On Valentine’s Day in 2023, James Craig was balancing a failing dental practice, a wife and six children, and a secret budding affair with a Texas orthodontist.

This coming Valentine’s Day, the former Aurora dentist accused of poisoning and murdering his wife, Angela Craig, is scheduled to be in an Arapahoe County courtroom listening to investigators as they explain a murder-for-hire he allegedly planned from jail. 

Craig, 46, faces a total of six charges involving his wife’s death, including first-degree murder. He was in court Monday represented by his third set of attorneys in less than two years.

Alternate Defense Counsel lawyers Rob Working and Lisa Moses are now representing Craig after criminal defense attorney Harvey Steinberg withdrew from the case due to an ethical issue last month. “I had no choice,” said Steinberg. This happened just as Craig was about to stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of his wife.

Prosecutors filed two new charges, solicitation to commit first degree murder and solicitation to commit perjury, against Craig the following day.

It’s unclear who Craig allegedly wanted killed, but Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan confirmed that an Aurora detective was on the hit list. 

Before Steinberg, a team from Denver criminal defense firm Recht Kornfeld PC represented Craig, but they left the case for unknown reasons. 

In court Monday in connection to counts five and six was a mystery witness, Orlando Maestas-Vigil — a current inmate under subpoena from the Denver Detention Center dressed in a green jail suit. He appeared sullen and did not look at Craig, who has cut his blonde ponytail but still has a beard.

Not much is known about Maestas-Vigil’s involvement with the case, but 18th Judicial District Attorney Michael Mauro said:  “We expect him to testify at trial.”

Maestas-Vigil is being held in Denver on separate charges of his own, many of them involving fentanyl possession. 

Mrs. Craig’s death

Angela Craig, 43, died in March 2023 of poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, the latter a substance found in over-the-counter eye drops, according to the coroner. The couple had been married for 23 years and had six children together.

According to an arrest affidavit, Angela Craig was treated at two hospitals three separate times over a week and a half as symptoms to a mysterious illness got progressively worse.  She complained about everything from dizziness to having problems focusing, nausea and shakiness.

Her final trip was an urgent life and death situation. Court records show that Mrs. Craig’s brother rushed her to University Hospital on March 15, where she collapsed. She was declared brain dead at 4:29 p.m. March 18, the arrest record said.

She was taken off of life support March 21, investigative sources confirmed to The Denver Gazette.

Cast of characters 

The cast of characters in the Craig investigation is getting long. 

According to court documents, besides Vigil, counts five and six also involve a couple with whom Craig was allegedly conspiring before his wife became ill.

Court records indicate that Craig’s relationship with Nathanial Harris and Kasiani Konstantinidis allegedly started the day after he ordered multiple types of poisons to be delivered to his home and office. 

Count five alleges that Craig’s involvement Harris started on March 5, 2023, and ended May 1, 2024, according to the charging document. The record indicates that Craig tried to persuade Harris to commit first-degree murder. 

Count six alleges that Craig attempted to convince Harris’ former partner, Konstantinidis, to lie under oath. That relationship also started March 5, 2023 documents allege, but did not end until Nov. 18, 2024. Court documents allege that he also offered her dental services.

According to court paperwork, Craig offered thousands of dollars in dental work to other former inmates in exchange for them planting evidence in the case. 

At one time, 43-year-old Konstantinidis was one of Colorado’s 50 Most Wanted fugitives. She was arrested in a statewide dragnet nine years ago under suspicion of organized crime activity and forgery, but is now out of jail. 

Craig was also previously charged with smuggling a letter from jail with an inmate bonded out by an adult daughter. It asked her to make a fake video of Angela Craig asking Craig to get poisons for her, according to prosecutors.

He is also accused of asking another inmate to plant forged journal entries at the the family home suggesting that Angela Craig killed herself. The inmate declined, according to court documents. Craig’s original defense team pointed out that the inmate only contacted authorities after an initial hearing to review the evidence in the case was shown widely in the news.

“I called him Mr. Jim”

Friends of James and Angela Craig said that they were the “perfect family” and that their home was welcome to the neighborhood kids.

“I called him ‘Mr. Jim’,” said one, who cried at the memory. 

Another said that Angela Craig never left her family’s side.

“It was so hard losing her,” the woman said through tears. 

Friends interviewed by The Denver Gazette Monday asked not to be identified.

When Mrs. Craig’s health started failing in March 2023, James Craig texted friends that “she was having a medical thing.”

An evidentiary hearing for the solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury counts is scheduled for Feb. 14.