Friend testifies James Craig dismissed wife's symptoms as 'post-COVID' in poisoning trial

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Angela Craig’s lifelong best friend took the stand Monday as the murder trial of Colorado dentist James Craig entered its second week, telling jurors that the mother of six was never the kind of woman who gave up easily.

“She wasn’t a risk-taker. She wasn’t manipulative,” Nicole Harmon told the jury Monday. “And she never said anything—ever—about wanting to die.”

On March 9, 2023, approximately one week before the 43-year-old was pronounced brain-dead, Angela texted her friend asking for help checking her blood sugar. When she arrived, she found Angela curled up, she testified.

“She hadn’t eaten. She couldn’t stand,” she said, saying that James Craig had given Angela a shake that morning.

When the friend texted and asked what was going on, she said James Craig brushed off Angela’s ailment: “Post-COVID. Not diabetes.”

VICTIM OR MANIPULATOR? COLORADO DENTIST’S MURDER TRIAL PAINTS DUELING PORTRAITS OF WIFE IN TROUBLED MARRIAGE

Not once, she told jurors, did he mention poison.

“Angela never knew what was killing her,” the witness said. Angela was hospitalized for five days. Doctors couldn’t figure it out. And through it all Angela never expressed that she wanted to die, her friend testified.

A nurse who treated Angela Craig during her final hospitalization described her condition as “very critically ill” when she took the stand Monday.

Kristin Aubuchon, a registered nurse at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, testified that she treated Angela on March 15, 2023, just days before the 43-year-old mother of six was declared brain-dead. 

Aubuchon, who previously worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said she was the nurse who drew Angela’s blood that day.

“Yes, I drew those samples that day,” Aubuchon told the jury.

During cross-examination, the defense pointed out that Angela Craig’s name does not appear on the specific lab document shown to the jury. Aubuchon acknowledged that was true.

“I treated other patients that day until Angela arrived,” she explained, noting that she was not responsible for managing official medical records.

Aubuchon also clarified that she is not a custodian of records and cannot personally authenticate all documentation from the hospital’s system.

Angela and James Craig pose for a photo. Craig is accused of killing Angela by poisoning her protein shakes.  (Angela N Jim Craig (Facebook))

Peter Sottile, a physician at the University of Colorado, testified Monday that James Craig’s reaction to his wife’s rapidly deteriorating health was “lackluster.”

Recalling the moment she was rushed to the CT scanner, Sottile said Angela was “very critically ill,” with dangerously low blood pressure and oxygen levels barely registering on monitors. Fearing she might crash during the procedure, the doctor accompanied her into the testing.

“She could have died in the scanner,” he said.

The CT scan revealed catastrophic brain swelling, an injury so severe that, according to the doctor, no blood was reaching her brain. 

“Swelling of that magnitude only happens with massive injury,” he testified. Other scans of Angela’s chest, abdomen, and pelvis showed no abnormalities.

By the time the scan was complete, Angela was unresponsive. Neurosurgeons were called in and drilled into her skull to insert a pressure monitor, which confirmed her intracranial pressure was over 60, which matched her blood pressure, Sottile explained. 

“That meant there was no blood flow to her brain,” he said. 

Angela had been unresponsive for at least 90 minutes. “Recovery was impossible,” Sottile testified.

Sottile recalled James Craig’s reaction when he was told that his wife would not recover.

“That’s bitter,” James Craig said, according to Sottile, who said the dentist’s reaction was “lackluster.”

Angela and Colorado dentist James Craig in a family portrait. James has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly poisoning his wife. (Faceboook)

Carla Walker, the laboratory director for a private toxicology lab, took the stand Tuesday as an expert witness for the prosecution, explaining how her team confirmed the presence of cyanide in Angela Craig’s blood. 

Walker, who was recognized by the court as an expert in toxicology, described the rigorous scientific process behind the testing, which was conducted using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

According to Walker, two separate blood samples from Angela Craig were tested. Each sample received a unique identification number and was handled by multiple trained analysts under a quality control protocol. After initial analysis, the results were independently reviewed by a second analyst and then certified by a third-party scientist. 

Though Walker was not the certified scientist in Angela’s case, she oversees the team and later conducted a personal review of the full data package. 

“I sign off on all of them,” she told the jury.

Walker testified that the cyanide test passed all quality assurance checks and showed no signs of error. The findings, she said, were legitimate.

Walker noted that the toxicology report does not reveal how the cyanide entered Angela’s system, nor can it pinpoint when it was administered.

The Arapahoe County courthouse on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, Centennial, CO. James Craig stands trial inside he is accused of murdering his wife. (Jeremy Sparig for Fox News Digital)

Dr. Justin Brower, a forensic toxicologist with NMS Laboratories, testified Monday that the earliest blood sample taken during Angela Craig’s final hospitalization showed elevated arsenic levels, which he said could not have come from food or natural exposure.

“330 µg/L is not a background level. It’s elevated,” he testified.

When asked by the prosecution what that level of arsenic suggested, he said: “Intentional ingestion. This isn’t from food.”

Brower said the lab screened Angela’s blood for the following substances: Cyanide, arsenic, an expanded drug panel and tetrahydrozoline (a chemical found in eye drops).

During cross-examination, the defense asked Brower who had collected Sample 001 (a toxicology sample).

“I do not know,” Brower responded.

He clarified that all samples from the hospital were submitted by Dr. Kelly Lear, the Arapahoe County Coroner, who did not personally collect the blood.

The third day of James Craig’s trial opened last week with brief testimony from a key law enforcement officer in the case. 

Det. Bobbi Jo Olson, who was the lead investigator in the case, was asked by prosecutors to identify a computer hard drive and phone seized from Craig during the trial. After only a few minutes on the stand, the defense was called to cross-examine her. 

She confirmed for the defense that Craig turned over his devices voluntarily during the investigation. 

Olson was then excused from the stand with the understanding that she will return to testify in much greater detail later in the trial. 

On Wednesday, Craig’s murder trial hinged on critical testimony from the office manager at his Sunnybook Dental Group practice in Aurora, Colorado, who said Craig flippantly dismissed the first alleged poisoning attempt of his wife, Angela. 

Caitlin Romero worked at the dentist’s office in 2023 and was with Craig for several days during the period he is alleged to have killed his wife by mixing cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a chemical in eyedrops, in her protein shakes. 

She told Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley and the court that, on March 6 of that year, Craig entered the office unusually late and told her he and his wife had worked out earlier in the morning. He apologized for being late and told Romero Angela wasn’t feeling well after he made her a post-workout protein shake. 

VICTIM OR MANIPULATOR? COLORADO DENTIST’S MURDER TRIAL PAINTS DUELING PORTRAITS OF WIFE IN TROUBLED MARRIAGE

Recalling the conversation, Romero testified that Craig said, “Maybe he added too much protein” to his wife’s shake. 

She said Craig left the office later that day to take his wife to the emergency room, where Angela reported feeling dizzy. She texted her husband that she felt “drugged” before they went to the hospital. She was released without a diagnosis the same day. 

Craig returned to the office at 5:30 p.m., which was unusual. The practice closes at 4 p.m.

When she left for the day, Romero said she was startled to find Craig sitting in the dark, using the computer in an exam room, which was not his usual computer. When she asked him what he was doing, Craig told her he had come back to the office to unwind after a stressful day dealing with his wife’s sickness.

After Romero left the office that day, she said Craig texted her to alert her that a personal package would be delivered to the office and asked her not to open it. That had never happened before, Romero noted. 

James Craig talks with his family (not pictured) from his seat before the start of opening arguments in a Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

COLORADO DENTIST’S ALLEGED INTERNET SEARCH HISTORY TAKES CENTER STAGE AS MURDER TRIAL BEGINS

On March 9, Angela returned to the hospital, exhibiting similar symptoms to three days earlier. This time, she was admitted and remained in the hospital until March 14.

Romero testified that, on that day, Craig told her he didn’t think Angela would live through the night, which Romero said was the second time he had made that prediction since Angela began experiencing symptoms. 

“Evidence that Craig predicted his wife’s death twice before it occurred can be significant in his criminal case to prove his alleged intent in his case,” Kelly Hyman, a nationally renowned defense lawyer and legal analyst, told Fox News Digital. Hyman is not involved in the tr

“Intent in murder cases refers to the accused’s mental state at the time of the crime. First-degree murder can require proof of premeditation and specific intent to kill in a criminal case.

“Predictions of death may suggest that Craig had allegedly been contemplating and planning the act for a period, potentially for a ‘sustained period of time,’ which may imply premeditation.”

The defense chose not to challenge these statements made by Romero, but Hyman said it could have. 

Ryan Brackley, a lawyer for the prosecution, delivers his opening arguments during a Murder trial for James Craig at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife.  (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

SMALL TOWN DENTIST FACING TRIAL FOR ALLEGEDLY POISONING WIFE’S PROTEIN SHAKE AMID SECRET AFFAIR

“However, the defense would challenge the admissibility and interpretation of such statements and argue that Craig’s wife was suicidal,” Hyman said. “Also, the defense could argue that the statements were taken out of context and/or misinterpreted.”

On March 13, the package arrived to Craig’s practice. A staff member opened the package before bringing it to Romero, who described the contents of the box as a sealed “foil package” and a paper invoice. The box was marked as a biohazard. She checked the invoice to make sure it was the personal package that Craig had discussed with her and saw that it was. On the invoice, she read that Craig had ordered potassium cyanide, which she immediately googled out of curiosity. 

On March 15, Angela was admitted to the hospital for the final time. 

Craig was in the office that day and told Romero he had to leave because Angela was returning to the hospital. 

Romero testified that with suspicions mounting, she then googled symptoms of cyanide poisoning. 

Ashley Whitham, a lawyer for the defense, delivers her opening arguments during the murder trial of James Craig in Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, Colo. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

COLORADO DENTIST’S MURDER TRIAL PUT ON HOLD AFTER DEFENSE ‘SUDDENLY QUIT’ PRIOR TO JURY SELECTION

During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Lisa Fine Moses pointed to the fact that while Romero had received the package and read that it contained potassium cyanide, she couldn’t be sure of that because she did not open the sealed foil package. 

She also asked Romero about her evening office interaction with Craig on March 6, and Romero conceded that, emotionally, Craig seemed normal during that time. 

Moses examined Romero’s relationship with Craig, which Romero described as an “intimate emotional relationship.” She established that the pair were close and often spoke about personal and family matters on personal devices and via channels unrelated to their work. 

Moses also established that, during the investigation into the alleged crime, when Romero spoke to police, she did not disclose the true nature of their relationship or all of the communications between them. 

James Craig tears up during opening arguments in his Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. (Stephen Swofford/Denver Gazette via Pool)

The importance of calling a critical witness like Romero as a witness so early in the trial was not lost on Hyman. 

“The prosecutor will want to start strong and end strong as to the witnesses,” she said. “The prosecutor may want to start the case with the most important witness. For example, the star witness, or someone that is going to start telling the story of the case as to the timeline of the case from start to finish.”