Colorado man convicted of killing his wife after posing as her ex-boyfriend and stalking her

BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man was convicted Thursday of killing his wife after stalking her while posing as her ex-boyfriend.

Jurors reached the verdict against Daniel Krug, 44, a day after beginning deliberations. They found him guilty of all four charges he faced — first-degree murder as well as two counts of stalking and one count of criminal impersonation.

As soon as the verdict was read, a police officer put handcuffs on Krug, who was wearing a gray suit and sitting with his lawyers. Krug is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. He faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Krug's parents sat behind him as the verdict was read in the quiet courtroom. The family of his wife, Kristil Krug, sat on the other side of the courtroom.

With his marriage to Kristil Krug falling apart, prosecutors said Krug decided to play “puppet master” by scaring his wife and then trying to win her back by protecting her from the fake stalking, uniting them against a common threat.

Kristil Krug, a biochemical engineer, kept a log tracking the increasingly threatening texts and emails that suggested she was being watched. As police investigated the messages, prosecutors said Daniel Krug began to realize that he could face criminal charges and started plotting how to kill his wife to silence her and because she didn't want to be with him anymore.

Prosecutors said he waited for her to return to their suburban Denver home on Dec. 14, 2023, after taking two of their children to school and then knocked her unconscious and stabbed her in the heart.

“He didn’t love her. He hated her. Think about what he did to her,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Kate Armstrong said during closing arguments Wednesday.

At the time of the killing, the ex-boyfriend was an eight-hour drive away in Utah, where he was living, according to investigators.

The defense stressed there was no physical evidence linking Daniel Krug to the violent killing, noting that there was no blood found in his car or his clothes, which his daughter said were the same he was wearing when he drove her to the bus stop that morning. None of Daniel Krug’s DNA was found at the scene, though partial DNA from an unknown person was found on her neck, the defense said.

Daniel Krug’s lawyers alleged that sloppy police work had failed to keep Kristil Krug safe before she was killed and then bungled the investigation into her death. The detective who investigated the stalking that Kristil Krug had first reported in October 2023 was lazy and incompetent, they said. The defense also stressed that police failed to test Kristil Krug’s phone for fingerprints even though they alleged Daniel Krug sent texts from it after killing her.

Shortly after the time when authorities said Krug killed his wife, he was at his usual coffee shop buying his morning latte. He complained that he had been given an iced drink instead of a hot one and waited for a replacement. During closing arguments, defense attorney Phillip Geigle questioned whether that is something a “cold-blooded killer” would bother to do.

Prosecutors said that he wanted to be seen as “cool as a cucumber” getting his regular morning coffee before heading to work and also likely planned to wear gloves so he would not leave any DNA linking him to the killing.

According to investigators, the email account that was used to send messages to Kristil Krug was created on the computer network at Daniel Krug’s workplace. A burner phone used to send some of the texts, purchased with a gift card registered to Daniel Krug, was often found to have been in the same general location as his phone, Armstrong said.

Three of the home’s surveillance cameras, which Kristil Krug’s mother said she installed because of the recent stalking, were not recording when she was found, according to Daniel Krug’s arrest affidavit. The one in the garage was covered with tape. The defense said the tape also had DNA from an unknown source.

Prosecutors say Daniel Krug told police that he thought the ex-boyfriend was to blame for her killing. But after police confirmed that man was at home in Utah when his wife was killed, he said maybe Kristil Krug was having affairs, they said.

“It’s always the husband,” Armstrong quoted Daniel Krug as telling detectives as she said he rolled his eyes.

District Attorney Brian Mason walks out of court following the murder conviction of Daniel Krug in Broomfield, Colo., on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Relatives of murder victim Kristil Krug hug outside of court following the conviction of her husband Daniel Krug in Broomfield, Colo., on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

An image of the home in which Kristi Krug was found stabbed and beaten to death is seen April 1, 2025, in Broomfield, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FILE - In this undated image provided by the Broomfield Police Department, Colo., shows Daniel Krug. (Broomfield Police via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)