Victim or manipulator? Colorado dentist’s murder trial paints dueling portraits of wife in troubled marriage

As prosecutors attempted to paint a Colorado dentist as a calculated killer who poisoned his wife to pursue a new romantic life, the defense took a dramatically different route by portraying his wife of 23 years as emotionally manipulative and mentally unstable.

Dr. James Toliver Craig, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the March 2023 death of his wife, Angela Craig, a 43-year-old mother of six. Her cause of death was determined to be lethal doses of cyanide and tetrahydrozoline.

In opening statements Tuesday in Colorado, defense attorney Ashley Whitham acknowledged the couple’s rocky 23-year marriage but described Angela not as a victim of betrayal, but as someone who was emotionally broken, deeply private and at times manipulative.

"You're going to hear her own daughter describe her that she was also manipulating words," Whitham revealed to jurors Tuesday. "Again, that if she wanted to try to get something, she would be manipulative."

The Colorado couple's marital strife was laid bare in Tuesday's opening remarks. Prosecutors pointed to his relationship with a Texas orthodontist, Dr. Karin Cain, as the motivation for the murder. Cain has not returned Fox News Digital's requests for comment. The defense said the 47-year-old husband had extramarital affairs throughout the couple's marriage.