CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A jury convicted a Colorado dentist of first-degree murder on Wednesday in the poisoning death of his wife.

Prosecutors at trial had accused James Craig of repeatedly poisoning his wife Angela Craig, including by lacing her smoothies, over 10 days in March 2023. When those attempts failed, prosecutors said the dentist gave his wife a final dose of cyanide as she was hospitalized in suburban Denver with symptoms that puzzled doctors. She was declared brain dead soon after.

On Wednesday afternoon, Craig stood with his attorney while verdicts on murder and lesser charges were read out in court. He then sat down and his attorneys rested their hands on his shoulder. Afterward, he huddled with his attorneys, quietly whispering as they waited for the judge to sentence him.

The dentist didn’t testify during the two-week trial, and his attorneys didn’t present other witnesses. The defense had suggested earlier at trial that Angela Craig may have taken her own life and faulted police for focusing solely on James Craig as a suspect.

However, prosecutors said the dentist had offered other conflicting explanations for her death to other people.

Toxicology tests determined Angela Craig died of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner.

Prosecutors argued Craig wanted to kill his wife to get out of a marriage he felt trapped in, adding he didn’t want a divorce so he could protect his money and image.

They also accused him of trying to cover up the killing by asking others, including his daughter and fellow jail inmates, to fake evidence and testimony that would make it appear that his wife killed herself or wanted to frame him for her death.

Prosecutors said photos from a hospital security camera shown in court depict Craig holding a syringe before he entered Angela Craig’s room. After administering the fatal dose through her IV, Craig walked out and texted a fellow dentist with whom he was having an affair, Senior Chief Deputy Michael Mauro told jurors in closing arguments. His wife’s condition quickly worsened.

One of Craig’s attorneys, Lisa Fine Moses, had told jurors earlier this week that the image was blurry and syringes that investigators recovered did not contain any poison. She also said the couple wasn’t in financial trouble, and that Craig’s cheating had been going on for years and had never been a motivation for murder.

____

Slevin reported from Denver.