the concierge’s answer horrified her. “He said, ‘No, they’re brand burgers’. I said, ‘Brand burgers? I said Beyond burgers’. I don’t even know what a brand burger is,” she told fans on the livestream. “Immediately I’m losing my s***. I gobbled down a whole can of Sprite. Halle’s laughing at me because I’m crying. This is right before the concert yesterday. I’m crying, Halle’s just laughing so hard at me because I’m freaking out. “I’ve been vegan for 10 years. I have not consumed any red meat for 10 years,” Chloe added. The clip was shared on the celebrity news Instagram account The Shade Room, and prompted sympathy from other vegetarian and vegan fans. “I’m vegetarian and it’s definitely hard to tell the difference sometimes but you know the taste of real meat and that stomach ache ain’t no joke,” one person commented. Another said: “My first time eating meat after a full vegan diet, my stomach… revolted.” Halle said in a 2017 interview with Complex that the sisters went vegan because of their mother. She explained: “One day, she was like, ‘I’m gonna try to be vegetarian for a week. You can join me if you’d like’. We started the week with her and just never went back.” In an awkward red carpet exchange at the premiere of live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, Halle was asked who she would choose to eat between Flounder and Sebastian. In the film, Flounder is a fish and Sebastian is a crab. She responded: “I would not eat either of them. They’re my friends." Read More The millionaire smuggled out of Japan in a box: Was Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn a victim or a villain? Husband ‘ruins’ dinner because of his wife’s typo: ‘The worst kind of control freak’ Billy Porter hits out at Harry Styles and Anna Wintour over Vogue cover: ‘You’re using my community’ How sizzling kitchen drama The Bear is spicing up the dating game for chefs Mick Fleetwood says his Hawaii restaurant was ‘lost’ in devastating Maui wildfires Where to find the best Guinness in London – and how to spot a bad one
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CVS Health turns in better-than-expected 2Q even as pharmacy pricing, increased care use hurt
CVS Health topped second-quarter expectations, but the health care giant’s profit sank as pricing pressure hurt its drugstore business and rising medical costs hit the health insurance side
2023-08-02 19:21

Toxic gas leak in South Africa kills 16 people, including three children, police say
Police in South Africa say at least 16 people, including three children, have died from leak of toxic gas
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YouTube tests fighting ad blockers with 3-strike rule
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Trump news – live: Trump demands cameras in court for Jan 6 case as date set for classified documents trial
Donald Trump will face trial for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case on 20 May 2024, just six months before the presidential election. Judge Aileen Cannon gave the order on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the former president has been busy bullying his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, including Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, on Truth Social as he braces for an imminent grand jury indictment over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in inciting the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021. Mr Trump announced on Tuesday that he had been sent a letter by special prosecutor Jack Smith informing him that he is the “target” of the investigation, citing three statutes under which he could be charged, including conspiracy to commit offence or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law and tampering with a witness, victim or informant. That indictment, Mr Trump’s third in four months, could be handed down any day now, The Independent learned. Meanwhile, the latest attorney to join Mr Trump’s legal team says he wants cameras in court when the former president is potentially put on trial over his alleged election interference. Read More What Donald Trump’s trial date means for the 2024 election Trump demands cameras in courtroom for potential election fraud case Trump legal team tries again to block Georgia election interference grand jury probe Trump calls for ‘immediate’ death penalty for child traffickers after watching QAnon-linked movie
2023-07-22 20:48

House Republicans ready contempt vote against FBI director Wray over document
The House Oversight chairman says he plans to move forward with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress
2023-06-06 05:12

Thai exports rise 2.6% y/y in August, first increase in 11 months
BANGKOK Thai exports unexpectedly rose for the first time in 11 months in August, helped by higher shipments
2023-09-26 11:33

Sorry, No New Nintendo Switch Console This Year
Anyone hoping for a more powerful Switch console to launch this year is set to
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Shark Beauty™ Expands Hair Care Portfolio with New Innovations and Partners with Celebrity Hairstylist Chris Appleton as its Newest Global Ambassador
NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--
2023-08-15 22:01

G-7 Latest: Zelenskiy Set to Arrive, China Policies in Focus
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set make a high-stakes visit to the Group of Seven summit, seeking to win
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Who all are part of JoJo Siwa's chosen family? 'Dance Moms' alum completes shooting for 'Special Forces: World's Toughest Test' Season 2
'Special Forces brought us together just a few months ago and I am grateful for these two and for the rest of the chosen family,' said JoJo Siwa
2023-08-26 08:27
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