Attorney for Aurora dentist accused of poisoning wife is arrested in arson of own home, withdraws on eve of murder trial
An attorney for the Aurora dentist charged with poisoning his wife to death withdrew from the affair this week after he was arrested on suspicion of arson first responders uncovered the lawyer sitting on the porch of his Centennial home as it burned behind him late Saturday night An apparent selfie posted to James and Angela Craig's joint Facebook profile Photo via Facebook Robert Werking withdrew as counsel for murder suspect James Craig on Tuesday just two days after his arrest and just days before Craig s murder trial was set to start in Arapahoe County District Court It s the second time that a member of Craig s legal band has pulled out on the eve of the dentist s high-profile trial Werking owned the home that burned with his wife Lisa Fine Moses who is also an attorney representing Craig She did not withdraw from the murder circumstance and Craig is now represented by Fine Moses and attorney Ashley Witham who joined the club on June Fine Moses did not return a request for comment Thursday and Werking could not be reached Craig is scheduled for a jury trial beginning July Court records about Werking s arrest in the arson scenario were kept secret at the request of Chief Deputy District Attorney Jason Siers who wrote in a motion to suppress the documents that the release of the details supporting Werking s arrest could jeopardize a jury trial scheduled to being sic July The release at this time of the affidavit could aftermath in disclosure of information that could effect in destruction disposal or secreting evidence and tampering with identified and unidentified observers which could jeopardize the ongoing inspection the motion states Further release of the information could effect in harassment of a witness and jeopardize a jury trial scheduled to being sic July That reason for secrecy strikes Denver defense attorney Doug Richards as strange To me it feels like a dubious and pretextual reason for sealing a residents record he revealed If all of this is going to cause a issue with a trial shouldn t they be taking a step back and be like Wait a minute there is a lot happening right now Is there a reason they have to go to a jury trial right now South Metro Fire Rescue crews responded to Werking and Moses Fines Centennial house just before midnight Saturday agency spokesman Brian Willie noted First responders ascertained Werking sitting on the front porch of the single-family home with ongoing flames behind him Arapahoe County sheriff s Deputy John Bartmann reported noting that Werking s actions were kind of odd He declined to provide additional information citing the ongoing assessment Werking was taken to a hospital for evaluation Willie stated No one else was at the home and no other structures were burned he noted Firefighters got the fire under control at a m Sunday and discovered major damage to the house Willie stated Once we got the fire out and under control our investigators determined there was several type of incendiary accelerant and they re actively working with the sheriff s department Willie commented Werking was arrested on suspicion of felony arson on Sunday Bartmann explained Formal charges have not yet been filed Related Articles Attorney representing Aurora dentist withdraws just before jury selection delaying trial in high-profile poisoning episode Aurora dentist s wife fatally poisoned with cyanide and decongestant uncovered in Visine coroner testifies Aurora dentist searched how to make poison bought arsenic and cyanide before wife s death affidavit says In a separate circumstance Werking was also arrested on June and cited with a ticket for prohibited use of weapons related to aiming a firearm a misdemeanor court records show Details about that episode were not available Thursday The second last-minute withdraw in the Craig situation once again raises questions about whether the jury trial can and should go forward as scheduled revealed Stan Garnett former Boulder County district attorney A lawyer preparing for any major trial has an obligation to be focused and prepared and able to do everything that he or she can to represent the client Garnett commented If there is something that impedes that ability the lawyer has an obligation to discuss it with the client and bring it to the attention of the court Siers declined to comment Thursday Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden did not return a request for comment Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day
