US dentist convicted of killing wife by poisoning her protein shakes

A dentist in the US has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after a Colorado jury found him guilty of murder and other charges. According to reports from the BBC, James Craig had been having an affair when he plotted to kill his wife, Angela Craig, in March 2023.The 47-year-old first laced his wife's protein shakes with arsenic and then gave her a fatal dose of cyanide when she lay ill in the hospital, said prosecutors. During the two-week trial, they also added that he felt trapped in his marriage but was facing financial troubles and did not want a divorce.Defence lawyers had argued that Craig's wife, who was then 43, died by suicide because she was heartbroken due to her husband's "constant" affairs.However, the Arapahoe County coroner revealed that she had died due to cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a chemical used in eye drops.

The plot to kill

As per evidence, Craig searched for phrases including "how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human" and "is arsenic detectable in autopsy?" and had even ordered a shipment of potassium cyanide delivered to his dental practice.Two days later, his wife drank a protein shake that made her feel dizzy and weak, and she was thus admitted to the hospital in suburban Denver.

In the hospital, footage from the security camera showed Craig holding a syringe before entering his wife's hospital room.Her condition rapidly worsened in the following days, and she was declared brain-dead.

Charged with murder

The dentist was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday, with additional charges of solicitation to commit murder, resulting from his attempts to get a fellow jail inmate to kill a detective working on the case.

He was also acquitted of manslaughter.One of the couple's six children, Miriam Meservy, gave a victim impact statement, saying, "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."Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced Craig to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, plus 33 additional counts.