Detective faces accused killer dentist in court showdown after alleged $20K hit attempt: 'ups the ante'
Arapahoe County, Colorado prosecutors on Thursday called the lead detective in James Craig's murder investigation to testify in his high-profile trial.
Det. Bobbi Olson of the Aurora Police Department sat just feet from Craig on the witness stand while she briefly testified about the collection of digital evidence after the alleged murder of his wife, Angela Craig.
James Craig is suspected of killing Angela by poisoning her protein shakes over a period of several days in March 2023.
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Olson was asked by prosecutors to identify a computer hard drive and phone seized from Craig during the investigation. After only a few minutes on the stand, the defense was called to cross-examine her.
They asked her to confirm that Craig voluntarily handed over his electronic devices and that he was cooperative with authorities, to which she responded affirmatively.
Olson is expected to testify at length later in the trial.
In December of last year, Craig was charged with solicitation to commit murder in the first degree and solicitation to commit perjury in the first degree. During a February pretrial hearing, a judge found that there was sufficient evidence to levy the two new charges. During that hearing, prosecutors confirmed that the target of the hit was Olson.
Craig reportedly offered a fellow inmate $20,000 to kill Olson.
Eric Faddis is a former Arapahoe County prosecutor who is not involved in the Craig case. He has been inside the courtroom this week observing the proceedings.
"As a former prosecutor, anytime there is some threat or an assault or some harm towards law enforcement, the prosecution takes that super seriously, in part because, as a prosecutor, you work hand-in-hand with these people, these police officers, these detectives," Faddis told Fox News Digital.
"Certainly the prosecution is taking that solicitation of first-degree murder charge against the detective very seriously," Faddis continued, adding that Olson is a "seasoned detective" at a large law enforcement agency, and that prosecutors often face threats from defendants.
"Anytime there's a threat against a detective's life, that sort of ups the ante a little bit, and the prosecution is certainly taking that very seriously," he said.
Thursday's proceedings also included testimony from David Lee, a U.S. Secret Service network intrusion forensic analyst and former Aurora Police officer.
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He examined the phones belonging to James and Angela Craig, and confirmed that several messages were sent from James' phone to third parties, including his alleged mistress Karin Cain and former friend Ryan Redfearn. Those messages were recovered by investigators via screenshots, which Lee confirmed for the defense could, in theory, be manipulated.
The state then called Cassie Rodriquez, a former customer service representative at Nebraska-based Midland Scientific, who handled communications with Craig regarding his alleged purchase.
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, the date Angela was admitted to the hospital after falling ill for the second time in three days, Craig ordered the potassium cyanide from Midland Scientific, according to the prosecution. The order, placed using the email address jimandwaffles@gmail.com, was received by Rodriguez. Craig is also suspected of using that private email address on only one device, an exam room computer in his office, to communicate with Cain during their alleged fling.
Rodriquez described a days-long back-and-forth conversation with Craig, during which he requested overnight air shipping on the cyanide. According to Rodriquez, he told her in a "formal usage statement" provided by the company that he intended to use the cyanide during "some type of seminar he was presenting."
The package didn't arrive until the following Monday, March 13, and was retrieved by an office employee.
Angela ws still in the hospital that day, but was released on Tuesday. She was readmitted for the final time on Wednesday, March 15.
Craig is accused of poisoning his wife while secretly having a relationship with Cain, which began three weeks prior to Angela's death. James and Angela Craig had six children and were active in the Mormon Church. Cain maintains that Craig told her he was divorced when their romance began.