Colorado dentist gave his wife a fatal dose of poison while she was hospitalized, prosecutor says

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado dentist carried a syringe into the hospital room where his wife was bedbound with a mysterious illness, and after he left, she rapidly deteriorated and eventually died, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The syringe, they said, carried cyanide.

Prosecutor Michael Mauro and the defense wrapped up closing arguments Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial of James Craig in suburban Denver, and jurors began deliberating before pausing for the night with plans to resume Wednesday.

Craig is accused of murdering his wife of 23 years by gradually poisoning her over 10 days in March 2023, putting her in the hospital where Craig allegedly gave her a fatal and final dose.

One of Craig’s attorneys, Lisa Fine Moses, fiercely pushed back in court. The photos from hospital security cameras of Craig holding a syringe, she said, were blurry and the needles that were recovered by investigators didn’t contain poison.

After Craig was arrested on suspicion of murder, he was further accused of offering to pay others to make it appear his wife, Angela Craig, was suicidal and asking a fellow jail inmate to kill the detective investigating his wife's death.

Craig's motives in killing his wife, said Mauro, were to avoid the reputational and financial burden of divorce, cash in on life insurance and spend time with a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Refuting suggestions that Angela Craig was suicidal, Mauro described her as resilient and hopeful. “She is the ultra-marathon runner of dealing with this man’s betrayal," he said. “But she couldn’t outrun it at University Hospital on March 15.”

Moses disputed the idea that Craig was in financial straits, saying they weren't late on bills and owned a pricey home. As for his cheating, Moses argued, it had been going on for years, was known to Angela Craig and had never been a motivation for murder before.

“So you know what, good job,” Moses said sarcastically, looking at the prosecution, “you proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this guy is a cheater.”

Craig's defense attorneys didn't dispute that poison — cyanide and tetrahydrozoline — were found in Angela Craig's body, but that prosecutors failed to prove Craig had done it.

Instead, Moses suggested Angela Craig was “broken" by Craig's years of infidelity and may have taken her own life. She pointed to a journal entry where Angela Craig wrote in 2009: “I feel depressed. I feel a huge sense of loss with no hope” — and similar entries in 2018.

As the entries were read, Craig wiped his nose and eyes with a tissue.

Moses said police were biased from the start against Craig. They didn't search Angela Craig's computer, said Moses, or find traces of cyanide in a smoothie shaker prosecutors said Craig used to poison his wife.

In the days before his wife's death, prosecutors said, Craig searched online about poisons, including “How to make murder look like a heart attack." Craig allegedly ordered several different poisons that he furtively administered to Angela Craig in protein shakes and pills.

Angela Craig went in and out of the hospital, her symptoms stumping doctors. She went brain-dead on her third visit and died days later.

James Craig didn’t testify, and his lawyers didn’t present any witnesses. In notes police found on James Craig’s phone, the dentist had written that Angela Craig asked him to help kill her with poison when he sought a divorce.

In the document, labeled “timeline,” Craig wrote that he eventually agreed to purchase and prepare poisons for her to take, but not administer them.

Craig said that he put cyanide in some of the antibiotic capsules she had been taking and also prepared a syringe containing cyanide.

According to that timeline, Craig wrote that just before she went to the hospital on March 15, 2023, she must have ingested a mixture containing tetrahydrozoline, the eye drop ingredient, because she became lethargic and weak.

Then, he wrote, she took the antibiotic laced with cyanide he prepared for her.

Angela Craig's brother, Mark Pray, who was visiting to help with Angela Craig's mysterious illness, testified that he gave Angela Craig the capsules on the instructions of James Craig, who was not at home.

Pray said his sister bent over and couldn’t hold herself up after taking the medicine. He and his wife then took her to the hospital.

Jurors have the option of finding Craig guilty of manslaughter if they believe he helped his wife kill herself.

But prosecutors say the only evidence Angela Craig wanted to end her life comes from James Craig, who they say isn’t reliable and allegedly tried to fabricate evidence making it look like his wife died by suicide.

Slevin reported from Denver.

Dentist James Craig reacts during closing arguments in his murder trial in district court in Arapahoe County Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool)

Defense attorney Lisa Moses makes a point during closing arguments in the murder trial of dentist James Craig, who is accused of killing his wife, in district court in Arapahoe County Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool)

Prosecutor Michael Mauro makes a point during closing arguments in the murder trial of dentist James Craig, who is accused of killing his wife, in district court in Arapahoe County Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool)

Dentist James Craig reacts during closing arguments in his murder trial in district court in Arapahoe County Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool)

Prosecutor Michael Mauro, front, makes a point during closing arguments as an image of Angela Craig is cast on a screen in the murder trial of dentist James Craig, who is accused of killing his wife Angela, in district court in Arapahoe County Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, Pool)

Ryan Brackley, a lawyer for the prosecution, delivers his opening arguments during the murder trial for James Craig, accused of killing his wife, at the Arapahoe District Court, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford via Denver Gazette, Pool)

James Craig talks with his family from his seat before opening arguments in his murder trial, as he is accused of killing his wife, at the Arapahoe District Court, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford via Denver Gazette, Pool)

James Craig wipes his face during opening arguments in his murder trial, as he is accused of killing his wife, at the Arapahoe District Court, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford via Denver Gazette, Pool)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.

“The history and the gravity of this moment are not lost on me," Spanberger said in her address. "I maintain an abiding sense of gratitude to those who work, generation after generation, to ensure women could be among those casting ballots, but who could only dream of a day like today.”

Spanberger ran on a vow to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s administration. On the trail, she spoke of the White House’s gutting the civil service, the rising costs of goods and changes impacting the state’s already fragile health care system.

In a thinly veiled dig at the president, Spanberger said it was time for Virginians to fix what was broken.

“I know many of you are worried about the recklessness coming out of Washington,” she said. “You are worried about policies that are hurting our communities, cutting health care access, imperiling rural hospitals and driving up costs.”

Two other Democrats were also sworn in Saturday. Ghazala F. Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to serve in statewide office in the U.S., is the new lieutenant governor. Hashmi placed her hand on a Quran as she was sworn in. Jay Jones is Virginia’s first Black attorney general. He was sworn into his post, notably, in the former capital of the Confederacy.

After the ceremony, Hashmi and Jones stood behind Spanberger as she signed her first 10 executive orders. One order that Spanberger signed Saturday rescinds a Youngkin directive from last year instructing state law enforcement and corrections officers to assist with immigration enforcement.

“Local law enforcement should not be required to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws,” she said.

Spanberger's inauguration as the state’s 75th governor is a historic first: only men have held the post since Virginia first became a commonwealth in 1776. And no woman served as a colonial governor before then.

She will be referred to with traditional formality: “Madam Governor” or, as some officials phrase it, “her excellency.”

According to “A Guide to Virginia Protocol and Traditions,” males in the official party wear morning coats and women wear dark suits for the inauguration and many, including the new governor’s husband, kept to that tradition on Saturday.

But as the first woman to serve as governor, Spanberger wore all white on Saturday, a possible tribute to the women’s suffrage movement. She wore a gold pin on her long, white coat that said: “One country. One destiny.”

Prominent Democrats attended the ceremony, such as New Jersey Gov.-Elect Mikie Sherrill and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. U.S. Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Adam Schiff were seated in the crowd.

On his 95th birthday, former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder also sat behind Spanberger and watched her inauguration.

“On these steps, Virginia inaugurated our 66th governor and our nation’s first elected African American governor,” Spanberger said in her speech. “Gov. L. Douglas Wilder changed what so many of our fellow citizens believed was even possible.”

Democrats in the statehouse have vowed to work with Spanberger to push through their bullish agenda, which includes redrawing the state’s congressional district map ahead of the midterm elections this year.

The state Democrats picked up 13 seats in the House of Delegates a year after the party’s stunning losses nationwide in the 2024 presidential election.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony with her family after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Va. Gov. Glenn Youngkin arrives with his wife before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger arrives inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

Va. Gov. Glenn Youngkin arrives with his wife before Virginia gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger inauguration at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger arrives for inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger sits with her husband Adam Spanberger during inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger participates in inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pool/Steve Helber)

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, center, arrives to deliver his State of the Commonwealth Address during the opening of the 2026 session of the General Assembly at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin acknowledges the applause as he delivers his State of the Commonwealth Address during the opening of the 2026 session of the General Assembly at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl-Sears, top left, House Speaker, Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, top center, and Senate President Pro ten, Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, join in the welcome. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger during an interview at the Capitol Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)