Craig murder trial: Daughters say mother wasn’t suicidal, had future plans

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).

Two of suspected killer James Craig’s daughters took the stand Thursday afternoon in a Centennial, Colorado, courtroom and testified against their father, who is accused of killing their mother over a 10-day period in March 2023. 

Craig is charged with first-degree murder in the death of wife Angela, who prosecutors allege died from potassium cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning after an agonizing week-and-a-half in and out of the hospital. 

Craig’s oldest daughter testified Thursday that her mother was far from suicidal, as the defense, led by attorney Lisa Fine Moses, has suggested during the trial, according to KUSA. 

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“She would talk to me about how fun it would be when I had kids of my own and when she could meet them,” the daughter reportedly said. “She was so excited to be a grandma.”

She described Angela as her “best friend” and said Angela had hobbies, including woodworking and exercise. She also loved animals, and, above all, her children. 

Craig’s daughter testified that while her mother was in the hospital, she was frustrated she could not be with her children.

“She wanted to get back home,” she said. “She just wanted to get back to her girls.” 

She told the jury her parents struggled in their marriage several years before the alleged murder but said things had gotten better before Angela’s death. 

The defense insisted that Angela was unhappy in a failing marriage, reportedly calling her a “broken” woman with mental health issues. Craig’s attorneys have never disputed that Angela died by poisoning but say Craig was not responsible. 

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The couple’s eldest daughter reportedly wanted an autopsy done on Angela’s body but said Craig refused. 

Later, the couple’s second-eldest daughter testified. She also said her mother was not suicidal and had plans for the future. 

“We mostly talked about moving. She always talked about her forever home,” she said. 

Angela dreamed of moving to a home on a large plot of land with a woodworking shop in five years or so, according to the testimony. 

She also revealed critical information about communications with her father while he was in jail, particularly a list of requests made by Craig. 

Upon her father’s instruction, she said she bailed another inmate out of jail. That inmate then gave her a handwritten bundle of documents in her father’s handwriting. The documents included instructions for her to make a “deepfake” video using a cheap burner laptop that she was to buy using a prepaid Visa gift card. Craig instructed his daughter to access the dark web to purchase the video-making service. 

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He also allegedly ordered her to upload the video to a thumb drive and tell detectives she found the drive in her mother’s bag, then to destroy the laptop. 

Craig told his daughter in the documents that he had been unfaithful to Angela and that she asked him to purchase the poison. He told his daughter that he and her mom were playing a game of chicken when she accidentally took too much of the poison. 

Craig faces a charge of solicitation to tamper with evidence related to this incident. 

Former Arapahoe County prosecutor and current Colorado defense attorney Eric Faddis, who is not involved with the Craig case, spoke to Fox News Digital about the crucial testimony. 

“It’s absolutely a blow to the defense,” he said. 

Faddis believes the children would likely have known if their mother was suicidal and that allegedly asking one of them to fabricate evidence would be unnecessary if Craig had done nothing wrong. 

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“[Craig] reaching out and asking one of the children to do a deep fake video that supported the notion that Angela Craig was suicidal seems like a bit of an act of desperation,” said Faddis. 

“And, also, to involve your children in such a way when you’re faced with a first-degree murder charge that could even cause those children to be exposed to criminal liability, it’s just a horrible look for the defense.”

As for the daughters’ denial that their mother was suicidal, Faddis said the testimony could be interpreted by the jury in two ways. 

“They could interpret it as, if a person is suicidal, it’s reasonable to think that the people closest to them would have a sense of that, including their children,” he said. “Even if the mother didn’t come out and say expressly that she was suicidal to her kids, you would think that the kids may have observed clues that a person might be suicidal, like depressive episodes, excessive crying, disengaging from life.

“I guess the defense might argue that a mother could have an incentive to not disclose to her children that she is struggling with suicidal ideation because she doesn’t want to worry them, and also, it’s a very private, sensitive matter,” he said. “So, if the jury sees it that way, that might be a little more mitigated.

“But I think, overall, it’s problematic for the defense.”

Fox News Digital reached out to defense lawyer Lisa Fine Moses.