Lawyer found 'sitting on the porch' after allegedly burning his own house down, casually waits for firefighters to arrive before withdrawing as counsel for dentist accused of fatally poisoning wife

The Colorado dentist accused of sidesplitting his wife by dilatory poisoning her experienced another lawyer shakeup past week — his 2nd since November — arsenic his caller lawyer withdrew from the lawsuit aft being arrested for arson, with cops saying helium burned his ain location down and past sat connected his structure waiting for firefighters to arrive.

Robert Werking, 59, reportedly withdrew arsenic counsel for execution suspect James Craig connected Tuesday aft being charged with fourth-degree arson for allegedly mounting his location ablaze conscionable earlier midnight connected June 28, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and South Metro Fire Rescue.

"When Deputies arrived astatine the location occurrence connected Caley, they recovered Werking sitting connected the porch," ACSO spokesperson Anders Nelson told Law&Crime connected Monday.

Werking's apprehension affidavit and charging documents person been sealed, according to The Denver Post, which cites a question filed by prosecutors to suppress the accusation arsenic it could "jeopardize" Craig's assemblage proceedings scheduled to statesman connected July 10.

"The merchandise astatine this clip of the affidavit could effect successful disclosure of accusation that could effect successful destruction, disposal oregon secreting grounds and tampering with identified and unidentified witnesses, which could jeopardize the ongoing investigation," the question states, per the Post. "Further, merchandise of the accusation could effect successful harassment of a witnesser and jeopardize a assemblage trial."

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Werking's withdrawal marks the 2nd clip an lawyer has dropped retired of the Craig case, with his erstwhile lawyer Harvey Steinberg pulling his chapeau from the ringing successful November.

Craig, 46, faces a first-degree execution complaint successful the March 2023 decease of his 43-year-old wife, Angela Craig.

James Craig was arrested days aft his woman went to the infirmary for severe headaches, the 3rd specified sojourn implicit 9 days, the Aurora Police Department reported.

"Shortly aft arriving astatine the hospital, the wife's information deteriorated rapidly, and she was placed connected a ventilator successful an intensive attraction unit," authorities said. She was declared medically brain-dead a abbreviated clip later.

As Law&Crime reported astatine the time, the dentist called himself and his woman "the arrogant parents of six large kids" connected his dental signifier website. Authorities aboriginal alleged that Angela Craig's mysterious unwellness and abrupt decease were caused by poisoned macromolecule shakes, and that her hubby was the premier fishy — utilizing his dental assemblage to bid arsenic and potassium cyanide.

An affidavit alleged that James Craig was perchance connected the verge of bankruptcy and had been readying a beingness with different pistillate successful the weeks earlier helium Googled things successful February 2023, specified arsenic "how galore grams of axenic arsenic volition termination a human" and "Is Arsenic Detectable successful Autopsy?"

Steinberg cited 2 sections of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct arsenic reasons for withdrawing successful November, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced connected X. One was that "the lawsuit persists successful a people of enactment involving the lawyer's services that the lawyer reasonably believes is transgression oregon fraudulent" and the different was that "the lawsuit insists upon taking enactment that the lawyer considers repugnant oregon with which the lawyer has a cardinal disagreement."

Craig was accused successful June 2023 of soliciting an unidentified household subordinate to tamper with grounds successful the case. In April 2024, helium was charged with the aforesaid discourtesy for allegedly trying to get different idiosyncratic to tamper with grounds arsenic helium sat successful jail.

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Deputy John Bartmann told the Denver Post that archetypal responders recovered Werking connected his structure with "active flames down him" that Saturday night.

His actions were "kind of odd," according to Bartmann, but constabulary officials would not elaborate connected what helium did erstwhile asked by Law&Crime connected Monday.

"This is an ongoing and progressive investigation," Nelson said. "Therefore, nary further accusation tin beryllium released astatine this time."

South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Brian Willie told the Post that erstwhile the occurrence was nether control, investigators recovered "some benignant of incendiary accelerant" and reported it to the authorities. Separately, Werking was besides arrested connected June 14 and fixed a summons for prohibited usage of weapons related to aiming a firearm.

The defence lawyer did not respond to requests for remark by Law&Crime.

Jason Kandel and Matt Naham contributed to this report.