Latest news with #CaitlinRomero
Fox News
7 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Dentist accused of poisoning wife's shake said he gave her 'too much protein': co-worker
The second day of Dr. James Craig's murder trial hinged on critical testimony from the office manager at his Sunnybook Dental Group practice in Aurora, Colorado, who said Craig flippantly dismissed the first alleged poisoning attempt of his wife, Angela. Caitlin Romero worked at the dentist's office in 2023 and was with Craig for several days during the period he is alleged to have killed his wife by mixing cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a chemical in eyedrops, in her protein shakes. She told Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley and the court that, on March 6 of that year, Craig entered the office unusually late and told her he and his wife had worked out earlier in the morning. He apologized for being late and told Romero Angela wasn't feeling well after he made her a post-workout protein shake. Recalling the conversation, Romero testified that Craig said, "Maybe he added too much protein" to his wife's shake. She said Craig left the office later that day to take his wife to the emergency room, where Angela reported feeling dizzy. She texted her husband that she felt "drugged" before they went to the hospital. She was released without a diagnosis the same day. Craig returned to the office at 5:30 p.m., which was unusual. The practice closes at 4 p.m. When she left for the day, Romero said she was startled to find Craig sitting in the dark, using the computer in an exam room, which was not his usual computer. When she asked him what he was doing, Craig told her he had come back to the office to unwind after a stressful day dealing with his wife's sickness. After Romero left the office that day, she said Craig texted her to alert her that a personal package would be delivered to the office and asked her not to open it. That had never happened before, Romero noted. On March 9, Angela returned to the hospital, exhibiting similar symptoms to three days earlier. This time, she was admitted and remained in the hospital until March 14. Romero testified that, on that day, Craig told her he didn't think Angela would live through the night, which Romero said was the second time he had made that prediction since Angela began experiencing symptoms. "Evidence that Craig predicted his wife's death twice before it occurred can be significant in his criminal case to prove his alleged intent in his case," Kelly Hyman, a nationally renowned defense lawyer and legal analyst, told Fox News Digital. Hyman is not involved in the tr "Intent in murder cases refers to the accused's mental state at the time of the crime. First-degree murder can require proof of premeditation and specific intent to kill in a criminal case. "Predictions of death may suggest that Craig had allegedly been contemplating and planning the act for a period, potentially for a 'sustained period of time,' which may imply premeditation." The defense chose not to challenge these statements made by Romero, but Hyman said it could have. "However, the defense would challenge the admissibility and interpretation of such statements and argue that Craig's wife was suicidal," Hyman said. "Also, the defense could argue that the statements were taken out of context and/or misinterpreted." On March 13, the package arrived to Craig's practice. A staff member opened the package before bringing it to Romero, who described the contents of the box as a sealed "foil package" and a paper invoice. The box was marked as a biohazard. She checked the invoice to make sure it was the personal package that Craig had discussed with her and saw that it was. On the invoice, she read that Craig had ordered potassium cyanide, which she immediately googled out of curiosity. On March 15, Angela was admitted to the hospital for the final time. Craig was in the office that day and told Romero he had to leave because Angela was returning to the hospital. Romero testified that with suspicions mounting, she then googled symptoms of cyanide poisoning. During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Lisa Fine Moses pointed to the fact that while Romero had received the package and read that it contained potassium cyanide, she couldn't be sure of that because she did not open the sealed foil package. She also asked Romero about her evening office interaction with Craig on March 6, and Romero conceded that, emotionally, Craig seemed normal during that time. Moses examined Romero's relationship with Craig, which Romero described as an "intimate emotional relationship." She established that the pair were close and often spoke about personal and family matters on personal devices and via channels unrelated to their work. Moses also established that, during the investigation into the alleged crime, when Romero spoke to police, she did not disclose the true nature of their relationship or all of the communications between them. The importance of calling a critical witness like Romero as a witness so early in the trial was not lost on Hyman. "The prosecutor will want to start strong and end strong as to the witnesses," she said. "The prosecutor may want to start the case with the most important witness. For example, the star witness, or someone that is going to start telling the story of the case as to the timeline of the case from start to finish."
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Three chilling words and a Google search that made office manager suspect dentist was poisoning his wife
A Colorado dentist's colleague became suspicious he was poisoning his wife when he got potassium cyanide delivered to his office while he insisted she was sick, his murder trial heard on Wednesday. Office manager Caitlin Romero said Dr. James Craig was acting strangely in the weeks before his wife of 23 years Angela died in March 2023, and ordered staff not to open the package addressed to him. Romero testified in the Centennial court that Craig told her to put the box on the desk his desk with strict instructions: 'Don't open it'. Mother-of-six Angela, 43, was declared brain dead on March 18 in an intensive care unit after going to hospital three times, complaining of dizziness and weakness. Prosecutors say Craig, 47, was poisoning her protein shakes because he wanted to get out of their marriage to be with his mistress. His murder trial also heard he frequented so-called 'sugar daddy' websites, where he claimed to be worth $10million. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder – as well as other charges stemming from his alleged activity from jail, where he's been held since his arrest one day after Angela's murder. Romero wore a red blazer and sparkling black flats as she walked by a gray-suited Craig on her way to take the stand. She related a series of events beginning on March 6 which eventually led her to raise the alarm about Craig's suspected criminal activity. The dentist's wife had been at a conference in Utah in the days beforehand, and Craig arrived late to the daily 'morning huddle' with staff, she said. 'He apologized for being late and said that his wife was not feeling good,' Romero testified. 'They'd worked out together, he made her a shake after, she drank that, she started to not feel well.' Craig also 'made a comment that maybe he'd added too much protein, more than she was normally used to, and maybe that's why she wasn't feeling well.' Craig left the practice after getting a phone later that day that Angela was going to the hospital, Romero testified. He returned to the office later that evening, however, when Romero was the only person remaining – and instead of using his office, she came upon him working in the dark on an exam room computer. Romero was on her way out of the office and thought he'd left when she passed the exam room and was 'surprised' by his presence. She asked how his wife was feeling and what Craig was doing in the exam room, she testified. The dentist told her her Angela was 'doing okay,' saying 'it was a stressful day, and that's why he came back to the office – just to get away for a minute.' As she was driving home, Romero testified, 'I got a text from him saying that he was having a personal package delivered to the office, and when it got there, put it on his desk, don't open it.' Such a request 'had never happened before while I had worked there,' she said. She liked the message and Craig repeatedly texted her to ask if had arrived - but it wasn't delivered until March 13. In the days leading up to its delivery, however, Angela was getting sicker. Craig was in and out of the office but also concerned about the practice, Romero testified. 'He had called and spoke with me and he basically, in one sentence, was concerned about his production and his patients but then also concerned that he wasn't going to make it through the night,' she said. On March 13, Craig's personal package arrived at the dental practice in Aurora - but a front desk employee opened it before it got to Romero, she testified. Romero told the employee not to open items marked 'personal,' then tried to put the foil package back into the box, noticing biohazard stickers and checking the invoice because the office was expecting a delivery of fentanyl. The invoice noted it had been ordered by 'Jim Craig personal,' she said - and the contents were marked 'potassium cyanide.' She put it on the dentist's desk, then returned to her computer to google the substance. She said she never brought it up with Craig and had seen him enter an exam room after she left it on his desk. 'I thought maybe there was some reason for potassium cyanide to be needed, because he was taking into an exam room,' she said. As Angela got progressively sicker, however, Romero did search 'symptoms of potassium cyanide poisoning.' Craig had told her about Angela's symptoms, and she realized they were 'the same symptoms that appeared in the Google search.' Despite that, however, Romero didn't initially tell anyone else. 'Thinking that somebody was capable of possibly poisoning somebody was not something that I was taking lightly,' she testified. But she finally decided to share her concerns after Craig made a second comment about Angela 'not making it through the night'. It was March 15, and he'd begun seeing patients again but told Romero Angela was being re-admitted and he had to leave early. 'Shortly after he left the practice, when he was on his way to go see Angela ...that's when he made the same comment: I don't think she's going to make it through the night,' she said. Later that afternoon, Romero called a superior about the cyanide delivery, who told the wife of Craig's dental partner, Ryan Redfearn. Then she spoke with Redfearn himself, and later police, she told the court. Before Romero's bombshell testimony, an ER nurse who treated Angela testified how the mother of six crashed just after midnight March 12 as her husband was in the room. She was declared brain dead on March 15, the same day Craig returned to work. Alarms sounded as Angela's oxygen levels plummeted to the 50s and her heart raced to 130, Blaine Cullen testified.
