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New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Daughters' testimony against accused killer dentist father James Craig a ‘blow to the defense,' expert says
Two of suspected killer James Craig's daughters took the stand Thursday afternoon in a Centennial, Colorado, courtroom and testified against their father, who is accused of killing their mother over a 10-day period in March 2023. Craig is charged with first-degree murder in the death of wife Angela, who prosecutors allege died from potassium cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning after an agonizing week-and-a-half in and out of the hospital. Advertisement Craig's oldest daughter testified Thursday that her mother was far from suicidal, as the defense, led by attorney Lisa Fine Moses, has suggested during the trial, according to KUSA. 'She would talk to me about how fun it would be when I had kids of my own and when she could meet them,' the daughter reportedly said. 'She was so excited to be a grandma.' She described Angela as her 'best friend' and said Angela had hobbies, including woodworking and exercise. Advertisement She also loved animals, and, above all, her children. Craig's daughter testified that while her mother was in the hospital, she was frustrated she could not be with her children. 'She wanted to get back home,' she said. 'She just wanted to get back to her girls.' Advertisement She told the jury her parents struggled in their marriage several years before the alleged murder but said things had gotten better before Angela's death. 3 James Craig, who is on trial for allegedly killing his wife, has now had his two daughters testify against him. AP The defense insisted that Angela was unhappy in a failing marriage, reportedly calling her a 'broken' woman with mental health issues. Craig's attorneys have never disputed that Angela died by poisoning but say Craig was not responsible. Advertisement The couple's eldest daughter reportedly wanted an autopsy done on Angela's body but said Craig refused. Later, the couple's second-eldest daughter testified. She also said her mother was not suicidal and had plans for the future. 3 Prosecutors have told the court that Craig's wife, Angela, allegedly died from potassium cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning in March 2023. Angela N Jim Craig/Facebook 'We mostly talked about moving. She always talked about her forever home,' she said. Angela dreamed of moving to a home on a large plot of land with a woodworking shop in five years or so, according to the testimony. She also revealed critical information about communications with her father while he was in jail, particularly a list of requests made by Craig. Upon her father's instruction, she said she bailed another inmate out of jail. Advertisement That inmate then gave her a handwritten bundle of documents in her father's handwriting. 3 KUSA reports that Craig's oldest daughter argued that her mother wasn't suicidal, despite the defense's claims led by attorney Lisa Fine Moses. Angela N Jim Craig/Facebook The documents included instructions for her to make a 'deepfake' video using a cheap burner laptop that she was to buy using a prepaid Visa gift card. Craig instructed his daughter to access the dark web to purchase the video-making service. Advertisement He also allegedly ordered her to upload the video to a thumb drive and tell detectives she found the drive in her mother's bag, then to destroy the laptop. Craig told his daughter in the documents that he had been unfaithful to Angela and that she asked him to purchase the poison. He told his daughter that he and her mom were playing a game of chicken when she accidentally took too much of the poison. Advertisement Craig faces a charge of solicitation to tamper with evidence related to this incident. Former Arapahoe County prosecutor and current Colorado defense attorney Eric Faddis, who is not involved with the Craig case, spoke to Fox News Digital about the crucial testimony. 'It's absolutely a blow to the defense,' he said. Faddis believes the children would likely have known if their mother was suicidal and that allegedly asking one of them to fabricate evidence would be unnecessary if Craig had done nothing wrong. Advertisement '[Craig] reaching out and asking one of the children to do a deep fake video that supported the notion that Angela Craig was suicidal seems like a bit of an act of desperation,' said Faddis. 'And, also, to involve your children in such a way when you're faced with a first-degree murder charge that could even cause those children to be exposed to criminal liability, it's just a horrible look for the defense.' As for the daughters' denial that their mother was suicidal, Faddis said the testimony could be interpreted by the jury in two ways. 'They could interpret it as, if a person is suicidal, it's reasonable to think that the people closest to them would have a sense of that, including their children,' he said. 'Even if the mother didn't come out and say expressly that she was suicidal to her kids, you would think that the kids may have observed clues that a person might be suicidal, like depressive episodes, excessive crying, disengaging from life.' 'I guess the defense might argue that a mother could have an incentive to not disclose to her children that she is struggling with suicidal ideation because she doesn't want to worry them, and also, it's a very private, sensitive matter,' he said. 'So, if the jury sees it that way, that might be a little more mitigated.' 'But I think, overall, it's problematic for the defense.' Fox News Digital reached out to defense lawyer Lisa Fine Moses.
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
John Elway Won't Be Charged after Friend's Death Is Ruled an Accident
John Elway will not face charges following a law enforcement investigation of the death of Jeff Sperbeck, the Hall of Fame quarterback's former business partner and longtime friend. Sperbeck died in April at 62 after he fell from a golf cart that reportedly was being driven by Elway, 65. On Monday, the Riverside County (California) Sheriff's Office announced that it 'determined that the incident was a tragic accident with no evidence of criminal activity or intent.' 'Consequently, no criminal charges will be filed at this time,' the announcement continued, 'and the case will be documented as an accidental death.' The incident occurred at a private club in La Quinta as Elway was driving the cart to his nearby residence, according to Denver's KUSA. Sperbeck reportedly fell off the back of the cart and suffered a fatal head injury. The two had attended a music festival earlier in the day, according to TMZ Sports, and were leaving a post-event party when Sperbeck fell. He died two days later, per authorities. 'I've looked at video [of the incident] 100 times and there's no explanation as to why he fell off,'' Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told KUSA on Friday. 'He just fell off.' Bianco, who also oversees the county coroner's office, added that there was 'nothing criminal' about the case. 'It's over,' he said. 'We talked to everyone involved, and we found nothing new.' Sperbeck was Elway's marketing representative in the 1990s, when the quarterback capped a career spent entirely with the Denver Broncos by leading the team to two straight Super Bowl wins. Sperbeck, who also worked with dozens of other NFL players and coaches, subsequently helped Elway manage ventures such as restaurants and a winery. In an April statement to ESPN, Elway said he was 'absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck.' 'There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me,' Elway said. 'My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff's wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him. Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.' After starring at Stanford, Elway was drafted by the Baltimore Colts as 1983's No. 1 pick before forcing a trade to Denver. He won NFL and Super Bowl MVP honors and was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection during 16 seasons with the Broncos. Elway went on to become a Broncos executive and help build the team that won Super Bowl 50. His direct association with the team ended when his contract expired in 2023. In the wake of the investigation of Sperbeck's death, Elway hired Denver-based attorney Harvey Steinberg, who has represented a number of athletes with ties to Colorado. Steinberg said in an email Monday that 'this has been a very difficult situation for everyone.' 'We always knew John had done nothing wrong,' Steinberg wrote, 'but that does not lessen the sadness associated with this situation.'
New York Post
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Denver zoo closes early over the weekend to prevent wild teens from pulling off TikTok-inspired ‘takeover' trend
The Denver Zoo closed early on Saturday ahead of a planned teen 'takeover' of the park that went viral on TikTok as part of an alarming trend among youths that is wreaking havoc in public spaces across the country. Zoo staff decided to shutter the park to prevent the so-called 'takeover' before it could happen. They weren't entirely sure what the coup they put a stop to would've looked like, but knew they didn't want to see a repeat of others that have cropped up around the country this summer. Advertisement The Denver Zoo closed early on Saturday ahead of a planned teen 'takeover' of the park that went viral on TikTok as part of an alarming trend among youths that is wreaking havoc in public spaces across the country. AP 'We don't know the exact nature of the event, but we know previous events organized in a similar fashion have led to some disruption to local businesses, damage, vandalism, things like that,' zoo spokesperson Jake Kubie told KUSA. 'We don't believe we're a target of anything. We haven't received any information that suggests that there is gonna be any impact to us. We're always leaning towards caution over everything else.' Advertisement Last weekend, one of the planned events took Denver's Northfield Mall by storm as more than 300 unruly teenagers descended onto the property and started fighting each other following a call-out to meet at the shopping center on TikTok. Following the early closure, zoo staff were still on high alert, but no one showed. Still, other community advocates and police spent the rest of their Saturday afternoon patrolling around Denver's City Park in the sweltering heat just to be extra cautious. Two children watch the penguins at the Denver Zoo's new African penguin habitat in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 30, 2021. Denver Post via Getty Images Advertisement Across the country on the East Coast, Garden State teenagers haven't been on their best behavior either. In just one week, two separate TikTok-fueled pop-ups spurred hundreds of teens to shut down a mall and a carnival that were mere miles apart. In Edison, New Jersey, more than 300 youth turned the Menlo Park Mall into their personal playground, forcing innocent shoppers to take shelter inside stores as fights started breaking out. The following week, another takeover destroyed a carnival in a mall parking lot just 2.5 short miles away from the Edison site. The carnival had tried to impose an 18-and-up limit for after-hours, but the teenagers weren't having it and started scaling fences to get inside.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Yahoo
Denver Zoo to close early due to social media-inspired teenage 'takeover'
The Denver Zoo will close early on Saturday due to a planned social-media inspired 'takeover' of the zoo's surrounding park by a large group of teenagers. A spokesperson for the zoo told NBC affiliate KUSA that it will open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 1 p.m. due to the gathering, which is being referred to as the 'City Park Takeover' online. A similar event took place in the city last weekend, with hundreds of teenagers descending at the Northfield Mall, causing some fights to break out that involved the response of law enforcement, KUSA reported. It is unclear if there is a specific group organizing the events. 'We don't know the exact nature of the event but we know previous events organized in a similar fashion have led to some disruption to local businesses, damage, vandalism, things like that,' zoo spokesperson Jake Kubie told KUSA. Kubie said the early closure was a precaution against any disturbances. 'We don't believe we're a target of anything. We haven't received any information that suggests that there is gonna be any impact to us,' he said. 'We're always leaning towards caution over everything else.' No arrests were made and no property was damaged at the event last weekend, KUSA reported. The Denver Police Department said in a statement that it is aware of the 'takeover' events in the city and 'will plan accordingly to try to minimize the impact of these events.' Kubie told KUSA that the zoo is 'prepared.' 'Being a zoo — an 80-acre campus with 2,500 wild animals and almost 2 million guests coming in every year — it's our responsibility to be prepared for anything that can happen,' he said. 'Fortunately we haven't had any incidents along these lines, but we're ready for whatever may happen.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
28-06-2025
- NBC News
Denver Zoo to close early due to social media-inspired teenage 'takeover'
The Denver Zoo will close early on Saturday due to a planned social-media inspired "takeover" of the zoo's surrounding park by a large group of teenagers. A spokesperson for the zoo told NBC affiliate KUSA that it will open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 1 p.m. due to the gathering, which is being referred to as the "City Park Takeover" online. A similar event took place in the city last weekend, with hundreds of teenagers descending at the Northfield Mall, causing some fights to break out that involved the response of law enforcement, KUSA reported. It is unclear if there is a specific group organizing the events. 'We don't know the exact nature of the event but we know previous events organized in a similar fashion have led to some disruption to local businesses, damage, vandalism, things like that," zoo spokesperson Jake Kubie told KUSA. Kubie said the early closure was a precaution for any disturbances. "We don't believe we're a target of anything. We haven't received any information that suggests that there is gonna be any impact to us," he said. "We're always leaning towards caution over everything else." No arrests were made and no property was damaged at the event last weekend, KUSA reported. However, there were incidents of vandalism. The Denver Police Department said in a statement that it is aware of the "takeover" events in the city and "will plan accordingly to try to minimize the impact of these events." Kubie told KUSA that the zoo is "prepared." "Being a zoo — an 80-acre campus with 2,500 wild animals and almost 2 million guests coming in every year — it's our responsibility to be prepared for anything that can happen," he said. "Fortunately we haven't had any incidents along these lines but we're ready for whatever may happen."
