Daughters' testimony against accused killer dentist father a 'blow to the defense,' expert says

This story discusses suicide If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide please contact the Suicide Emergency Lifeline at or - - -TALK 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 -day period in March 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 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 DENTIST ACCUSED OF POISONING WIFE S SHAKE EXPLAINED HE GAVE HER 'TOO MUCH PROTEIN' CO-WORKER 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 mentioned She was so excited to be a grandma She described Angela as her best friend and disclosed Angela had hobbies including woodworking and exercise 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 yearned to get back home she noted She just longed to get back to her girls She explained the jury her parents struggled in their marriage several years before the alleged murder but disclosed things had gotten better before Angela's death The defense insisted that Angela was unhappy in a failing marriage reportedly calling her a broken woman with mental physical condition issues Craig's attorneys have never disputed that Angela died by poisoning but say Craig was not responsible VICTIM OR MANIPULATOR COLORADO DENTIST S MURDER TRIAL PAINTS DUELING PORTRAITS OF WIFE IN TROUBLED MARRIAGEThe couple's eldest daughter reportedly required an autopsy done on Angela's body but reported Craig refused Later the couple's second-eldest daughter testified She also announced her mother was not suicidal and had plans for the future We mostly talked about moving She inevitably talked about her forever home she noted 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 commented she bailed another inmate out of jail That inmate then gave her a handwritten bundle of documents in her father's handwriting 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 utility COLORADO DENTIST'S ALLEGED INTERNET SEARCH HISTORY TAKES CENTER STAGE AS MURDER TRIAL BEGINSHe also allegedly ordered her to upload the video to a thumb drive and tell detectives she identified the drive in her mother's bag then to destroy the laptop Craig recounted his daughter in the documents that he had been unfaithful to Angela and that she appealed him to purchase the poison He advised his daughter that he and her mom were playing a tournament of chicken when she accidentally took too much of the poison Craig faces a charge of solicitation to tamper with evidence related to this happening Former Arapahoe County prosecutor and current Colorado defense attorney Eric Faddis who is not involved with the Craig event spoke to Fox News Digital about the crucial testimony It's absolutely a blow to the defense he explained 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 SMALL-TOWN DENTIST FACING TRIAL FOR ALLEGEDLY POISONING WIFE'S PROTEIN SHAKE AMID SECRET AFFAIR 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 commented 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 announced the testimony could be interpreted by the jury in two means 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 mentioned 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 disclosed 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