Accused Killer Denist Had Gambling Disorder, Crypto Losses
Did a gambling addiction and leading a double life result in a Colorado dentist murdering his wife?
James Craig racked up $2 million in personal debt while his dental business was losing about $120,000, based on a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. He would ultimately have to sell off his business.
It was then revealed that Dr. Craig's 43-year-old wife had three life insurance policies placed on her prior to her untimely and suspicious death.
She passed away on March 18 in the hospital from a dose of poison that her husband allegedly administered to her.
Among the evidence investigators collected to determine Craig as the leading suspect: He ordered deadly toxins online, after searching Google to learn if arsenic was detectable in an autopsy, authorities claim.
Craig has since been determined to have a gambling addiction and a mistress. While his wife was dying, the dentist was said to be flying in his mistress from Texas. The deviant denist lost $2000 in the casinos during a recent trip to Vegas.
His debt included $314,998 owed in back taxes to the IRS, $750,000 of other debts, and more than $200,000 that had to be paid back to credit cards.
Craig also invested in three separate cryptocurrencies where he lost money and attempted to use crypto to pay off debt.
Casino Gambling at Heart of Vegas Mass Murderer Motive
Last week, FBI documents revealed the potential motivation behind a 2017 mass murder in Las Vegas.
Stephen Paddock, 64, was a regular gambler who took his own life at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino before he could be apprehended in the murder of 58 people and injury of countless others attenting a country music festival.
Paddock fired more than 1,000 rounds from his hotel room, Room 32‑135 of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Some of the revelations that came out of the documents:
A fellow gambler told the FBI that "Paddock was very upset at the way casinos were treating him and other high rollers". Paddock's bankroll is said to have approached the $3 million mark. He had been gambling in Vegas for more than a decade prior to the mass shooting. Gambling was his main source of income for the three years leading up to the shooting according to one individual who provided information to the FBI.
The report states that the acquaintance believed the stress about high-roller treatment could "easily be what caused Paddock to 'snap.'"
As for Dr. Craig, he is charged with first-degree murder and is expected back in court April 7.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
