James Toliver Craig (Aurora Police Department)
A 45-year-old dentist in Colorado faces charges of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, a mother of six children, after severe headaches left her brain dead, investigators said over the weekend.
According to the Aurora Police Department, James Toliver Craig was taken into custody early Sunday morning, days after he allegedly drove his 43-year-old wife to the hospital.
“The charges stem from about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday when Craig drove his wife, 43, to a local hospital because she was complaining of severe headaches and dizziness,” cops said. “Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the wife’s condition deteriorated rapidly, and she was placed on a ventilator in an intensive care unit. She was declared medically brain dead a short time later.”
Although authorities did not immediately identify the victim, a since-removed website for Craig’s Summerbrook Dental practice said her name was Angela. A Law&Crime search of the Wayback Machine-archived version of that website shows that Dr. Jim Craig called himself and Angela “the proud parents of six great kids”:
Dr. Jim Craig did his undergraduate work at Brigham Young University in Provo Utah and graduated from dental school at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Dr. Craig was an associate professor at the University of Missouri Dental School, where he taught courses in Clinical Dentistry, Biochemistry and Histology. Dr. Craig and his wife, Angela, are the proud parents of six great kids. Dr. Craig and his family love the outdoors and are constantly in search of the perfect campsite, mountain biking trail or rock to climb.Patients come from all over the world to see Dr. Craig. It’s not uncommon for him to see patients from Texas, California, New York, England or Wyoming. He also commonly welcomes patients from Aurora, Centennial, Englewood, Denver, Parker and the Denver Tech Center.
Authorities said that further investigation revealed that the victim’s sudden death was linked to poison.
“When the suspicious details of this case came to light, our team of officers and homicide detectives tirelessly worked to uncover the truth behind the victim’s sudden illness and death,” Aurora Police Division Chief Mark Hildebrand said in a statement. “It was quickly discovered this was in fact a heinous, complex and calculated murder. I am very proud of our Major Crimes Homicide Unit’s hard work in solving this case and pursuing justice for the victim.”
The news of Craig’s arrest stunned locals who immediately recognized him as their dentist.
“Hold up my dentist I’ve seen for 18 years?! 👀 what in the world,” one former patient commented under APD’s Facebook post on Craig’s arrest.
“This is heartbreaking and I can’t believe it. He is a wonderful dentist and human person who has been our family dentist for over 15 years. I choose innocence until proven guilty,” said another.
“THIS IS MY DENTIST!!!!!” said a third.