ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) A case making national headlines with a lot of twists and turns before the opening gavel is finally set to get underway Tuesday in Colorado.
Local dentist James Craig is accused of killing his wife by poisoning her protein shakes.
On Monday, the jury was selected.
Christopher Decker, affiliate KDVR’s legal analyst, said in a trial that lasts this long with dramatic facts such as these, it could often take more than a day to select a jury.
“The jury selection today, I mean, they did it in one day. That’s pretty good,” said Decker. “That indicates to me there were not too many people that had to be removed, that there were sufficient numbers in the jury panel to choose 12 or 13, depending on the number of alternates for a very long three-week trial.”
He says this process happened relatively quickly.
“With the opening statements tomorrow, we’re going to be looking for the defense to say this was a biased investigation,” said Decker. “It’s a circumstantial case with no direct evidence. They’re going to be pointing out the fact that when they tested the protein shake containers, they did not have the presence of poison. They’re going to have to distance themselves from the jailhouse informant, the snitch and suggest to the jury that they shouldn’t believe his testimony.”
Last year, jury selection began, but new charges were brought up against Craig for allegedly trying to get a detective on his case killed, while also having two of his attorneys withdraw from the case has delayed the trial.
“From the prosecution, we’re looking for them tomorrow to weave together an enormous amount of circumstantial evidence and to do that in an efficient and persuasive way,” said Decker. “They are going to have experts come in and testify about the forensics, the toxicology and all of that.”
The Arapahoe County coroner ruled that his wife, Angela’s, 2023 death was caused by poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, something found in over-the-counter eye drops.
“They’re also going to have to come up with a plausible explanation for why Dr. Craig was ordering these particular poisons and explain some of the forensics on his phone. So, that’s what we’re looking for in the defense,” Decker said.
He says he has been talking about this case all week, and everyone he has talked with is excited to see this prosecution.
“It’s got Hollywood facts and the tragic death of a wife and a parent and a murder attempt from the jailhouse if you believe the prosecution,” said Decker. “If you believe the defense, it’s a man who is wrongly charged with the murder of his own wife. This is big stakes for a very dramatic set of facts and I think a very difficult case for the defense. We’ll see tomorrow how they will open up on their case.”
The high-stakes murder trial is expected to last about three weeks.
FOX31 will provide updates on the latest developments.
