CRIME HUNTER: Did gambling and a double life drive dentist to murder?

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The way cops tell it, the walls were closing in hard on Dr. James Craig.

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For starters, the Colorado dentist was a degenerate gambler. He lost big on his betting action and he lost big on cryptocurrency speculation.

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As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was walking a tightrope by leading a double life. One in staid suburbia with his wife and six kids, the other allegedly with a mistress on the side, a leggy Texas orthodontist.

Now, Craig is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his long-suffering wife, Angela, 43, who detectives allege was poisoned by toxic shakes made especially for her by her 45-year-old husband.

According to the New York Post, Craig had ratcheted up his personal debt to the tune of $2 million while his dental business was losing around $170,000 a year. He went bankrupt last July.

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As summer dragged into fall, Angela Craig had three life insurance policies taken out on her behalf. She died in hospital on March 18 and he was charged days later.

But before she died, Craig allegedly ordered toxins that could kill over the internet. He allegedly took to Dr. Google to determine whether arsenic was detectable when an autopsy was performed.

In the end, cops claim potassium cyanide was the kicker in the killer cocktail.

But even as her condition worsened and the dutiful dentist declared his undying love for Angela, he was allegedly flying in his mistress, Karin Cain, from the Lone Star state.

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Cain — who has refused to speak to reporters — is a married orthodontist from outside Austin. Investigators claim Craig and Cain had planned to start a new life together sooner rather than later.

An old college buddy bought Craig’s dental practice last summer.

According to reports, the 23-year marriage between James and Angela Craig had been on the rocks for years.

“Ryan (Redfern, the college buddy) stated that in January, James confided in Ryan, telling him that he and Angela were having marital problems,” the arrest report states. “Ryan described James as a risk taker and found out he had filed for bankruptcy in 2021 and was on the verge of bankruptcy again,”

It was his business partner and buddy who pointed the finger at Craig after learning Angela’s symptoms matched a case of poisoning.

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As she became progressively sick, Angela confided in her sister that he had “run the dental office into the ground.” On a recent trip to Vegas, he shed more than $2,000 at the tables, adding to their mounting financial woes.

In addition, his wife told family and friends that her dentist husband was hopelessly addicted to porn and spent countless hours trolling the internet for new kicks.

Angela’s sister told cops: “(Craig) had multiple affairs with several women, told Angela he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager, and drugged Angela approximately five to six years ago.”

Angela allegedly told her sister that Craig’s initial plan was to drug her and take his own life with an injection packed with a cocktail of deadly drugs. The dentist didn’t want his wife to save him, he told her.

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But last March, Angela began to show symptoms of poisoning and told her hubby she “felt drugged.”

“Given our history, I know that must be triggering,” Craig replied to her text. “Just for the record, I didn’t drug you. I am super worried though. You really looked pale before I left. Like in your lips even.”

Detectives suspected Angela had been poisoned with arsenic at that time.

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The murder and the sordid details that have emerged have shocked patients and employees of Craig’s clinic.

“He was the most amazing boss, he poured thousands into my education … this is just devastating,” Courtney Lyons, who spent four years working with Craig, told the Daily Mail.

“They seemed like the perfect family. I’ve never met a better woman or mother than Angela. She was the most amazing woman. She was a saint. She just found time for everyone and everything.”

Lyons added: “All we saw was how he adored her. He spoke so highly of her.”

COLD CASE

RACHEL RUSSELL

411: On Monday, Nov. 12, 2007, the lifeless body of Rachel Russell, 29, was discovered on a remote railway line in Cobourg. It was later determined she had died as a result of blunt force trauma. Detectives have been unable to identify her killer. The OPP is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of her killer(s).

CONTACT:  OPP CIB at 1-888-310-1122 or 705-329-6111, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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@HunterTOSun