Dentist Accused of Fatally Poisoning Wife Allegedly Asked Daughter to Make Deepfake

The daughter of James Craig, the Colorado dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife, testified that her father asked her to create a deepfake of her mother asking to order the toxic ingredients.

Craig is on trial for murder after authorities alleged that he poisoned the smoothies of his wife and mother of their children, Angela Craig, who died in March 2023.

Angela died by poisoning from cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a substance that’s found in over-the-counter eye drops.

CNN reported that Craig’s daughter testified at her father’s trial on Thursday, July 17, and said that her father asked her to make it seem like Angela had requested the ingredients that led to her hospitalization and eventual death.

The daughter testified that Craig wrote a letter giving instructions on how to create a deepfake video of her mother, CNN reported.

“I love you … I’m sorry to even have to ask you for this help,” Craig allegedly wrote in the letter that was read in court, according to the outlet.

In a probable cause affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE, Craig allegedly began plotting his wife’s murder in February 2023, when investigators claimed he purchased arsenic online and searched “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human” and “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”

Angela was initially hospitalized on March 6 after complaining of dizziness and weakness. She again became ill and returned to the hospital on March 9, staying for six days.

She died during her third hospital visit after being taken off life support on March 18, following a seizure.

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CNN reported that prosecutors claimed Craig poisoned his ailing wife with cyanide during one of his hospital visits.

According to the probable cause statement, Angela told her sister that Craig had recently lost more than $2,000 gambling and that he’d “run the dental office into the ground.”

His business partner Ryan Redfearn told police that James had previously filed for bankruptcy and was on the verge of doing so again, authorities said.

Craig’s attorney, the AP reported, claimed that Craig loved his wife, who was aware he had affairs with other women, but wanted to remain married.