The murder trial of an Aurora dentist accused of poisoning his wife has been delayed a second time.

James Craig, 45, was in court Wednesday with a brand new set of attorneys who asked to postpone what was to be an August trial because they need time to play catch-up with the “voluminous” case file.

Craig fired his previous legal team and hired Denver attorneys Harvey Steinberg and Stephen Burstein to represent him. Craig, in handcuffs, signed a paper offered by Burstein before Wednesday’s hearing got underway.

Craig, who has grown a beard and mustache since he was arrested last year, kept his long, greying hair pulled back.

Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney John Kellner objected to the postponement, noting that Steinberg is a “seasoned attorney.”

“I’m confident he can be ready,” Kellner said.

Noting that Craig’s decision to fire his original attorneys could be a delay tactic, 18th Judicial District Judge Shay Whitaker said she “couldn’t make a finding that this was done for a malicious purpose.”

She granted the requested continuance and set a case management conference hearing for July 2 and a preliminary hearing to deal with an added fourth count against Craig in the murder case for July 23.

Craig’s 11-day trial, which was scheduled to begin Aug. 8, now won’t likely start until at least November.

Craig, a former dentist and father of six, has now been charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of tampering with evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in October.

In the courtroom was Angela Craig’s brother, Marc Pray, who made the eight-hour drive from Utah to represent her family.

“I know it doesn’t change things but it helps me feel like I’m doing something for her. Just being there,” Pray said.

Pray has rarely missed a court date and though several friends also made it to court. The rest of Angela Craig’s relatives and friends watched the proceedings on a live WebEx feed.

Angela Pray Craig was the baby of a family of 10 children.

It was Marc Pray who rushed her to UC Health University of Colorado Hospital on March 15, 2023. There, she entered the ER, collapsed, was put on a ventilator and was pronounced brain dead that night. She was taken off life support March 18. Her husband was formally charged in connection with her murder five days later.

That visit was the third and final rush to the emergency room for Angela Craig over a period of a week-and-a-half as her symptoms got progressively worse.

Her toxicology showed that she died from lethal doses of two chemicals, tetrahydrozoline and cyanide, according to testimony during the preliminary hearing. She also had more than 400 times the amount of tetrahydrozoline in her body than a therapeutic dose. Tetrahydrozoline is the chemical found in eye drops.

Prosecutors said James Craig ordered arsenic and oleander from a computer in the back examination room of his office, the preliminary hearing revealed. When Craig was questioned about why he ordered the poison, he told his staff that “Angie wanted for him to order it” and that “they were playing a game of chicken.”

Leaving the Arapahoe County Courthouse Friday, Mark Pray said he doesn’t know what his former brother-in-law’s defense will be, but he knows in his heart that his sister would never commit suicide.

“First of all, Angela is not that type of person. She’s not a Craig. She’s a Pray. She doesn’t give up. She wouldn’t quit and that’s why she stayed with him for as long as she did because she was fighting for her family to be successful,” Pray said.