More than two years after Angela Craig was poisoned and died as a result, her husband and former Aurora dentist, James Craig, will stand trial for her murder. Opening statements are set to begin Tues.

Aurora

The trial of James Craig, a former Aurora dentist accused of murdering his wife Angela with cyanide, has commenced more than two years after her death. Craig faces six charges, including tampering with evidence and allegedly plotting against the lead detective in the case. The trial has attracted national attention due to the nature of the allegations and the complexity of the evidence, which includes scientific and forensic testimony.

The proceedings have been marked by notable attorney changes, with Craig losing two defense lawyers prior to the trial. Despite the high-profile nature of the case and concerns about seating an impartial jury, a jury has been selected and opening statements are underway. Legal analysts note that while attorney switches are not uncommon, such changes close to trial are unusual.

Trial of Aurora dentist accused of poisoning wife begins

A poisoned wife, a murder for hire plot, an attorney switch ups, opening statements in a case that is catching the attention of the nation are set to start later this morning, and Denver 7 will have gavel to gavel coverage. Former Aurora dentist James Craig is accused of killing his wife Angela with cyanide in 2023. Our alley Jenner John is outside the Arapahoe County Courthouse this morning with what we know as this trial begins in alley. This morning we're all waiting to hear what the defense lays out this morning. Yeah, because I think we can start to assume maybe what prosecutors will say when it comes to James Craig and maybe that his marriage was unhappy. We know we've heard rumors of him having affairs. We also you know the fact that he had to defend himself over text messages that we read through affidavits between him and his wife, Angela. Angela telling him that she wasn't feeling well and him feeling the need to defend himself saying quote, just for the record, I did not drug you. So these are just some of the stories the defense will have to argue against. On top of Craig's six charges, those include a range of things spanning from tampering with evidence to allegedly putting a hit out on the lead detective in this case. You also have to keep in mind we're going into this trial just days after Craig lost his second attorney. Robert Working was arrested on suspicion of arson a couple weeks ago, nearly a year ago. Harvey Steinberg dropped the case, telling our partners at the Denver Post. He believed Craig was heading towards a course of action he considered quote criminal or fraudulent. Now I did speak to a legal analyst about all of this and he says switching attorneys isn't rare. What's exceptional? Is it happening so close to trial time? It involves multiple criminal charges and a lot of scientific and forensic evidence, and anytime a case has. Forensic evidence like that there's going to be the need for experts, and those experts will come in and explain either what they found in a particular electronic device, for example. Or a toxicologist will come in and need to talk about the nature and type of poisons involved here and and pathologists. Now I do think it's just important to remember that this trial is starting over two years after Angela's death, and I asked Decker that attorney you just heard from if this could be a problem when it comes to the defense, laying out their theory. He says not usually that this timing can be OK and less in certain instances. When it comes to their theory, they're relying on memories or physical evidence and Nusha that could disappear. So I think we're going to learn a lot as soon as these opening statements begin this morning and kind of alley like we were talking before. I mean, this has been such a public case so far. What was the concerns when it came to seating a jury? A fair trial as well? What did you learn about that? Yeah, because I mean, we said this earlier, right? This is really a case that's catching nationwide attention. It's hard to believe there's anyone that hasn't heard of this. It is likely there were people that were being seated for that jury that haven't heard any details of this case, but I did ask the same question to Decker and Decker tells me that it comes down to how much they know about this case and if a person has already made an opinion on it. But just keep in mind, a jury has been seated, so that likely means that prosecutors and defense do feel confident that they've found people that can be a part of this case in an unbiased manner. And if they didn't feel that way, Anusha, there was always the chance that this could end in a mistrial, and it didn't. So a lot to learn today and we'll see what happens live in Aurora Alley, General John Denver 7.

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Breakdown