Transcript

Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes

From 48 Hours · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 2 h 5 min · 17,568 words · 487 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes", an episode of 48 Hours published December 6, 2025 (2 h 5 min, about 17,568 words). It mentions 97 people, works and ideas, including Dr. Jim Craig, Ben Renick, Michael Humphrey, Visine, potassium cyanide.

What this episode is about

The content delves into the tragic story of Ben Renick, a prominent figure in the reptile breeding industry, who was found murdered in his home on June 8, 2017. As investigators unravel the circumstances surrounding his death, they confront an unusual setting filled with snakes, leading to a complex entanglement of personal relationships and suspicions.

Key takeaways

  • Snake shot: Missouri's murder scene, more whodunnit than herpetology.
  • Murder misattribution: not all scales at Renick Reptiles were on snakes.
  • Grieving widow or suspect? Lies wrapped tighter than a python.
  • Successful snake breeder Ben Renick: missed potential and lost innocence.
  • Not your average cold-blooded mystery: death, deception, and serpents.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 15:00: Ben Renick, Renick Reptiles, Dave Colbert, Sam Renick
  2. – 30:00: Michael Humphrey, Ashley Shaw, Brandon Blackwell, Ben Renick
  3. – 45:00: Ben Renick, Michael Humphrey, Ashley Shaw, 48 Hours
  4. – 1:00:00: Chris Fagan, Nick French, 48 Hours, Clayton Mansion
  5. – 1:15:00: eye drops, Visine, Lana Clayton, Demi Garvin
  6. – 1:30:00: Dr. Jim Craig, Lana Clayton, potassium cyanide, eye drops
  7. – 1:45:00: Dr. Jim Craig, potassium cyanide, Aurora, George Brockler
  8. – 2:00:00: Dr. Jim Craig, Karen Kaine, Sky Lazaro, 48 Hours
  9. – 2:04:46: Dr. Jim Craig, Sky Lazaro, 48 Hours, Dr. Jeff Le Point

Notable quotes from "Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes"

  • My name is Ben Renick. I'm with Ben Renick Reptiles, and this is my story.
    about Ben Renick · at
  • Investigators then interviewed Ashley Shaw, one of Lindley's employees, and a close friend who she had confided in, which may have been a mistake.
    about Ashley Shaw · at
  • But investigators suspected she did and may have had help from yet another man in her life. His name is Michael Humphrey, an old ex-boyfriend and ex-con fresh out of prison on…
    about Michael Humphrey · at
  • Look at the evidence in the case at 48 hours.com.
    about 48 Hours · at
  • The phone together. I was whoa, wait. Tetrahydroine is the common ingredient in Visine, the eye drop.
    about Visine · at
  • Something sinister. Not hardcore drug use, but the presence of poison, a chemical found in eye drops.
    about eye drops · at
  • Putting arsenic and cyanide in her protein shakes. He's allegedly ordering potassium cyanide and arsenic online.
    about potassium cyanide · at
  • Like to know why Jim Craig is an innocent man until proven guilty. If the allegations are true, why did my former dentist kill his wife?
    about Dr. Jim Craig · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Dr. Jim Craig — Person · 32 mentions · first at
  • Ben Renick — Person · 15 mentions · first at
  • Michael Humphrey — Person · 11 mentions · first at
  • Lana Clayton — Person · 8 mentions · first at
    Can't imagine him doing that. Can't imagine anyone doing that. So, who then becomes the suspect? Lana Clayton.
  • Ashley Shaw — Person · 7 mentions · first at
  • Sky Lazaro — Person · 7 mentions · first at
    It's not illegal to have affairs. Sky Lazaro is an experienced defense attorney familiar with cases involving poison. James Craig and his attorney declined our request for an interview.
  • Stacy Hunsucker — Person · 7 mentions
  • Rosie — Person · 6 mentions
  • Karen Kaine — Person · 5 mentions · first at
    Investigators allege it is yet one more rule James Craig didn't think he had to play by when he met Karen Kaine.
  • Joshua Hunsucker — Person · 5 mentions
  • Sam Renick — Person · 4 mentions · first at
    The day after his brother's murder, Sam Renick was brought in for questioning.
  • Michelle Redfern — Person · 4 mentions
  • Brandon Blackwell — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    Ashley, the manager at Asensia Spa, said that Lindley had also been seeing another man named Brandon Blackwell, who she had met on a dating website. She said Lley was hooking up with Brandon before Ben's murder.
  • Demi Garvin — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    My name is Demi Garvin. I am a forensic toxicologist.
  • Chris Fagan — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    It didn't always work out well for him. Steve's nephew, Chris Fagan, says his uncle was an accountant by trade who in the 1980s created a highly successful physical therapy business targeting sports injuries.
  • Nick French — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    As word spread about Steve's sudden death, his nephew Nick French, who's a police officer in a nearby town, rushed to the mansion. That's Nick inside the house.
  • Stefan Tubs — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    Good afternoon, Colorado. I'm Stefan Tubs.
  • George Brockler — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    At the time, George Brockler was another force in Colorado talk radio.
  • Ryan Redern — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    As Angela stayed in the hospital without a diagnosis, Jim Craig was in touch with his friends Michelle and Ryan Redern, a fellow dentist. Ryan had recently become business partners with Jim. He would later tell police.
  • Ryan Redford — Person · 3 mentions · first at
    But according to police, Ryan Redford was far from convinced those tears were real. That's because on his way to the hospital, he had gotten a call from a staff member at the office. The call was.
  • Meera — Person · 3 mentions
  • Dave Colbert — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Coroner Dave Colbert had never seen anything like it.
  • Katherine Burgerer — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Ben and Lyn Lee first met when they were teenagers. They reconnected in 2011, says local attorney Katherine Burgerer.
  • Dave Kaufman — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    To understand the world of snakes that Ben lived and worked in, we spoke with Ben's friend Dave Kaufman, who introduced me to a reticulated python, a snake Ben was known for throughout the world because of how he bred them in captivity.
  • Steven Clayton — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Steven Clayton was a very well-liked person, had lots of friends, very sociable.
  • Sabrina Gast — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Shortly after 100 p.m., coroner Sabrina Gast received a call that Steve had died.
  • Steve Clayton — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    When coroner Sabrina Gast first reviewed Steve Clayton's toxicology report, there was a chemical found in his blood that she had never heard of before.
  • Kevin Brackett — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Solicitor Kevin Brackett acts as the prosecutor in York and Union counties in South Carolina. first and foremost, how did the visine get in his system?
  • Dr. Jeff Le Point — Person · 2 mentions · first at
    Dr. Dr. Jeff Le Point is the director of the division of medical toxicology at San Diego's Kaiser Permanente Hospital.
  • Christy O'Connor — Person · 2 mentions
  • Frank Renick — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Another tragedy on the Renick family farm just 5 years earlier. The suicide of Ben and Sam's father, Frank Renick.
  • Dave McKenna — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Journalist Dave McKenna of Defeector Media was following the case that was about to change fast for investigators.
  • Tim Hesman — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Where he is right now. Then facing life behind bars, Michael Humphrey, changed his story. Lynley's trial attorneys, Tim Hesman and Katherine Burgerer. He decides to flip. Why does he do that?
  • Terry Floyd — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Terry Floyd is a close friend of Lana and Steve.
  • Dr. Nan Se — Person · 1 mention · first at
    But Dr. Nan Se, a veterinarian who took care of their dogs at the Clayton Mansion, claims it was all a facade. When you saw the two of them together, were they a.
  • Ilana Ianova — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Ilana Ianova was Steve's girlfriend for almost 3 years before meeting Lana.
  • Kayn Macdonald — Person · 1 mention · first at
    In fact, babysitter Kayn Macdonald, who looked after the couple's children after Stacy's death, says Josh was dating a coworker, Jennifer Elkins.
  • Jennifer Elkins — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Looked after the couple's children after Stacy's death, says Josh was dating a coworker, Jennifer Elkins.
  • Susie Robinson — Person · 1 mention · first at
    For Stacy's mother, Susie Robinson, that was a red flag. Another one was when she learned just 48 hours after Stacy's death, Josh started the process of collecting $250,000.
  • Judge Burch — Person · 1 mention · first at
    Clayton, you sure have tangled this one up. On January 16th, 2020, Judge Burch sentenced Lana Clayton to 25 years in prison.

Books & papers

Companies & orgs

  • 48 Hours — Company · 8 mentions · first at
  • Renick Reptiles — Company · 4 mentions · first at
    My name is Ben Renick. I'm with Ben Renick Reptiles, and this is my story.
  • Paramount Plus — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    48 hours prime time double feature next Saturday on CBS streaming on Paramount Plus.
  • Summerbrook Dental — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    Chelsea Toya got to know Jim and Angela when she worked for Dr. Craig at Summerbrook Dental. They seemed like the perfect couple until, according to Colorado cops, James took his shot at the perfect crime.
  • University Hospital — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    Within a day, she started feeling sick again. So on March 15th, she was admitted to nearby University Hospital.
  • Ben Renick Reptiles — Company · 1 mention · first at
    My name is Ben Renick. I'm with Ben Renick Reptiles, and this is my story.
  • Missouri State Highway Patrol — Company · 1 mention · first at
    A Missouri State Highway Patrol detective had the same question when he spoke with Ben's wife, Lindley.
  • Asensia Spa — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Having an affair, a couple affairs, actually. Ashley, the manager at Asensia Spa, said that Lindley had also been seeing another man named Brandon Blackwell, who she had met on a dating website. She said Lley was hooking up with Brandon.
  • Veterans Affairs — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Lana worked as a nurse in several different Veterans Affairs hospitals.
  • Atrium Health — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Then was a preschool teacher. He was a paramedic, a flight medic actually at Atrium Health, the major hospital system in the Charlotte area.
  • North Carolina Department of Insurance — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Collecting $250,000 in two life insurance policies. Susie called the North Carolina Department of Insurance to investigate.
  • Summerbrook Dental Group — Company · 1 mention · first at
    My name is Dr. Jim Craig and I practice at Summerbrook Dental Group.
  • Parker Adventist Hospital — Company · 1 mention · first at
    He picked up Angela and drove to the ER at Parker Adventist Hospital. She reported feeling dizzy and weak. Doctors fast went to work. She ends up going into the hospital first time. It was March 6th. Is that correct?
  • Kaiser Permanente Hospital — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Dr. Dr. Jeff Le Point is the director of the division of medical toxicology at San Diego's Kaiser Permanente Hospital.
  • Defector Media — Company · 1 mention
  • Montgomery County Sheriff's Office — Company · 1 mention
  • Polk County Sheriff's Office — Company · 1 mention
  • WBTV — Company · 1 mention

Products & tech

  • Visine — Product · 9 mentions · first at
  • The Renick ghost — Product · 1 mention · first at
    The Renick ghost. And what ghost is a slight reduction of blacks color. It gives the snake kind of a ghosty appearance to it. And that is such a testament to what Ben meant to this.
  • 48 Hours Post Mortem — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Go behind the scenes with the 48 hours post-mortem podcast.

Concepts & topics

  • potassium cyanide — Concept · 9 mentions · first at
  • tetrahydrozoline — Concept · 9 mentions
  • eye drops — Concept · 8 mentions · first at
  • tetrahydroylene — Concept · 4 mentions · first at
    Hm. What is tetrahydroylene? I don't know what that is. So, I had to look up what tetrahydroine was. I was whoa wait.
  • protein shakes — Concept · 4 mentions · first at
    A Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's protein shakes was charged today with her murder.
  • THZ — Concept · 4 mentions
  • Jim and Waffles — Concept · 3 mentions · first at
    Got sick, according to the warrant, Jim Craig set up a new email account using the alias Jim and Waffles and used it to research multiple poisons, all part of his plan, according to investigators, to murder Angela.
  • preliminary hearing — Concept · 3 mentions · first at
    And at a preliminary hearing in 2023, prosecutors argued that Jim Craig had about 3.4 million reasons to kill his wife, the value of Angela's life insurance.
  • oleandrin — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Beguiling and beautiful. Oleandrin. What is that?
  • Married to Death — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Married to death. One of 48 Hours correspondent Aaron Morardi's most controversial cases. Her two husbands dead. Was this widow a killer? Her final trial. Listen to the original 48 Hours.
  • Mickey Finn — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    We refer to this drug as a modern-day Mickey Finn, where a substance is introduced into a beverage without the consent of the individual who's going to consume it for purposes of incapacitating them. that could be.
  • Wedding Crashers — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    In the movie Wedding Crashers, a character squirts eye drops into the drink of his rival, causing trouble.
  • Arsenic DDS — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    So, we started a podcast called Arsenic DDS.
  • medical toxicology — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Dr. Dr. Jeff Le Point is the director of the division of medical toxicology at San Diego's Kaiser Permanente Hospital.
  • oleander — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    So oleandrin is a toxin found in oleander.
  • DEA number — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    He can legitimately purchase it cuz he has a DEA number. as a doctor, as a dentist. Right.
  • counseling — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Something that was not traceable. The defense pointed out that Jim suffered from depression and went to counseling in the past.

Places & events

  • Aurora — Place · 4 mentions · first at
    Under that vast rocky mountain sky on March 18th, 2023 in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Angela Craig died.
  • Columbia, Missouri — Place · 2 mentions · first at
    Sorting them. In 2016, they opened a second business, a Senia Spa in Columbia, Missouri. A longtime dream of Lindley, who once worked as a massage therapist.
  • York County — Place · 2 mentions · first at
    I am the coroner for York County, South Carolina. Luckily, family started picking up on some red flags.
  • Clayton estate — Place · 1 mention · first at
    It certainly is. There are million-dollar homes. If you look at this one here, this is the Clayton estate.
  • Mount Vernon — Place · 1 mention · first at
    Steven and Lana moved into it in 2015, and it's actually modeled after President George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.
  • York County, South Carolina — Place · 1 mention · first at
    I am the coroner for York County, South Carolina. Luckily, family started picking up on some red flags.
  • Clayton Mansion — Place · 1 mention · first at
    But Dr. Nan Se, a veterinarian who took care of their dogs at the Clayton Mansion, claims it was all a facade. When you saw the two of them together, were they a loving couple?
  • Mount Holly — Place · 1 mention · first at
    About 3 weeks after Lana's arrest, there was another suspicious death just 12 miles away in Mount Holly, North Carolina.
  • Arapahoe County — Place · 1 mention
  • Lake Wylie — Place · 1 mention
  • Union County — Place · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

If you're afraid of snakes, then everything you think you know about them is wrong.

My name is Ben Renick. I'm with Ben Renick Reptiles, and this is my story. Ben Renick is an artist when it comes to breeding snakes.

And this is a project that I'm actually a really big fan of. Are there some species of snakes in here that Ben used to work with?

Yeah, actually right behind me there's a reticulated python. And Ben was actually very fond of his reticulated pythons. Ben Renick was a great businessman. He was a young upandcoming rock star in the reptile world. My wife and I uh mainly run this company.

Lley Renick is a kind soul, a devoted mother, and I would say a genuinely caring person.

They were happy. You know, they were very busy. You know, they worked a lot, and there was never any instance of anything ever being wrong. On June 8th of 2017, at about 5:30 in the afternoon, Linley Renick drives home to where her home and her and her husband's snake facility is. She goes inside and she finds her husband, Ben Renick, lying face down in a pool of blood.

I got a call from Lley. She was hysterical, complete in panic. 911. moment he addressed the emergency on the ground.

And I went in to try and find Ben. And when I found Ben and um and his body, I knew that uh it was too late.

Oh my god, my brother's dead. What What may have happened? He got killed by snake.

I assumed it was a snake. Care for that 1850. The whole building full of snakes. There's a

snake every 4 in here. I don't know what to stop. Someone being killed by a snake is not something that happens every day, especially in Missouri.

Paramedic said there's a bike mark on him. So, there's a snake loose in here. Mhm.

So, watch your Being the coroner walking into a death scene with thousands of snakes jumping at the cages. It was just a crazy scene to be at.

Do we have anybody we could call to deal with an anaconda? All right. How could you have something big enough to kill a person here? I still didn't know what to think. I squatted down next to the body. There's significant damage. There's blood all around. When I saw that shell casing on the shelf just above his head, I knew this was not from a snake. This was something much more heinous. I knew that this was a homicide at that time.

Who would want to kill Ben Renick? That was the question. We couldn't have imagined anything like that.

And it was a long wait until we got that answer. Heat. Heat. N. I don't care if it's a if it's a 5 in long steak. Somebody's trying to bite me, I'm gonna I'm gonna light it up.

On a hot Missouri summer day in June 2017, Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies were called to a unique and potentially dangerous death scene.

A literal snake pit. A building with more than 3,000 exotic serpents. Something got him. So, watch your

The first responders aren't sure if one of these snakes may have killed renowned breeder Ben Renick.

Who is? Okay, that's Ben Renick. Oh, make sure there's no snakes around the victims.

Yeah, excuse me. Coroner Dave Colbert had never seen anything like it. They're holding shotguns in hand. They were guns out. She could just feel the anxiety amongst everyone there. No one knew where the killer could be coiled or lurking. But while examining Ben's body, the coroner made that surprising discovery. Ben's body lying face down hid the true cause of death. He hadn't been bitten by a giant snake. Ben had been shot eight times, once at close range.

This was something that was not just a random act. I saw a snake. There's a snake, honey.

Nearby was Ben's wife, Lindley. She had discovered his body and she was visibly upset. Uh what you would describe as somebody who is grieving and, you know, just lost a loved one.

Okay. Lley had called Sam who rushed to the scene. Sam got here before, so I don't know.

Okay. I he was always shot in the back almost exclusively. I don't I don't think he saw it coming at all. Ben had such a future ahead of him. You know, he was 29 years old. He was almost 30. A lot was lost. Near this remote highway about 80 mi west of St. Louis once stood a worldrenowned snake breeding facility, Renick Reptiles, where Ben Renick built his empire of serpents. Welcome to the basement of uh Ren Reptiles. Uh we keep reticular pythons, blood pythons, white pythons, green anacondas.

Ben had his first snake at a very young age and that became a somewhat of a passion for him became a uh a hobby did build into a business and he was he was very good at what he did.

At the time of the murder, Sam and Ben Renick were living in separate houses with their families on this 70 acre spread. We lived out there together and raised our kids out there together. Then we went fishing on the weekends and you know, we were close.

Ben and Lyn Lee first met when they were teenagers. They reconnected in 2011, says local attorney Katherine Burgerer.

They hit it off right away and their relationship got pretty serious pretty quickly. Um, I think they moved in together within the first year of dating. Lindley had a son from a previous relationship. Sam says Ben became a second father to the child. In 2014, Ben and Lindley decided to tie the knot.

Uh they had a beautiful wedding and it was beautiful small family event and it was very special.

Soon they had a baby of their own, a growing family to go with their booming snake breeding business. Lynley found Ben's passion interesting. She would work day and night helping Ben with the snakes, handling them, cleaning them, sorting them. In 2016, they opened a second business, a Senia Spa in Columbia, Missouri. A longtime dream of Lindley, who once worked as a massage therapist.

Hi, I'm Lindley. I'm the owner here. I know that when she started her spa business, this is something that she had always wanted to do that she empowered her quite a bit.

By 2017, Renick's snake business was wildly successful. He was shipping his snakes around the world, from the UK to Japan, and traveling to reptile conventions across the United States. He was so successful, Ben realized that if he sold a portion of Renick Reptiles, he could make some real money.

Ben had planned on selling the majority of his ball python collection for uh from my understanding was about $1.2 million. Things were going to be very good for uh my brother and and Lenley. The couple had received their first payment of at least $200,000, but then Ben was murdered.

When you heard that he was dead, what did you think might have happened to him?

So, the first question that I asked was, uh, how many snakes were missing? A facility like Ben's um, it unfortunately attracts a lot of bad people. bad people that see these snakes not as these beautiful amazing creatures that they are, but see them as dollar signs.

To understand the world of snakes that Ben lived and worked in, we spoke with Ben's friend Dave Kaufman, who introduced me to a reticulated python, a snake Ben was known for throughout the world because of how he bred them in captivity.

Ben loved these snakes because how can you not love these snakes? I mean, really, when it comes down to it, they're big, they're beautiful, they're personable. She's going to go right over your shoulder and try to go on the cage behind you.

Let's see if I'm right. Oh, no. She's going to wrap around you. It's my new scarf.

There you go. Kaufman is also a snake breeder. Have you ever seen a blood python this big?

And a documentary filmmaker who also travels the world tracking rare and exotic reptiles for his YouTube channel. This is a first.

It is a remarkable sensation. It is. Investigators looked into the theory that Ben's murder may have been a robbery gone bad, but ruled it out. No snakes were missing. Dave Colbert says it made sense to look more carefully at those closest to Ben.

We definitely didn't want to exclude anybody from being a possible suspect. I didn't know if Sam was involved. Didn't know if Lindley was involved.

The day after his brother's murder, Sam Renick was brought in for questioning. I don't know where to start.

Okay. And they also brought in Lindley. Take me questions. What happened? Yeah.

What I mean, what do I do? My other friends and family. But soon enough, those same friends and family would have reason to question everything they thought they knew about Lenley Reic.

Lenley that we knew back then was uh very sweet uh kind. However, there was there were other sides there that we didn't know. With law enforcement discovering that Ben Renick had not been killed by a snake and quickly ruling out the possibility of a robbery gone bad, Sam Renick had one major question. Who would have want to been dead?

A Missouri State Highway Patrol detective had the same question when he spoke with Ben's wife, Lindley.

Could you see anybody, you know, be upset with Ben to the point where that may happen?

Both Lley and Sam were cooperative in their initial interviews. Are you willing to submit to a shotgun or not shotgun, a gunshot?

Yeah. Anything you want, you got Okay. Sam says he understood why police would first focus on them. And he told investigators he could never imagine Lindley being involved.

I didn't think that Lindley would have been capable of murder like that. Lindley also agreed to a gunshot residue test. But in her one-on-one interview with the detective, Lindley made a startling claim, saying that Sam might have had a motive to kill his brother.

Was there any family issues like between them and uh yeah. At issue, Lley said, was Ben's plan to possibly sell the property where they all lived. She claimed Sam was upset about it. Ben had inherited the property after another tragedy on the Renick family farm just 5 years earlier. The suicide of Ben and Sam's father, Frank Renick.

Ben found him. Uh he came and got me and I we went there together and uh it was a tough day. Frank Renick shot himself in 2012 after being implicated in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme involving fraudulent stock certificates. There's a lot of people that lost a lot of money, you know, due to my father.

Unaware that Lindley was implicating him, Sam wondered whether Ben had been killed in an act of revenge against their father. We were concerned, however, that, you know, someone could have been upset enough to to have waited, done something like this.

But that theory never took off. And Sam, who had tested negative for gun residue on his hands, was ruled out after cooperating fully with investigators.

I provided them, you know, everything I had, my cell phone, the shirt off my back, uh, my alibi to where I was when the murder happened. I I gave a polygraph.

As highway patrol detectives continued their investigation, the reptile community stepped up to help Ben's wife and children.

We have a male fire cinnamon. They held this online auction of donated snakes. She's a pretty girl, guys.

Raising more than $40,000. Guys, remember all this money is going to a great great great cause. You guys banded together and you got thousands of dollars to Lindley to help her during this time of crime.

Tens of thou? Yeah, we we raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Lindley and the kids

because you felt she was a victim. That's correct. But that supposed victim had a startling confession when Lindley spoke with detectives again just 11 days after Ben's murder.

So, have you been talking to anyone or did you have a relationship? How did you guys feel about

Lindley admitted she had been unfaithful. It was just just Did he think the same way?

Yeah. Detectives checked that man's alibi and cleared him of any suspicion. Investigators then interviewed Ashley Shaw, one of Lindley's employees, and a close friend who she had confided in, which may have been a mistake.

I mean, I'm sure that, you know, she was having um an affair, a couple affairs, actually. Um

Ashley, the manager at Asensia Spa, said that Lindley had also been seeing another man named Brandon Blackwell, who she had met on a dating website. She said Lley was hooking up with Brandon before Ben's murder.

I know Brandon was like really a short time before that, I believe. Along with Lynley's affairs, investigators had discovered Facebook messages between Ben and Lindley. They revealed that Ben had found out the spa was losing money and that Lley had lied to him about it. Ben sent a message to Lenley just hours before he was murdered. No more lying. No more keeping things from me. No more not paying people and thinking it's okay to pay later. 4 months after Ben's murder, Lenley was in front of cops again and agreed to take a polygraph exam.

Okay. How do you think you did, Lenley? Okay. Not exactly. Lynley's polygraph test was a dismal failure. And so the results of the polygraph showed that you failed the the test. When I asked you, did you shoot that man? You failed the test. Just wanted to help you.

Why? I just failed that, but I didn't kill Ben. And but investigators suspected she did and may have had help from yet another man in her life. His name is Michael Humphrey, an old ex-boyfriend and ex-con fresh out of prison on drug possession charges who she texted and called numerous times, including on the day her husband was murdered.

Coming in from the side, the thing is is that that right there is very suspicious. It appeared Lley was close to breaking.

I don't know, but she continued to deny any involvement dozens of times. I don't have anything to do with this.

There is so much circumstantial evidence against you in this case, it's mindboggling. But Lindley's gunshot residue test had come back negative with no witnesses, no murder weapon found or direct evidence linking her to Ben's murder.

I need to go get my children. She left that interrogation room a free woman. The investigation went cold for nearly 3 years until unexpectedly someone came forward with everything Missouri Highway Patrol investigators were looking for.

The boas are long gone. Pythons packed up. Snakes in new homes. The reptilian paradise turn crime scene now a vacant frozen field. Eight fatal shots unanswered.

I wasn't sure what to think. Unaware that investigators suspected Lindley, Ben Reic's brother, Sam was left more than a little uneasy.

It was very, very tough knowing um that someone's out there that had essentially gotten away with murder. Um I was concerned for my own safety.

And without an arrest, serpent lovers were also left rattled. So when the case went cold, we would all contact each other asking if anybody had any information on what was going on. It was frustrating. It was frustrating to have all this time pass and not have a culprit in custody.

All Dave Kaufman knew for sure, humans do things other than what you expect. Snakes do not.

And the most unexpected behavior came from the human closest to Ben Renick, his widow, Lindley. We wanted to be, you know, as understanding as possible. However, in time when she refused to talk to us or allow us to talk to the kids or even uh receive my brother's belongings, we knew something was wrong.

In fact, just weeks after Ben's murder, with her spa business failing, Lindley had sold the family property, closed up shop, and left town in a hurry. So like one day she was there and the next day just left and then never came back.

Today Beth Mayberry works at that same location. But back then she was just one more true crime buff in Columbia, Missouri, riveted by a case without a conclusion. How much is this Renick case talked about around here among

It's a lot. And what do people say? What do they think? Um crazy. It's crazy. Um, and people did start to wonder, maybe Lindley did it, maybe she had someone do this. Um, it did become a question,

a question without an answer until January 2020 when cops followed up on a jail house tip.

We're investigators. I'm here because you used to be dating Lenley. That's correct. Out of nowhere comes this, you know what what I'm sure the investigators would would think as a god a godsend.

Journalist Dave McKenna of Defeector Media was following the case that was about to change fast for investigators.

Your dad gave me a call today and said that you wanted to talk to us. Yeah. Just lays out the whole story and it is very detailed.

It was Brandon Blackwell, the man Lyn Lee met online. the lover she was hooking up with the very week Ben was murdered.

Her husband is freshly dead. Body's still warm and she's found another warm body.

Only a year and a half after Ben was killed, Blackwell and Lindley had a child together. But Lindley alleged Blackwell had become threatening and they had broken up. Lindley got an order of protection and Blackwell was then charged with violating that order and stalking her. charges he denies. He was jammed up in jail and looking to make a deal.

My concern is getting out of that cell. Now you're coming to us when you're in a pickle. So,

right. Blackwell's tale begin weeks before Ben Reic was shot dead when he says Lley and spa employee Ashley Shaw whipped up a toxic shake for Ben. He was given a a protein drink one night that was laced full of enormous amounts of narcotics and somehow lived through it. But the plan was for that to be the last day of his life.

A poison potion served to a husband by his wife. Brandon says Lley confessed that and much more to him.

My information is out of the horse's mouth. Okay. So when pills failed to kill, Brandon says Lindley turned to one-time boyfriend Michael Humphrey.

They drove to the farm. He had gloves. He had a firearm. Plan was for him to do it. Um they get there, he hands her the gun and says he doesn't feel comfortable doing something she's got to take care of. She walks in with a gun and just shoots him a bunch of times.

And according to Blackwell, Lindley's spa employee, Ashley Shaw, was once again involved.

Brandon Blackwell told the police that Ashley was in on it intimately from from the start of the planning.

The cold case was blown wide open. On January 16th, 2020, cops made their moves. Lley Renick and Michael Humphrey were arrested, charged with the murder of Ben Renick. Loved ones and friends never saw it coming. What that moment was like for you? Disbelief. I thought they got the wrong person. It

It took us years to find out that Lley was lying and that she was living in a double life. A sociopath. Uh if you look that up, that's Lynley's picture will be sitting right there with it. But what motive could Lley have to murder the man she had built so much with? Some say it was as coldblooded as a cobra. Money.

Lley stood to gain millions of dollars from the death of my brother. Between the life insurance, the sale of the snakes, and the family farm that she would inherit, it was significant.

Still, investigators needed someone to flip. They arrested Ashley and fast let her know exactly what her future reality might look like.

Now is a time you're either on team Lenley or you're on team Missouri. And team Lenley's going to jail. They're going to prison for first-degree murder.

In exchange for leniency, Ashley turned on her one-time boss. Starting with the toxic ingredients in Lley's venomous smoothie. Ashley would say that Lley told her Ben had abused her.

She asked if I could get any um thing, any prescription pills or anything in the amount that could um help her kill him. And so I got her um per it was percoet, I'm pretty sure. And there was um I think 15 of them.

According to Ashley, after the shooting, Lindley claimed Michael Humphrey was the trigger man. But she says a few days later, Lley changed her story. Ashley now claimed that Lley confessed to being the killer

and she said, "Oh no, once we got there, I I was fine to do it." And so he handed me the gun and I did it.

After the murder, she ever seemed remorseful. She was sorry. Never. No. But as the case headed to trial, Lindley's legal team insists Michael Humphrey was the real shooter. And they argue the state's case isn't based on truth, but on the fearful, coerced testimony of Ashley Shaw.

You're either on team Lenley or you're on team Missouri. And team Lenley is going to jail.

How would that impact somebody uh a woman like Ashley Shaw, do you think? Well, if Ashley Shaw ever wants to leave that interview room for the rest of her life or for the indefinite future, she's going to change her story.

It was only after that threat that she changed her story and implicated Lonely Renick. I don't know what happened with this. I don't know. It took a lot of time to just process, you know, the lies that we were given by Lley.

In late 2021, Sam Renick was bracing himself for the trials of his brother's alleged killers.

My biggest concern was keeping my composure during the whole time. First up, Lindley's old boyfriend, Michael Humphrey. The prosecution said Lindley fired the gun and that Humphrey was in on the plan. Prosecutors said he was in on the plotting. He provided the weapon. He helped knock off her husband.

But that murder weapon had not been recovered. Humphrey's defense argued that he had been lured to the snake farm by Lindley, who claimed she wanted protection when asking Ben for a divorce. Lley had then surprised him and pulled out a gun and shot her husband. They painted him as kind of a fawning suitor of this pretty blonde petite uh snake salesman.

The jury didn't believe Humphrey's story of being an innocent spectator. After deliberating for just 5 hours, jurors convicted him of firstdegree murder.

Lley is a manipulator and I truly believe that he was manipulated into where he is right now. Then facing life behind bars, Michael Humphrey, changed his story. Lynley's trial attorneys, Tim Hesman and Katherine Burgerer. He decides to flip. Why does he do that?

He's convicted of first-degree murder after a jury trial. Uh he agrees to cooperate with the state in the hopes that he might be able to parole out eventually.

Humphrey now admits that he provided the gun that Lindley used to shoot her husband. and he tells them where they can find it, which is in his girlfriend's mother's attic.

With the murder weapon in hand, jurors in Lynley's upcoming trial would have to answer one unresolved question. Who pulled the trigger?

This is case number 307, State versus Lenley Renick. The defendant, Lenley Renick, shot her husband, Ben, eight times, killing him. We're going to come back and ask you to find her guilty of murder.

The prosecution painted Lindley as coldblooded as one of her husband's snakes, a killer who shot Ben and then went about her daily routine as if nothing had happened.

She goes to the school, picks up her two children, and drives them back to the place where she knows she is going to find their father's dead body because she killed him.

Lenley is being deceptive to Ben. The defense counters by saying that while Lindley lied and cheated on Ben, that doesn't make her a killer.

She's not planning a murder, she's planning a divorce. They pointed the finger at the man already convicted of murdering Ben Renick.

Michael Humphrey took it upon himself, acting completely independently, took Ben's life himself. But Lynley's employee and confidant, Ashley Shaw, now the prosecution star witness, swears Michael Humphrey and Lindley were full partners in crime.

Michael is going to come to the spa and they were going to go together to her house, his business, um to kill him at home or at work.

Shaw says after the murder, Lindley returned to the spa not for a massage, but to wash away her sins. So Lley goes back there and she tells you to do what?

Uh to give her a shower and she asked me to scrub her body and her hands really well and she walked.

Then Ashley tells the jurors what Lley told her about what really happened at Renick Reptiles the day Ben was killed.

She said that Michael got uh too nervous or didn't want to do it and so he handed her the gun and she actually killed him. She said that she put the gun to his back and shot him several times. But the defense claims Ashley Shaw, just like Michael Humphrey, made up this story in order to avoid life in prison.

How are you able to be so calm when you're being questioned about murders that you evidently claim to be involved in? How is that, Ashley?

I don't know. There are so many aspects of Ashley Shaw's story that simply are not credible. And now, in a strange twist of judicial fate, the prosecution called an unlikely key witness to the stand.

Now, what am I holding up? That's That's my gun. That's what your gun is? Yes. Convicted murderer Michael Humphrey, who now swears he's telling the truth about how Lindley killed her husband.

I heard a shot come out, so I kind of ducked a little bit. I looked down through there and she was at the end of the corridor, whatever you want to call it, posed up like this with a gun.

All right, thank you so much. Call your next witness. As the trial neared its end, the defense took a chance on a star witness of their own. Lley began by detailing the troubled and sometimes violent marriage she claims she was trying to escape. Lley. Uh, was there ever any other occasion where an argument with Ben turned physical?

Yes. Ben and I had been arguing at the house and he grabbed my arm and pushed me into the refrigerator and was like, "I'm not done with this. We're going to finish it now."

Lley Renick never filed any police reports about the alleged physical abuse. Abusive is a word that I would not use with Ben. She was very kind, very loving.

Then came her chance to explain why she asked Michael Humphrey to accompany her that fatal day.

Hey, my marriage is falling apart. Will you please just go with me just to make sure like, you know, I'm safe and I can get some stuff and go.

Did you ask Michael to help you kill your husband? No. Set the scene for me and the jury. I walked up right right behind Michael and then Michael turned around and I saw a gun in his hands and then I heard shots ring out and I screamed and I ran outside and then I heard more shots go off and everything just went numb and I remember staring at the trees And then Michael running out of the facility and pushing me towards the car and telling me, "We have to go, Lindley. Get in the car. We have to go now."

Claiming to be in shock, Lindley admitted she didn't tell the truth to investigators, but said that didn't add up to murder.

"And I understand what that means and how this looks. I just I don't know how to fully express that I I never wanted Ben dead. And I

Miss Renick, you would not get home for the prosecution was ready to strike. You were interviewed a bunch by a bunch of cops. Correct.

Yes. And you lied to them every time. Yes. But deep down in that heart of yours and in that brain of yours, you know who killed him. Correct.

Yes. Lynley's lies to cops included a terrible slander, accusing Sam Renick of killing his brother.

And then anytime the police asked me who I thought, I just told them, "Sam, I'm so sorry."

Her trying to apologize to me on the stand and garner sympathy with the jury didn't sit well with me.

I'm sorry. There's no low too low for for that one. Why should these jurors now believe you?

You now want these 12 people to believe it. Correct. Yes. I bet you do. While I regret that it took her 2 and 1/2 years to tell the truth. I think she was relieved that the full story had finally been told and now it was in the jury's hands.

Who do you think pulled the trigger? Look at the evidence in the case at 48 hours.com. It had been almost five long years since Ben Renick was murdered. Exhausted, Sam waited for a jury to weigh the evidence against his younger brother's bride.

And for the record, and after 12 hours, the judge revealed the verdict. As to count one, we the jury find the defendant Lenley Renick guilty of murder in the second degree. Verdict. As to count two, we the jury find the defendant guilty of armed criminal action.

In that moment, 33-year-old Lily Renick became a convicted killer. She really believed that she was going to get away with all this and she really believed that she was going to get what she had planned after murdering my brother.

The time still to be measured, the length of her stay in a Missouri prison. You may now retire to consider punishment in this case.

For that, jurors gathered again for a separate sentencing hearing. While life was an option, the jury would settle on something considerably less.

Punishment for murder in the second degree at 13 years. Punishment for armed criminal action at 3 years.

13 + three for Ben Renick's life. Jurors never said why they chose such a seemingly light punishment. But 6 weeks later, Sam would tell the court that the sentence itself was an injustice.

I beg the common person to watch the trial again and ask themselves if my brother's life was worth only 16 years. 16 years is why I'm here today.

He would recount that hideous day that changed everything. The web of devastation travels far

and spared no one. She put the children through this experience. Here I am, covered in my brother's blood, attempting to comfort the children despite them asking me if their daddy's dead.

Sam's frustration at the sentence seemed to be shared by the judge. But under Missouri law, he could not increase Lindley's punishment.

You're awful lucky, ma'am. You're going to get out in your 40s, and my 40s weren't too bad. I just hope you don't kill again. That's it. Some reflected on the cast of bad characters, two convicted killers, and Ashley Shaw granted immunity after plotting with Linley twice.

These people, these creeps and dark characters, behaving very badly and behaving inhumanely towards humans.

Ben Renick had created an Eden for serpent lovers. Spot those clowns. But it was people, not a snake, that destroyed his paradise.

You can reduce it to a story of greed. It may be as simple as that. Greed that left in its bloody wake children, and a brother determined to carry on.

The kids lost a father, my babies, and Ben's babies. And I'm here to take care of them for the rest of my life. And around the world, wherever reptiles coil, slither, and slide, the loss of a superstar is still felt.

What happened to Ben was a tragedy that absolutely did not need to happen. And yet Ben Renick lives on in a way he would surely have loved, celebrated with a new breed of snake named just for him.

The Renick ghost. And what ghost is is a slight reduction of blacks color. It gives the snake kind of a ghosty appearance to it. And that is such a testament to what Ben meant to this community that he now has a mutation of a snake named after him.

You miss your friend. Every single expo that we would see each other at, there is a vacancy there that will never be filled again. CBS next Saturday. 48 Hours brings you backto back episodes all summer long. Next week, House of Horrors.

Something went terribly, terribly wrong. Heidi was struck in the back as she was trying to flee towards the kitchen.

48 hours prime time double feature next Saturday on CBS streaming on Paramount Plus. We are floating along Lake Wy, South Carolina, which is a roughly 20 mile long lake. As we've been cruising along here, it it has looked like an episode of lifestyles of the rich and famous. A lot of wealth.

It certainly is. There are million-dollar homes. If you look at this one here, this is the Clayton estate. Steven and Lana moved into it in 2015, and it's actually modeled after President George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. Steven Clayton was a very well-liked person, had lots of friends, very sociable. Lana worked as a nurse in several different Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Steven Clayton was found dead at the bottom of a staircase. At the outset, this appeared to be a natural death.

There's nothing unusual. It looked like a man who had fallen down a flight of stairs.

Yes. Who had been ill according to his wife and then she found him unresponsive.

She was crying and she was upset. Is it allowable to have somebody pray over? Oh yes, ma'am. So if there's someone you want to call

I pulled into the driveway right over here. My main goal at that point was to try and help Lena, to console her.

When did you start to see things that troubled you? Right away. He didn't show any signs of any sort of medical issues. She made no mention of attempting to revive him.

We decided to call the coroner and see if we could get either an autopsy or a toxicology report.

I am the coroner for York County, South Carolina. Luckily, family started picking up on some red flags. My name is Demi Garvin. I am a forensic toxicologist.

When Demiy's toxicology report came across my fax machine, I was like, hm, what is tetrahydroene? And then immediately Demi and I were on the phone together. I was like, whoa, wait. Tetrahydroine is the common ingredient in Visine,

the eye drop. The eye drop. When it is given orally via the mouth, it is uh very toxic and can render someone into a coma within uh 15 to 30 minutes.

Can it create a heart attack? It can. It has a devastating effect on your body.

Somebody one time told him well go to the bathroom and he put like two drops in his coffee.

Can't imagine him doing that. Can't imagine anyone doing that. So, who then becomes the suspect? Lana Clayton. She reported on her own that Steven Clayton like to place a few drops of Visine in his coffee each morning.

And I did not kill my husband. There was another death that appeared to be of natural causes related to a cardiac arrest of Stacy Hun sucker. They found the high levels of tetrahydroine in her system.

It's very possible that was a copycat situation. The suspect in that case heard about our case down here uh saw it on the news.

So what you're saying is that this little bottle could be a murder weapon. Absolutely. Yeah. Heat. I'm a Vietnam veteran, so I've seen things, done things. But James Blackidge wasn't ready for what was about to happen as he rode by the home of Steve and Lana Clayton on the morning of July 21st 2018.

I was out riding my motorcycle coming down this road and all of a sudden I see a woman running across this yard and she was waving me down.

It was Lana Clayton who apparently had just run out of her house. She flagged me down, stopped me, and first thing she said was, "Call 911." Is

this 911? It is. I was just riding by and a woman came running out and said her husband fell down the steps and she thinks he's dead.

As Black Ledge stayed on the phone with the dispatcher, he watched Lana run across the street to a neighbor's house.

All of a sudden, I heard this loud knock on the screen. almost sound like somebody, you know, was going to bust the glass out. It was Lana.

Terry Floyd is a close friend of Lana and Steve. And I asked her, of course, what was what was wrong? And she just kept saying, "It's Steve. It's Steve."

The two jumped into Terry's golf cart and dashed over to the Clayton's front door.

And I said, "Well, where is he?" And she said, "He's at the base of the stairs there in the forer." And what were you thinking as all this is unfolding?

I just thought it was an accident. Strange accident. Then what I really thought was strange was she sat on the front steps. The man went inside the house.

I tried to get a pulse. I couldn't get a pulse and uh I I you know I just I knew he was dead. According to Lana, Steve had come down with a bout of vertigo three days prior. News reporter Christy O'Conor of WBTV covered the story.

He was nauseated and dizzy and bedridden. Their bedroom was on the second floor of this house, right?

That's exactly correct. Lana said she checked on him around 11 that morning and found him sound asleep. So she went outside to mow the lawn.

She made sure he had his water. She had his medications and things next to his bed. Made sure he had everything he needed.

Lana was a nurse. A calling that made Steve's sister Rosie very happy. I felt, wow, she'll be there for him. God forbid something should happen. He should fall ill.

The couple met online in 2010. Three years later, they married in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina.

I sensed that my brother loved her very much, that she loved him very much. It was Lana's second marriage. Steve's family had lost count on the number of times he'd been down the aisle.

I think the number is somewhere around six or seven. Steve loved being in love. You know, it didn't always work out well for him. Steve's nephew, Chris Fagan, says his uncle was an accountant by trade who in the 1980s created a highly successful physical therapy business targeting sports injuries.

And he made millions off of this. Correct. He did. He then fully retired at the age of 40.

From all outside appearances, what was their life like? I would say dare to say that they had it all. But on July 21st, 2018, when Lana came in after a couple hours of yard work, she discovered her 64year-old husband was dead.

Myself and a few of the other neighbors we consolding her. All the neighbors were behind her 110%. When York County Sheriff's deputies arrived, they found Lana in distress over her husband's apparent fall down the stairs.

She's kind of having guilt trips about Oh, no. not checking on him. Just take a look and see if you see any signs of him falling or anything.

Okay. Everybody okay? Pretty much. Pretty much there's the officer on the scene and a friend comforted her. You you can't blame yourself for any of this.

Oh, no. Not at all. As word spread about Steve's sudden death, his nephew Nick French, who's a police officer in a nearby town, rushed to the mansion. That's Nick inside the house.

She gave me a a big hug, started crying. Right after that, I walked in where Steve was and and saw him. It was very much a shock. Um, I love Steve and to see him in a vulnerable position like that was very difficult for me.

Shortly after 100 p.m., coroner Sabrina Gast received a call that Steve had died.

I have a deputy coroner and she responded to the home. Gas says her deputy saw nothing suspicious and believed the cause of death was most likely due to a heart attack. She concluded at that point in time that it appeared to be a natural death.

But being an experienced cop and investigator, Nick French couldn't help noticing some red flags about Lana's actions immediately after she found Steve.

There were at least two phones in that house and she's a nurse. Why wouldn't she have called from one of those phones? And also, why wasn't she doing CPR when they arrived on scene? That's when he began to make mental notes.

Steve always had his phone on him. Um, always. It was his lifeline. We were not able to find Steve's phone anywhere.

I don't even know what I'm looking for. Nick also noted Lana's reaction when the deputy coroner asked about funeral arrangements.

Lana said, "It's just too much right now." She had her head in her hands and she said, "I have no idea." So the deputy coroner offered to take Steve's body to the morg and run some tests.

I would do that. And she looked up from her hands and said, "That funeral home, the one that's right down the street, let's take him there and have him cremated." And it was just that quick. She went from, "I have no idea what I'm going to do to let's have him cremated."

Nick wanted to call Chris and let him know their beloved uncle had died. He says Lana insisted she didn't want Chris to see his uncle in that state.

Chris is an adult. He's a big boy. That should be Chris's choice. No, no, no. I get it.

I started thinking, you know, something's going on. So, when she told me no the third time and yelled at me, I walked upstairs and called Chris.

Why would you be excluded? That I couldn't tell you. Um, it still puzzles me to this day.

Chris then called Steve's sister, Rosie, in Florida. I still hear him crying. I couldn't speak. It wasn't real. It didn't seem real.

For 3 days prior to his death, Rosie had been worried she couldn't reach her brother on the phone.

Suddenly, there were no replies and that was not like him to just completely cut off. I thought it was very odd.

Also odd was what Nick would later discover in Steve's upstairs bedroom. The state of the bedroom that indicated to me that Steve had been in that bed multiple days and he wasn't able to get out of the bed. Just a culmination of everything we saw out there was highly suspicious.

Married to death. One of 48 Hours correspondent Aaron Morardi's most controversial cases. Her two husbands dead. Was this widow a killer? Her final trial. Listen to the original 48 Hours podcast. Now available wherever you get your podcasts.

I try not to go into the house a whole lot. That's where the bad memories are really.

For Steve's nephew, Chris Fagan, visiting his uncle's home brings back mixed emotions.

But out here is where we enjoyed parties. In the best of times at this house, what was it like?

A lot of fun. Yeah. The dogs running around, the kids chasing them, Steve telling jokes, music going. One favorite memory, the July 4th party Lana and Steve threw

just weeks before his death. Steve was always big on July 4th. He had huge celebrations out here. We'd have a dance floor right here, fireworks out there.

To most outsiders, the couple appeared happy and in love. I thought it was a good relationship. She always kissed Steve on the forehead there and said, "I love you." But Dr. Nan Se, a veterinarian who took care of their dogs at the Clayton Mansion,

claims it was all a facade. When you saw the two of them together, were they a loving couple?

No. No. I I wondered why they got married. It was strange. The simplest thing was that she did not speak when he was in the room. Then there was a bizarre incident in the bedroom just 2 years before Steve's death. Lana said she accidentally shot her husband in the head with a crossbow while he slept.

Steven himself said it was an accident. Lana said it was an accident. Miraculously, Steve's injury was minor and police never filed charges. I don't know how many crossbows you have in your bedroom, but that seemed kind of strange. Right.

Yes. Lana and Steve moved on from that incident. But two months before his death, Steve confided to Chris that their marriage of 5 years was in trouble.

He had mentioned that he wasn't as happy as he thought he was going to be. When Chris got to the house that day, he comforted Lana. She told him she needed his help in organizing Steve's affairs.

And I said, "Well, the first thing we need to do is find the will." and that'll tell us what Steve's wishes were in terms of whether he should be buried or cremated.

Chris was startled by Lana's response. She said, "Well, there is no will." And I said, "No, there's a will. I know that there is. I've seen it." Steve had asked me to be his executive. And at that point, she stood up and said, I said, "There is no will." And she went into the house. My aha moment came about the same time

Nick was gobsmacked when he heard Lana badmouthing Steve. She was in the kitchen and she was telling these lurid stories of all Steve's elicit drug abuse. She used the words he was a hardcore drug abuser and she's telling these stories and she's laughing.

And you guys had known him forever. Do you ever see him high on illicit drugs? Never.

Never. She basically said that she didn't want an autopsy done because she was worried about what the toxicology would show. And you know, for me it was jarring when I heard it.

Nick would soon be jarred again. He went upstairs where Lana had said Steve was bedridden for 3 days.

The bed was the worst part of the upstairs. Just drenched with urine. And I asked Lana and she said, "Oh, Steve does that when he has vertigo." that happens really made me think he was there suffering and and could reach no one for help.

A short time later, Chris says Lana demanded that everyone leave. When we got in the car, my wife and I I said something is wrong.

Nick was having a similar conversation with his wife. We were both of the opinion that she had a hand in his death. We didn't know how.

Meanwhile, Rosie was trying to reconcile how Steve's vertigo may have led to a heart attack. It seemed too weird to attribute what was happening to him to what we already knew were his very benign light symptoms.

On Sunday, the day after Steve's death, Chris and his wife had planned to help Lana find his will.

Lana said, "Do not come here. This is my house. He was my husband. I will handle everything." And she hung up. That's when Nick and his wife drove to Chris's house.

We looked at each other. We went through the small talk and I said, "Something's wrong."

I said, "Thank God, cuz we feel the exact same way." And we went to work. And we knew one of the first things that we had to do was get in touch with the coroner's office.

It was a race against the clock. Lana had scheduled a cremation for the very next day.

Steve was at the funeral home and they can move forward. So, with whatever Lana says

exactly. Nick and Chris demanded the coroner order an autopsy and a toxicology test. She agreed.

We were relieved at that point, but we also knew that Landon didn't know. When the autopsy was done, the family's suspicions were confirmed. Steve had not succumbed to a heart attack.

They looked at the chest. They looked at the heart, the lungs. Nothing really suspicious with the autopsy.

But the toxicology results revealed something sinister. Not hardcore drug use, but the presence of poison, a chemical found in eye drops. And in an instant, Steve's death became highly suspicious. Forensic toxicologist Demi Garvin. So suddenly this could be a poisoning.

Yes, it was without question the cause of death. Was it an accidental overdose? We didn't know that. Was it a homicidal overdose?

His mobility is limited. He's incapacitated. It will cause respiratory depression which then causes death.

What do you make of the crossbow incident? When coroner Sabrina Gast first reviewed Steve Clayton's toxicology report, there was a chemical found in his blood that she had never heard of before.

Hm. What is tetrahydroylene? I don't know what that is. So, I had to look up what tetrahydroine was. I was like, whoa wait.

And what is it? What is this? Tetrahydroxylene is the common ingredient in Visine.

The eye drop. The eye drop. Get the red out. Exactly. And Steve's results revealed a large amount of the chemical which is found in a number of brands of eye drops.

In fact, at a concentration of 68 nanogs per mill in the blood sample. And in English that means

in English that means I'm very worried. It's a lot. It's a lot. Forensic toxicologist Demi Garvin was aware of the many ways tetrahydroylene, also known as THZ, could be abused.

We refer to this drug as a uh modern-day Mickey Finn, where a substance is introduced into a beverage without the consent of the individual who's going to consume it for purposes of incapacitating them. Uh, that could be for robbery, it could be for sexual assault, it could be for both.

In the movie Wedding Crashers, a character squirts eye drops into the drink of his rival, causing trouble.

Oh no. Nausea, vomiting, uh, reduced heart rate uh dizziness confusion. But if a poisoner empties an entire bottle in someone's drink, it can attack the respiratory system. And if breathing slows sufficiently, it will um cause respiratory depression which then uh causes death.

Poisoning with eye drops is also the plotline of an episode of the CBS drama CSI.

There was tetrahydroine in the victim's drink. She killed him with eye drops. Well, it's not that far-fetched.

It's colorless, odorless, and tasteless. So, like I have a water bottle here. If it was in there, I wouldn't know it.

Correct. The results of Steve Clayton's toxicology were a potential gamecher. The initial assessment at the scene is this appeared to be a natural death. What are you thinking now?

Um I'm thinking, wow, we've got some work to do. The next phone call was to the sheriff's office.

Well, now of course there are a whole series of questions that um have been raised.

Solicitor Kevin Brackett acts as the prosecutor in York and Union counties in South Carolina. Uh first and foremost, how did the visine get in his system?

We didn't know if he had intentionally taken the tetrahydroene uh with the intent of harming himself.

To find out, the coroner called Lana in for an interview. Describe the woman that was sitting across from you.

I would describe her as confident. By now, Lana knew that an autopsy had been performed on Steve. What she didn't know was that investigators from the sheriff's office and the FBI were in the next room listening in.

We had set up microphones in the office so that they could hear the questions and her responses.

Got a couple questions over some of the reports back. We were trying to get information from her about how he used the product. How how often did he use the product? Somebody somebody one time told him, "Well, blue eyes would help him go to the bathroom." And he put like two drops in his coffee and then go to the bathroom.

And how long had he been doing that for years? He would put it in his coffee every morning so that he would have a bowel movement. It would not be something that you would um ever want to do. What that comment did tell us is that she was aware that we were going to find Visine in his system because she put it there.

Um, let's go over the toxicology. Um, there's a drug called tetrahydraine. That is visine.

Mhm. Immediately she knew exactly what tetrahydroine was. You saw it on her face.

She said, "Oh yes, that's Visine." That was where it clicked for me of, "Oh, okay. This is kind of This is really odd.

That's when those investigators nearby entered the room, surprising Lana. So, I'm a detective with County Sheriff's Office.

I'm just overwhelmed by children. Yes, ma'am. Now, listen. You are by no means in any trouble. We do want to ask you questions.

We have to read. I'm an everybody. Okay. Do you have the right to remain silent?

Lana Clayton began turning on her husband. I'm wondering if he tried to commit suicide. He had a mood disorder. I always watched on the eggshells. I didn't know what Steven I was going to come home to. Or if he's angry, you know, he would he would, you know, he can be really nasty, you know.

Okay. What What is nasty? Um it's really verbally abusive, you know. Um calling them names, stupid [ __ ]

We never saw any evidence of that. Never. Did you ever see it? I never saw it. And not only did we never see it, but um there was no record of anything like that.

That's I I'm feel I'm painting a bad picture of him. He wasn't, you know, a monster.

The two investigators pressed her. Right now, the death is suspicious in nature.

Did you make his coffee for him? No, he made his coffee. Everybody keeps asking me, you know, about the the coffee, and I know they're wanting to know about the body. Yeah, there's only two people in the house.

It was you and him. I know. Did he have any? He always had the vice. Did he have any that day?

Guess what? I don't know. You're in the nursing business, though. Wouldn't you know the effects of it? Oh,

sure. I didn't think Visine was anything that would be serious to your to your health.

With the tough questioning, Brackett says Lana got defensive. I I feel like you guys are, you know, doing your job and you're, you know, wondering if I killed my husband and I did not kill my husband.

Lana then stopped the interview and returned to the mansion. Investigators followed her home where she continued talking. They recorded the conversation.

After that conversation, the situation changes significantly. What Lana Clayton told investigators was nothing short of a confession. you know, had his little table set up next to the bed with his tissues, his urinal, his, you know, medications, his visine, and I just saw it and just I was so angry and I just took and squirted it. I think I put the whole thing in.

That amount of THZ would have caused Steve to stop breathing. See, the whole bottle?

I think I did. Okay. I squeezed it hard. Okay. So, where was he when you did this?

He was sleeping. I don't know. I just saw it there and I just I just did it. I I don't have an excuse. I don't have I just did it.

When Nick learned of Lana's confession, he called Chris. He said, "She did it." And and I I knew immediately what he was talking about. And I had a few choice words and screamed. Started crying as well.

This was murder. Correct. After admitting she emptied a bottle of eye drops into her husband's water, Lana kept talking to the investigators back at the mansion.

Just what if I didn't kill him? What if I caused his death with the buzzing? She quickly transformed from a grieving widow into an embittered wife. I just wanted him to just I just wanted him to suffer. I mean

suffer because Lana claimed she was fed up with Steve's constant demands. I was just I was just angry. He was just constantly Lana come here. Lana, come here. You know, uh you know, help me to the bathroom. Do this, do that, and everything. And I don't,

you know, just build up. It just all all just built up. And I just Lana tried to convince investigators that she never wanted to kill Steve.

No, I just wanted him to have diarrhea. I wanted to just be miserable. She's admitted that she's poisoned him.

Solicitor Kevin Brackett, she's trying to think of her story that keeps her out of, you know, the trick bag. As Lana's story evolved, it now included allegations of physical abuse. He

He was verbally and physically abusive. He had hit me several times. Is there any evidence that he was physically abusing her?

No. No. Steve's sister, Rosie. The way she portrayed him, I don't know that person. Nobody that knows Steve knows that person. The unflattering portrait of Steve does not ring true for those who loved him. Ilana Ianova was Steve's girlfriend for almost 3 years before meeting Lana.

Was he ever abusive toward you verbally? Never. Or physically? Never. He was nothing close to being abusive. This is completely made up. Everybody who knew him knew how generous and loving and kind he is. His former partners shared similar sentiments about the abuse claims.

They did not believe them. Some of them still considered him to be the love of their life.

And what about that bizarre crossbow shooting incident back in 2016. Lana changed her story, admitting it was no accident.

I was trying to protect myself from him cuz he was, you know, coming at me. and I had picked up the crossbow and turned and I just shot it at him.

Nick French and Chris Fagan didn't learn of the crossbow story until after Steve's death. They don't believe Lana was defending herself.

Nick, what do you think of that story? Unofficially, do you think that was an attempted murder?

Absolutely. I think it was. Yeah, we think that was her first attempt at her first at doing this. After Lena's devastating interrogation, investigators left her at the mansion to prepare an arrest warrant. That's when she attempted suicide.

She took some pills and turned the gas on. She left notes indicating that she felt bad about poisoning her husband and that she couldn't live with herself.

A neighbor went to the house that morning and called for help. She was treated briefly at the hospital and taken into custody at that point. Brackett had developed a dripby drip theory of this ey drop crime. She incapacitated him with a smaller amount and then gradually ramped it up until the fatal dose.

That would explain why Steve was bedridden for 3 days prior to his death. Brackett theorizes that Steve may have somehow attempted an escape.

He might have gotten a surge of adrenaline. realizing that he was very very sick and he needed help and he tried to go for help and made it as far as the bottom of the stairs where he died.

Couldn't call for help. His phone could not be found after he died. On August 31st, 2018, more than a month after Steve's death, Lana Clayton was formally charged with murder. I think Lana Clayton had several million reasons why she wanted her husband dead.

You're talking about millions of dollars. Exactly. Right. Steve's family speculates Lana started planning Steve's death back in 2016 when Lana convinced him to move from North Carolina to the mansion in South Carolina. It was important for her to be in South Carolina and I think I was able to put some puzzle pieces together after the fact.

She was married to a very wealthy man and if that man were to die in the absence of a will then he would die in testate which under South Carolina law leaves her inheriting the entire estate.

And remember Lana insisted there was no will. Chris recalls she became agitated when he asked her about it the day Steve died.

She stands up, she turns, looks me right in the eye, and says, "There is no will." Just like that.

Chris is certain Lana destroyed the will in a fire the neighbors saw her start the day after Steve's death.

My personal opinion is that's the first thing that she burned. This is the fire hit Peter. his whole life in in paper was burned right here.

About 3 weeks after Lana's arrest, there was another suspicious death just 12 miles away in Mount Holly, North Carolina.

The method of killing in that case was the same as ours, a poisoning with THC. With eye drops.

With eye drops. Yes. For investigators, it seemed like deja vu. Our office was consulted on that because it happened in such close proximity. It's very possible that uh the suspect in that case heard about our case down here, uh saw it on the news.

32-year-old Stacy Hunucker, a mother of two young children, was found dead by her husband, Joshua Hunucker. Just like in the Clayton case, her cause of death was initially ruled a heart attack. Shortly after Stacy died, he collected almost $250,000 from two life insurance policies taken out on her behalf. And that apparently didn't sit right with Stacy's mother.

We got involved because Stacy's mother contacted us with the possible insurance fraud. Who would ever guess that a insurance fraud investigation could lead to a full-blown murder investigation? They were high school sweethearts. They had two children together.

Stacy and Josh Hunucker had been married for eight years before her tragic death from an apparent heart attack. Stacy had suffered from heart problems and had a pacemaker.

Stacy was a parallegal at one time and then was a preschool teacher. He was a paramedic, a flight medic actually at Atrium Health, the major hospital system in the Charlotte area.

Reporter Christy O' Conor says Josh's actions after Stacy's passing raised eyebrows.

I never saw him sad ever. In fact, babysitter Kayn Macdonald, who looked after the couple's children after Stacy's death, says Josh was dating a coworker, Jennifer Elkins.

He was happy with his new girlfriend. Very happy. And it was always about Jen. For Stacy's mother, Susie Robinson, that was a red flag. Another one was when she learned just 48 hours after Stacy's death, Josh started the process of collecting $250,000 in two life insurance policies. Susie called the North Carolina Department of Insurance to investigate.

Had it not been for Susie, we may not have any of this murder investigation. Mike Cosy is the commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Insurance. His agents got involved in Stacy's case in May 2019.

It was referred to our criminal investigations division. Initial reports from the local police department had it a natural death heart attack.

But Stacy's body had been cremated at the request of her husband. No autopsy. No autopsy. Joshua actually did not want an autopsy done because he didn't want her cut up. But the agents got a huge break when they discovered Stacy was an organ donor and a vial of blood had been collected and stored before she was cremated. That blood was sent out for a toxicology screening.

There was traces of some poison, specifically THZ, a common chemical that's used in eye drops to get the red out.

In the Hunsucker case, have you given authorities there some advice based on your experience here? Yes, that the presence of the tetrahydroylene uh in the concentration that was reported warranted further investigation.

They ended up accusing him of poisoning her with tetrahydroine. On December 19th, 2019, 15 months after Stacy's death, Hunucker was charged with her murder. His attorney says the allegations will be strenuously opposed. He is free on bail. $100,000 secure.

Experts fear homicidal poisonings have been going undetected because their symptoms can mimic natural illness and labs don't routinely screen for them.

Do you think that this drug should be part of a basic screen in a toxicology test?

Yes. Do you feel the same way? Yes. Because it is so innocuous. It's odorless. It's tasteless. Anybody can buy it. In a statement, Johnson and Johnson, the makers of Visine, said they are quote devastated that anyone would use our product for such an abhorrent act. And quote, "Visine is clearly labeled for external use only and should never be swallowed." In Lana Clayton's case, she decided to plead guilty to tampering with food and drugs and voluntary manslaughter. who would like to apologize to Steven's family.

She continued to insist she never meant to kill him. I did impulsively put the visine in Steven's drink, and I did it with the intent to make him sick and uncomfortable.

Her defense team painted Lana as a victim who suffered from PTSD stemming from sexual abuse in her past. So their claims were that she was sexually assaulted throughout her youth and that went unreported to authorities. Then when she went into the US Air Force, her defense team says that she was raped by three servicemen.

But that alleged assault also wasn't reported. Lana told the court it was Steve's treatment of her that made her snap.

I was upset about the abuse and just wanted him to leave me alone. I never thought it would kill him. I had never heard of him being deadly.

I told the judge I knew it had to be very difficult to see someone who looks so frail, so gentle, so quiet and meek, and think that that person could be a a cold-blooded murderer.

What a tangle web wee weave. Miss Clayton, you sure have tangled this one up. On January 16th, 2020, Judge Burch sentenced Lana Clayton to 25 years in prison.

I didn't think it was enough. My brother was my world. He was the center of my world.

She stole an amazing man from a lot of people that loved him. There's a huge hole in everyone that knew Steve, and I think that that hole will be there for the rest of our lives. Lana Clayton declined our request for an interview, writing in an email, "It's been a long journey for me, and it hasn't been easy coming to terms with Steven's death. I'm now at peace." And as for Steve's loved ones, they are struggling with their loss.

None of us can ever be made whole because Steven is gone. Rosie prays the mother of Stacy Hansucker may find peace. We have a saying in Spanish that says lasyama, which means the blood cries out for justice. I would like to one day meet the mother of that precious girl that was killed using the same method cuz I do believe her daughter's blood was crying out for justice too.

Heat. Heat. This is a story that has obviously shaken Colorado. It's stunned the world.

A Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's protein shakes was charged today with her murder.

You have got to be effing kidding me. That guy was my dentist. Hi, I'm Dr. Jim Craig.

You just don't see stories like this. Maybe in a Hollywood bad script. 45-year-old James Craig is accused of putting arsenic and cyanide in her protein shakes. He's allegedly ordering potassium cyanide and arsenic online. You have got to be kidding me. Jim and Angela Craig seemingly had everything. Successful dental practice, beautiful large family. They seemingly to me were in love.

Investigators say he researched poisons in the days leading up to his wife's death.

I couldn't believe the allegations. I couldn't believe the story. I couldn't believe the mug shot. There's my dentist. A mug shot.

Good afternoon, Colorado. I'm Stefan Tubs. I'm a talk show host here in Denver.

Late breaking news this afternoon. I was told by several people, you got to do a podcast on this. People want to know. So, we started a podcast called Arsenic DDS.

Welcome to the first episode of this series. I'd like the truth. Another new development.

Like to know why Jim Craig is an innocent man until proven guilty. If the allegations are true, why did my former dentist kill his wife?

Her symptoms: dizziness, blurred vision, headache, slowed responsiveness. What does that tell you?

Yeah, that's really worrisome. I'm Dr. Jeff Leo. I'm a emergency physician and toxicologist. Arsenic will be absorbed very rapidly and you would probably start getting sick pretty quick.

What about potassium cyanide? Cyanide is one of the most effective poisons. You're being suffocated on a cellular level.

Angela Craig is getting sicker and sicker and sicker and sicker and she'd she'd quickly be declared brain dead. Dr. Jim Craig is accused of premeditated first-degree murder in the poisoning death of his wife Angela.

There does seem like there's substantial evidence in the case. The arrest warrant was 52 pages long. I'm Skylazaro. I'm a criminal defense lawyer. The spouse is a very easy target.

He's entered a plea of not guilty. Maybe he's the most convenient person to look at. If I'm the defense on this, you go after the state and you say you didn't go look at things you should have looked at.

He administered allegedly the poison via her protein shakes. The state hasn't presented you any evidence that the poison was actually in the drink. You can't show that he did it.

I wouldn't say this is a slam dunk case. There's no motive here. What is the motive? Heat. Heat. Under that vast rocky mountain sky on March 18th, 2023 in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Angela Craig died. Just days later, former radio personality Stephan Tubs began his podcast about the sensational case and the unimaginable news.

I want to personally send our condolences to the friends and family of Angela Craig, just 43 years old. She passed away, declared brain dead. And not lost on me is the fact that this family has been temporarily destroyed. Jim Craig had been almost immediately charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Angela. He has pleaded not guilty. The story of the dentist, his wife, and the allegedly poisoned shakes would be told around the world.

Come on, a dentist allegedly ordering potassium cyanide and arsenic. Really? But it was all as painfully real as a dentist drill. Dr. Craig and Angela Craig were just like two peas in a pod. The two of them in the office was cute cuz they would play pranks on each other all day long.

Chelsea Toya got to know Jim and Angela when she worked for Dr. Craig at Summerbrook Dental. They seemed like the perfect couple

until, according to Colorado cops, James took his shot at the perfect crime. Investigators say he researched poisons in the days leading up to his wife's death.

The idea that the dentist stood accused of murdering Angela, his wife of 23 years, seemed incomprehensible because the Craigs seemed so close. It just was heartbreaking for everyone and I felt bad.

My name is Dr. Jim Craig and I practice at Summerbrook Dental Group. Coming up on our left, the former home of Summerbrook Dental.

Is it this one over here? It's that one right there. Yeah. For Tubs, this office building, once home to Summerbrook, has become a tragic touchstone.

The last time that I had eye contact with Dr. Jim Craig, he gave me a root canal. I thought he was a great guy. I got incredibly competent, friendly care. He was a family man. We talked about his family, his kids. I I met his wife.

Angela was the heart and soul of that family, mother to their six children, and a hands-on partner in what seemed like a thriving business.

She was not somebody just to sit there and and stay quiet. She was engaged in the dental practice. She was somebody who was talking about ideas and their marketing, their message. Tubs helped refine that message, working on some of Summerbrook's advertising. He witnessed how those two P's in a pod work side by side with Angela pitching in as one of Jim's office managers.

I thought it was kind of cool. You know, you've got a husband and wife, huge family. I thought it was it was great to see a small Colorado business operated by, you know, husband and wife.

Welcome to our third edition of this podcast. Tub's podcast. We delve into the disturbing details of Angela's medical journey, how and why she was allegedly murdered. That account from police is contained in this 52page arrest warrant. In nearly 34 years of being a newsman, the most unbelievable and seemingly thorough arrest affidavit I have ever read.

The warrant alleges that James has shown the planning and intent to end his wife's life by searching for ways to kill someone undetected.

This was not the James Craig that I knew. Dentistry can be expensive. Dentistry can be scary. Dentistry could be uncomfortable.

The James Craig Aurora new was on display that March 6, 2023, the day Angela's Odyssey began. Jim was at Somerbrook when Angela texted from home. "My eyes don't want to focus," she texted. "I feel drugged." And Jim headed right home. He picked up Angela and drove to the ER at Parker Adventist Hospital. She reported feeling dizzy and weak. Doctors fast went to work. She ends up going into the hospital first time. It was March 6th. Is that correct?

That's right. March 6 was her first time into the hospital. At the time, George Brockler was another force in Colorado talk radio.

This is the George Show. I'll be with you. He is also the former elected district attorney for Arapjo County where Angela lived and would die, rattling this community.

This is a huge story. Like Stefan Tubs, Brockler has immersed himself in the details of Angela's final days, a desperate two-week ordeal. But on that March 6th, as the hours passed in the ER, there were lots of questions, but few answers.

They really didn't have a good answer for what she was going through, and they end up uh releasing her and sending her home.

Home where Angela appeared to think she was safe in her marriage. At least that's how she sounded in messages the couple sent each other. With Angela now home, recuperating from her ER visit,

there were texts that would suggest a very supportive, loving relationship. Jim texts, "I love you. It was so nice hanging out with you and just watching a show and snuggling." Angela texts Jim, "Hi, baby. I love your face." Back home, the busy couple picked up the daily routine that sustained them.

Jim and Angela apparently worked out in the morning. They worked out together. And one of the things that Jim did for his wife was to prepare her a protein shake. It was an absolute routine. This was just part of the normal day.

Jim texts, "I'll need to ask what you're hungry for and bring it to you. I'm kind of feeling just a smoothie or something." "I'm not feeling anything," Angela replies. "Don't bring anything. I'll eat something here. Within 24 hours, Angela's symptoms came back fast and strong. She headed back to Parker Adventist. This time, she would be admitted.

The doctors and nurses are trying. They're conducting tests. They just cannot figure out what is ailing this relatively normal and healthy 43-year-old woman. All the steps that the doctors and medical staff had taken seemed to not be working was a real mystery.

There was nothing that would be even remotely a red flag or this is a rocky troubled marriage. None of that at all.

With Angela still terribly sick, in March of 2023, she was back at Parker Adventist a second time, now as an admitted patient. According to the warrant, during her stay, Angela texted her husband, Jim, "Now I'm hungry." And he texted back later that he was bringing food, writing, "Okay, I got you."

Of the loving husband who wants to see his wife remain healthy. That arrest warrant contains numerous texts detailing how as Angela was hospitalized, Jim went back and forth from their home to her bedside to Somerbrook. a husband seemingly supporting his wife and caring for their kids.

He's continuing to go to work, and I don't begrudge him for that. He's got a family of six kids.

And the warrant would show that apparent trust that Angela placed in Jim, how she reached out to him to share her symptoms, texting, I'm cold, super tired, weak, shaky, and dizzy. And Jim sent compassionate texts to Angela. I love you and miss you and I'm so worried. I wish you were healthy enough to come home tonight and snuggle me.

Angela Craig was so sick. It seemed that all her symptoms had returned. She had horrible headaches, horrible nausea. She was dizzy and doctors were at a loss. were struggling to figure out what in the hell is causing this? What is making her sick?

And they just could not get an answer. As Angela stayed in the hospital without a diagnosis, Jim Craig was in touch with his friends Michelle and Ryan Redern, a fellow dentist. Ryan had recently become business partners with Jim. He would later tell police.

Ryan Redfern went to dental school with Jim Craig all those 20 plus years ago. He'd known him all that time. He was a close confidant.

And with Angela so sick, according to the warrant, Jim also texted with Ryan's wife, Michelle Redford, trained as a nurse. What were they texting about?

The texts were really the kinds of things you would exchange with someone who's another medical professional. I mean, he was talking about blood pressure. He was talking about concerns the doctors had expressed about symptomology that should have resolved by now. But one of Jim's texts, in retrospect, seemed odd, as it appeared he was making light of Angela's mysterious illness.

Jim Craig texts Michelle Redern, quote, "If it wasn't my wife, this would be kind of a fun puzzle to try to work out." exclamation point. Who says that? Still, a bad joke in times of crisis isn't unusual, says former DA Brockler.

Everybody reacts to trauma differently. And James Craig seemed worried. It had been four hectic days since Angela was admitted. 1:00 a.m. in the desolate hospital corridors. Police say Jim told others he was sleeping on a stool next to Angela when her vital signs crashed. Doctors responded through the night.

I have thought about every agonizing minute that Angela Craig was in. But over the next day, Angela seemed to stabilize. And on March 14th, still with no answers as to why she was sick, Angela was released from Parker for a second time. Once again, Angela came home to her husband of 23 years. But she wouldn't be home for long. Within a day, she started feeling sick again. So on March 15th, she was admitted to nearby University Hospital. There would be more tubes and tests and monitors. Jim was soon by her side.

They had no idea what was wrong with her. Police say Jim didn't stay long at first. Within half an hour, he drove home from the hospital. Then about an hour and a half later, he returned carrying food. Cops say he then went into Angela's room alone. Soon after, Angela had a seizure and once again, her vital signs crashed.

It was critical. Jim Craig took these photos of Angela as hospital staff tried to save her. Angela, once so full of life, was put on life support. What medical staff didn't know at the time was that days earlier, a package had reportedly arrived at Jim Craig's office. Authorities say what was in the package ordered by Jim Craig himself would become key evidence in this case. Craig allegedly told a staff member that he would be receiving a personal package and not to open it. Jim Craig had said don't open this package. Somebody did. She sees the words potassium cyanide.

Why are we getting potassium cyanide to a Colorado dentist's office? Angela Craig was on life support fighting to survive. Jim Craig texted the photos he took to Michelle Redford, writing, "Crash intubated." Doc says she's very, very worried. Michelle and Ryan raced to the hospital. Ryan would later tell police he watched as Jim Craig broke down. He saw Craig crying after speaking to doctors about Angela's prognosis. Yep. He did say he saw him crying afterwards.

But according to police, Ryan Redford was far from convinced those tears were real. That's because on his way to the hospital, he had gotten a call from a staff member at the office. The call was to alert Redford about that package marked potassium cyanide that had arrived at Somerbrook Dental, allegedly addressed and later given to Jim Craig. And there's the dominoes that are now falling one after the other.

Ryan Redern led the way. He does what any other normal person would do. According to police, while Angela was on life support, Ryan tells a nurse that Jim Craig recently ordered potassium cyanide, adding that there was no medical reason or purpose to order potassium cyanide for a dental practice. The nurse being a mandatory reporter calls Aurora police and I mean it's like that within 5 hours probably even less there is a member of the homicide unit with Aurora PD at University Hospital.

Cops started asking questions. Then according to the warrant, Ryan received a call from James personal cell phone.

Tell me about that phone call. I think Ryan and his wife are in the parking lot of the hospital when Jim calls them. According to police, Jim asked Ryan if he had said anything to the hospital staff. Ryan confirmed that he had and told Jim that he knew what Jim had ordered. And Jim replied that the package was a ring for Angela and that he wanted to surprise her.

And Ryan says, "It's not a ring. We know what was in there." I mean, this is a testament to Ryan Redford.

A decadesl long friendship was about to be tested. then shattered. This tale was once again told in a text revealed in that warrant as the next morning, James Craig pleaded with his pal and partner texting in part, "I want to make an urgent plea to you. Please don't talk to anyone, including any law enforcement officers. You are under no obligation to answer their questions unless you are served a subpoena and you will do more damage than good to my family by continuing to insert yourself into this.

How damning is that text in itself? I'm trying to think of all the innocent applications of the phrase, "Please don't talk to the police." I can't come up with any. It's a desperate effort to try to keep Ryan from cooperating any farther with law enforcement. But if that's what he was trying to do, it was too late. Police had already launched their investigation. On March 18th, 2023, Angela was taken off life support. Friend, wife, mother of six, Angela Craig was dead. I was in complete shock and complete disbelief. In my head, I'm like, "This is crazy. It's not true." I thought maybe it was an accident.

But investigators didn't think so. Just hours after Angela died, Dr. James Craig would be arrested and charged with the firstdegree murder of his wife, Angela. There's my dentist. A mug shot.

James Craig would plead not guilty. Months later, Angela's autopsy would be released. That autopsy states Angela died from a lethal concentration of cyanide and a lethal concentration of tetrahydroylene, the chemical found in some eye drops. And it says that Angela had toxic concentrations of arsenic in her blood in those two earlier hospital visits.

To think about what Angela Craig endured, this woman was in agony dying for so long. Just a week before Angela got sick, according to the warrant, Jim Craig set up a new email account using the alias Jim and Waffles and used it to research multiple poisons, all part of his plan, according to investigators, to murder Angela.

One particular Google search, how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human? Craig investigators say also found these videos

popular for many reasons. We have cyanide with titles like top five undetectable poisons that show no sign of foul play.

Arsenic is virtually undetectable. And police say on the same day he did that online research, James Craig made a purchase arsenic and had it delivered straight to his family's mailbox. I think he legitimately believed that he would be able to poison his wife. She would die. He would have her cremated and then they'd move on.

Poison. Some call it the recipe for a perfect crime. A silent invisible killer. No blood, no gun, no fingerprints. Even doctors can have a hard time spotting it.

It's a pretty rare medical subsp specialty. Dr. Dr. Jeff Le Point is the director of the division of medical toxicology at San Diego's Kaiser Permanente Hospital.

If it's a poison or a venom, that's what we specialize. You're that guy. Yeah. So, we asked him and Dr. Le Point focused in on the alleged actions of James Craig and the final days of Angela's life. He reviewed the arrest warrant for us and some of the deadly drugs it lists.

Let's start with arsenic. Okay. Um, yeah, arsenic is a very famous poison. It's uh not detectable by taste or odor.

Dr. Le Point says Angela's symptoms in those first two hospital visits are consistent with arsenic poisoning.

Nausea and vomiting, lower blood pressure, higher blood pressure, generally lower.

How much would kill a person? It does not take very much. But police say there was more. A week after he purchased that arsenic, they allege Craig, as Jim and Waffles, went back online. He ordered a second poison. Beguiling and beautiful. Oleandrin. What is that?

So oleandrin is a toxin found in oleander. I'm thinking of those white flowers.

Yeah, they're really beautiful. Yeah. As lovely as a rose, only deadly. It prevents the heart from beating very efficiently.

But after 3 days, the oleandrin hadn't been delivered. That's when investigators say Jim Craig up the ante. Cops say he placed this order with the medical supply company for his strongest toxin yet, potassium cyanide.

Sin's one of the most effective poisons that exist. Just a micro dose could kill you then.

Yeah. A very small amount per kilogram and you're you're not going to live. When you are poisoned with cyanide, you're being suffocated on a cellular level. It's a very potent poison. your victim would die very rapidly.

Cyanide is so deadly that you need a medical license to buy it. My name is Dr. Jim Craig.

And police say that when Dr. James Craig placed his order from a medical supply company. He stated he needed it for a complex dental procedure.

There's no use for potassium cyanide in my practice or I can't think of uh many medical practices. So, a dentist ordering arsenic, potassium cyanide, and oleandrin. What does that suggest to you?

Someone is trying to collect poison. But this father and husband would offer a very different story about why he wanted those deadly poisons. Detectives suspected Jim Craig had bought all those poisons to kill his wife. But they wanted to know why. They would find a lead miles away from Aurora on a trip Jim Craig made and a woman he met just before Angela got sick.

Doesn't it just always seem like there's another woman involved? Always. Almost always. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It's a rule of the road there. But investigators allege it is yet one more rule James Craig didn't think he had to play by when he met Karen Kaine.

Karen Kaine, an orthodontist from Austin, Texas. She meets Jim Craig at a dental conference in Las Vegas.

It was February 23rd, a week and a half before Angela Craig first went to the hospital. The doctor was traveling alone and he rolled the dice.

They strike up a relationship. They hit it off. It's a whirlwind. A few weeks later, according to the warrant, Karen Kaine would fly to Colorado and rendevu in this hotel with James Craig. He would use that newly created email, Jim and Waffles, to flirt with her.

It's not illegal to have affairs. Sky Lazaro is an experienced defense attorney familiar with cases involving poison. James Craig and his attorney declined our request for an interview. Lazaro reviewed the case against Jim Craig for 48 hours and she identified potential weaknesses.

Is it reasonable that that you would kill your wife to be with someone that you had had a 10day relationship with? The common defense strategy is affairs do not make a murderer.

Right? One doesn't automatically mean you did the other. At the time she visited Jim in Colorado, Karen Kaine did seem to know Angela was very sick and in the hospital. In fact, she had sent a concerned email to Jim. It read in part, "Hi, honey. I am so sorry for what has transpired this week in your world. I am praying for you and seeking God's wisdom for this time. I love you. But there is no evidence to suggest Karen Kaine knew anything more.

Nothing that I have seen gives any indication that she knew that Jim was trying to kill his wife.

And according to investigators, Jim Craig lied to Karen, telling her that he filed for divorce and was living separate in an apartment. He gives the standard male typical I'm going through a divorce. No, he's not.

And a detective said she told them her relationship with Jim was intimate but not sexual. Karen Kaine sent 48 hours an email writing, "I had absolutely nothing to do with this horrific crime and my heart is absolutely broken for Angela Craig and her family." and she says she is cooperating fully with the police and prosecution.

Karen Kaine met the wrong guy at the wrong time. She didn't know anything. Tubs and Brockler imply maybe no one knew anything about who Jim Craig really was. His pristine image, loving parent, church member, dedicated husband, now all being questioned. And as cops continue to investigate, another possible motive emerged.

One of the things that surprised me in this story is the financial duress that Summerbrook Dentl was under.

In fact, Jim Craig's business had filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Shortly after, his then friend Ryan Redern signed on as a partner. financial problems.

Financial problems. He was way in over his head then in debt. Way in over his head.

And at a preliminary hearing in 2023, prosecutors argued that Jim Craig had about 3.4 million reasons to kill his wife, the value of Angela's life insurance.

Jim had liabilities in excess of $2 million, and we know that from some of the bankruptcy filings. But Lazaro says she's not convinced those financial problems give James Craig a motive for murder.

Is this sort of the the portrait of a desperate man? Not necessarily. We see businesses go through bankruptcy all the time and come out the other side.

And as for any poisons he may have ordered, Lazaro states those purchases may not even be illegal.

He can legitimately purchase it cuz he has a DEA number. as a doctor, as a dentist. Right.

Right. Just having it isn't murder. Administering it. Right. But according to the arrest paperwork, Jim Craig might have thought he had that figured out, too. Authorities say he could have slipped the poison into one of those protein shakes he so often made.

The morning routine at home, for example. Yeah. On that morning of March 15th, the day Angela Craig would finally crash before she was taken to the hospital, she was home with Jim. Investigators say that's when he may have made her one of those protein shakes and laced it with potassium cyanide.

It is tasteless. It is odorless. It is colorless. It is really hidable inside something like a shake

and highly lethal. That's highly lethal. But attorney Lazaro counters the evidence may not be there. She has reviewed the transcripts from that July 2023 preliminary hearing and says there's nothing there that shows Jim Craig put poison in Angela's shakes.

They went and tested everything in the house and didn't find any trace evidence of there being arsenic or cyanide or anything in the protein powder in the protein bottles. The state hasn't presented you any evidence that the poison was actually in the drink.

And Mazaro says the defense can paint a picture of Jim Craig as a kind and attentive partner.

Jim's text messages to Angela are extremely loving and extremely caring. He repeatedly asks her how she's doing. He tells her he loves her.

So, if Jim Craig didn't poison his wife, who did? Craig had a story to tell about that. Go behind the scenes with the 48 hours post-mortem podcast. Welcome to the first episode of

As Stefan Tubs reported on his podcast, there may be another story to tell about Jim Craig and what happened to Angela. The story wasn't about murder. It was about suicide.

Craig says to the business partner on the phone, she was just playing chicken. According to the warrant, when Ryan Redford confronted Jim about the cyanide, Jim allegedly said that Angela asked him to order it for her, that it was all a dare, kind of a deadly game of chicken. According to Jim Craig, she's been threatening suicide. And this game of chicken is now, are you going to are you going to take it?

But according to that 52page warrant, none of Angela's family members told police she was suicidal. A more likely argument for the defense, says attorney Lazaro, is that Jim Craig had been looking for cyanide, not to kill Angela, but to kill himself. There was some statements that he in fact was suicidal, not her.

At that preliminary hearing in 2023, Jim Craig's defense team said Jim had spoken to a friend about his own past plans to die by suicide and that Dr. Craig had made a statement to that friend that he was going to die by suicide with something that was not traceable. The defense pointed out that Jim suffered from depression and went to counseling in the past. And as the defense indicated, Jim told Angela at one point that he had actually drugged her years earlier when he had tried to kill himself, hoping that while she was drugged, she wouldn't be able to stop him. It sounds like there had been something that he had tried before with her.

That he had drugged her so that she would fall asleep, so that he could go essentially kill himself. And she wouldn't be there to render any aid or call for help. And remember when Angela first started feeling sick and she texted Jim, "I feel drugged." Craig's defense points out that he texted back, "Given our history, I know that must be triggering. Just for the record, I didn't drug you." The defense said this text supports the story of Jim Craig's past depression and suicide attempts. But Lazaro says it's unlikely the defense would try to tell a jury that Jim and Angela were both trying to die by suicide. You have to pick one at some point and it's either she's suicidal or that he's suicidal and this is why he bought the drugs.

But perhaps the most compelling evidence authorities say they have is what Angela Craig left behind in her own blood. That autopsy revealed something investigators find remarkable. The levels of cyanide in Angela's body actually increased while she was in the hospital on that final day. The possible implication. Tubs wonders if prosecutors will contend Craig gave his wife more poison in the hospital.

If the allegations are true, this is about as cruel as it gets. Period. Jim Craig's defense has hired its own toxicologist. And come his trial for murder, Sky Lazaro says Jim Craig, innocent until proven guilty, may himself be portrayed as a victim of cops too eager to make a fast arrest.

It's essentially a three-day investigation. Jim Craig's quick arrest, she says, could be a weakness for the state. You decided from the get-go that this had to be poisoning. This was the foregone conclusion. So, you never went and looked for anything else. And as for that idea that poison might be the key to someone trying to commit the perfect crime, toxicologist Dr. Jeff Le Point says that is just plain wrong.

You're going to get caught. That's an important message. Yeah, very. There are ways that these will be traced and you will be found.

You will be found. And while Angela's friends and family are waiting for their day in court, they are left with photographs and their memories. Three of Jim and Angela's six children are living with Jim Craig's brother. The other three are now adults living on their own, including their daughter, Meera. On Mother's Day 2023, Meera wrote this on social media. As of tomorrow, my mom will be two months gone. I haven't the words to express the heartache my siblings and I feel every day.

There's no words. You know, the whole situation is just traumatic. This will all end. The lights will come down and the cameras leave. 30 years from now, those kids who are in their teens right now still will be without a mom.

Meera's last words in that post, "I love you so much, mama. We miss you. Two gruesome murders unsolved. Same area, same mo.

Ambushed, stabbed multiple times. Can a man known as the zombie hunter help police find a killer?

And then he's defending the world against zombies. It was like he was hiding in plain sight.

48 hours next on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes"?

Beth Mayberry (Guest), Dave McKenna (Guest), Ben Renick (Guest), Lindley Renick (Guest), Sam Renick (Guest), Dave Colbert (Guest), Katherine Burgerer (Guest), Dave Kaufman (Guest).

What is "Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes" about?

The content delves into the tragic story of Ben Renick, a prominent figure in the reptile breeding industry, who was found murdered in his home on June 8, 2017. As investigators unravel the circumstances surrounding his death, they confront an unusual setting filled with snakes, leading to a complex entanglement of personal relationships and suspicions.

What is mentioned in this 48 Hours episode?

97 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Dr. Jim Craig, Ben Renick, Michael Humphrey, Visine, potassium cyanide, tetrahydrozoline. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Silent Killers | “48 Hours" Full Episodes"?

The episode runs 2 h 5 min; the transcript is about 17,568 words in 487 timestamped sections.

More from 48 Hours

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.