True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some very disturbing details in this post to do with child abuse and brutal torture, murder, animal cruelty and slaughter. I have tried as always, to be as sensitive as I can be with the details without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to discuss this post or any of the cases I have covered on this blog, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

I've received a few emails over the past couple of weeks either asking for me to cover the case of Christa Pike, or to enquire what my thoughts are on the case and do I think she deserves her death sentence? As we fast approach the 30th of September (2026) I thought I should write about the only woman on Tennessee's death row. This case has always divided opinion and if you are unaware of the horrific story, you will see why as we go further into this post. I have to warn you that this case is very brutal and disturbing but to give you a better understanding of the background, I will talk about Christa's appalling childhood and why she is now counting down the days to her execution. 

Even before Christa Gail Pike came into this world, she never stood a chance at any sort of a normal life. Whilst in the womb her mother couldn't have cared less about her wellbeing (and that was no change when she was eventually born). Her parents, Carissa and Emil had a toxic marriage and could hardly spend 5 minutes in a room with each other without arguing or physically fighting. The marriage was a joke, both constantly had extra-marital affairs and alcohol was a huge part of their daily diet. Carissa drank alcohol like it was going out of fashion, not a care in the world about the harmful effect that it could be having on her unborn baby (this selfish act resulted in Christa being born with damage to her frontal lobe). When she was born prematurely on the 10th of March, 1976 in a city in West Virginia known as Beckley, she arrived into a world of daily abuse, neglect, violence, misery, pain and suffering. I just want to be clear before going any further that my description of her childhood is not my attempt to encourage people to get the violins out, I'm just stating the truth, her childhood was utter hell.

The daily turmoil of her parent's marriage became a part of every day life for Christa and her half-sister. As well as the threat of violence and constant neglect, the house was frequently filthy, even the dog was neglected and was just left to defecate all over the house. Christa would end up covered in feces and all other kinds of dirt with nobody to properly take care of her. When her parents split up, her mother had men coming back and forth to the house, there were various attempts at relationships with violent men (her mother married about five times) who were also pedophiles. Christa often found herself the victim of these evil men, their physical violence and she endured multiple incidences where she was sexually abused. She had also witnessed cruelty towards animals at the hands of one of her mother's boyfriends. Animals would be killed and slaughtered in front of her, this was also horrendous to witness no matter the age but for a young child, it was deeply traumatic as you can imagine. 

The only bit of joy that Christa had in her life was her grandmother and after being pushed around from pillar to post she ended up staying with her and for once the young girl could breathe a sigh of relief. With her grandmother there was care, safety, her grandmother was more of a mother to her than Carissa ever was. Just when Christa thought she had escaped her horrific life with her mother, her grandmother sadly passed away and Christa was so devastated that she tried to take her own life again (she had made an attempt in the past). As well as grieving the loss of her beloved gran, she was sexually attacked again and tried to go to her mother for help and support, Carissa just pushed her away and refused to believe her, she just didn't care. Another attacked happened when she was just 17, she went to the hospital and then that was that, nobody bothered doing anything, the perpetrator was never caught. She was in a devastatingly hopeless situation, suffering from all kinds of trauma, PTSD, (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Bipolar Disorder and then of course the brain damage which caused her to have no impulse control and effected her development. None of these issues were addressed by mental health professionals, nothing was ever addressed, she was just left to rot and try to look after herself. 

No child wants to feel that nobody loves them and that people don't care but this really was the situation for Christa Pike. There was nobody to turn to, nobody to help. Even when she was younger she would be drawing sexually explicit drawings in school and the teachers ignored it. The teachers saw this and noticed her behaviour but chose to do nothing. The pain and anger of so many years of no love and abuse continued just to pile up inside of her and it was only a matter of time before there was an explosion. 

Christa Pike was abused in basically every way that you could possibly abuse someone, that's all she knew. Her life wasn't even a life, it was just non-stop misery. She was so desperate to escape and be loved. At the age of 17 she joined the Knoxville Job Corps Program and had her heart set on becoming a nurse. To think that after all she had been through, the fact that she still attempted to have a dream and a goal in mind demonstrates that she was a strong girl to have survived her life so far. This program was open to young people who had behavioural difficulties and were from impoverished areas. It was for young people who had a tough upbringing and needed some guidance and support to help steer them in the right direction. 

With her dream at becoming a nurse and making an attempt at turning her traumatic life around and working towards a positive future, it demonstrated that underneath all that pain and hurt, she was just a kid who wanted to do good but unfortunately the demon in her was not going to let that happen. At the program she became fixated on a 17 year old boy named Tadaryl Shipp, the pair became close and started dating. Tadaryl and Christa as a couple was a recipe for disaster because he was bad news, his background was all about violence, gangs, drugs, guns and he had previously attempted to throw someone off of a bridge. He thought he was a bit of a hardman and liked the idea of people being scared of him, he talked about wanting to kill someone and was obsessed with Satanism. Christa, almost fangirling over this hoodlum, hung on his every word. She wanted to impress him and decided that she too, was going to become involved in Satanism 

With a combination of extreme anger and trauma pent up inside of her and her obsession with Tadaryl and Satanism, it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose. She believed that this guy was everything she had been waiting for, that finally she had somebody who was for her, she felt she belonged and that he understood her. He probably saw in her a vulnerable girl who idolized him and that gave his ego a bit of a boost but I don't think it was deeper than that for him. Christa was extremely obsessed with Tadaryl to the point of paranoia, she couldn't bear any other girl to look at him. She was terrified of anyone taking him away from her. In the program there was a pretty 19 year old girl called Colleen Slemmer, for some reason, Christa felt instantly threatened by her. It's unclear if Tadaryl had been looking at Colleen (prompting Christa's Jealously or if she was just imagining it) but Christa believed that Colleen was about to steal Tadaryl away from her. Colleen wasn't interested in any shape or form in Tadaryl but Christa couldn't let it go and there was a bit of an atmosphere caused by Christa's negativity. 

Christa's mind began to spiral and the more she thought about Colleen, the angrier she became, telling a friend that she wanted to kill Colleen. The friend just brushed it off thinking that Christa was just being bitchy. The day after this however, Christa and Tadaryl came up with a plan to take Colleen somewhere and teach her some sort of lesson. On the 12th of January 1995, Christa, Tadaryl and a friend named Shadolla Peterson (18) approached Colleen and asked if she'd like to hang out with them, Christa wanted to make amends and apologised if she seemed a bit off with her. Colleen accepted their invitation to hang out and the four of them left the Job Corps dormitory around 8pm. 

They walked to a wooded area where it was quiet and private, telling Colleen they wanted to smoke some weed. It just seemed like any other evening with a bunch of teenagers hanging out but Colleen was soon to find herself at the end of a horrific attack. Out of nowhere Christa began shouting abuse at Colleen, pushing her and punching her. Colleen was confused, shocked and tried to defend herself but Tadaryl joined in. The pair punching her, dragging her on the ground and kicking her. Shadolla stood back and watched whilst also keeping an eye out for any potential passers-by. Colleen had made various attempts to get up off of the ground but they just kept kicking and punching her. They forced her to remove her top and bra. The whole ordeal lasted about 45 minutes to an hour and the beating soon turned to stabbing and slashing. Armed with a box cutter knife, meat cleaver and rocks, they slashed Colleen's throat six times, slashed her stomach and back. Colleen was still alive whilst all of this was happening and she was begging and pleading with them to stop. 

Colleen told them she would leave the program and they would never see her again if they would just stop. Christa later said that the more Colleen spoke or screamed, the more she cut her because she wanted her to ''just shut up''. Every part of Colleen's body was slashed, there was blood everywhere and it was soon obvious that Colleen was dying, they kicked her face and smashed her skill with a large chunk of asphalt to the point that the front of her face and back of her head were indistinguishable. The monsters finally dragged the poor girl to another part of the wooded area where they carved a pentagram into her chest. Christa sickeningly picked up a piece of Colleen's skull and placed it in her pocket. All three of them walked back to the dormitory. 

Colleen was unbelievably still alive after all of this utter hell but as she lay there in her final heartbreaking moments, she choked on her own blood. Her death was later ruled to be a result of the horrifying head trauma and injuries she endured as well as choking. It was beyond belief, an innocent girl put through an evil, horrifying and brutal attack for no reason at all. Murdered in such a horrifying way, it was evil, it was demonic, it was sick. 

After the three evil demons were back at the dormitory you would think they would be sick to death with what they had just done but no, they were all enjoying themselves. Christa was bragging to her friends about what they had done, they couldn't believe it so she pointed out her shoes and said ''that ain't mud'' and produced a piece of Colleen's skull from her pocket. The friends were shocked and didn't know what to make of it all, there was a mixture of confusion and fear. The friends didn't say a word to the police.

The next day, Colleen's body was found by a Tennessee grounds department employee who must have been utterly horrified. At first glace Colleen's body was mistaken for that of an animal but on closer inspection it was clear that this was the body of a young woman. When investigators arrived at the scene, they couldn't make out any features on Colleen's face, her face and skull had been utterly destroyed, it was a horrific sight. Colleen had to be identified by her dental records.

The pathologist in charge of Colleen's autopsy had his work cut out for him because basically every inch of Colleen's body had been slashed. The list of injuries was endless, in the end he decided that he couldn't possibly list every single one and just focused on the most horrific injuries like the six deep slashes to the throat, the deep slash to the stomach and the back as well as the pentagram carving on the chest. Her death, as I mentioned earlier, was due to choking on her own blood as well as the horrific head injuries. 

Investigators wasted no time interviewing everyone on campus, when it was the turn of Christa and Tadaryl to be interviewed, the police noticed that the pair were wearing pentagram necklaces. When Christa was asked if she knew what had happened to Colleen Slemmer, she sat proudly and confidently declared that she had murdered Colleen, She told them everything including that she had ate her cereal using a part of Colleen's skull. There was not a shred of remorse, she was heartless and saw the whole horrific set of circumstances as a laugh. It was pure evil. 

At her trial, Christa was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Her execution is set to take place on the 30th of September 2026. She is currently 50 years old. In 2001, she had shown that she hadn't changed her colours because she tried to murder a fellow inmate by attempting to strangle her with a shoestring. The victim recovered and Christa had an additional 25 years added on to her sentence. 

Tadaryl Shipp managed to escape the death penalty due to him being 17 at the time of the murder. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. In October of last year (2025) he was denied parole but could be up again in a couple of years. Let's hope that he is never released. Christa has expressed her anger on a number of occasions in interviews (still showing no remorse for anything she has done) that Tadaryl and Shadolla escaped the death penalty. 

Shadolla Peterson got the easy road. During interviews with the investigators she offered to tell them everything even though they already had all of the details from Christa. She operated fully with the authorities and managed to receive no jail time whatsoever, she just got 6 years probation. There is no evidence that she physically harmed Colleen but she was part of the planning to trick Colleen into joining them and she stood there and did nothing whilst these monsters tortured and murdered this innocent girl. She could have put a stop to it, could have ran away and got help. I find it difficult to understand how she stood there and watched them repeatedly slash, kick and punch Colleen and still chose to do nothing and was able to basically get away with it. That was a miscarriage of justice. 

So as it stands at the time of me writing this post, Christa Pike is about to meet her maker, some people would call that Satan! This case is such a mind twister because there's sympathy for Christa's past but that doesn't excuse what she did to Colleen. The way she tortured Colleen over and over and over again, then walked away like it was nothing, Taking a piece of Colleen's skull, bragging about the whole sick ordeal and then having the horrendous audacity to brag about using the piece of Colleen's skull to eat cereal. Days after the murder she continue to brag about it and even in prison, she wrote a letter to Tadaryl telling him she missed him and was angry that she had to spend time in prison because of Colleen's death. She blasted Colleen and spoke about her in a disrespectful manner saying that Colleen was lucky that she killed her the way that she did. There was no remorse from her, she was just completely evil. 

Now we have campaigners who are painting her as a child of abuse who didn't know any better, emailing me and wanting petitions signed. The trouble is, that this was not just an act of someone who just lost control in a moment of madness, she planned this, kept it going and continued to brag and be proud of what she had done. How can anyone have sympathy for someone who does that? 

So many people survive horrific childhoods and don't go on to commit such horrific crimes like Christa Pike. All she is bothered about is the fact that Tadaryl might get out of prison at some point and Shadolla managed to get away with it. I suppose she has a point because I believe that all three of them should have been given the same sentence. Each of them had a part to play in this and each of them could have put a stop to it. 

Do I think Christa deserves the death penalty? You want my honest opinion and I mean this in no disrespect to Colleen or her family. I think that she should have been placed in some sort of psychiatric unit and then moved to a prison to spend life without parole. The first 18 years of her life were beyond horrific, to be constantly raped, abused, shown no love, neglected, beaten etc, that will kill someone's soul. Christa Pike was dead inside and she has brain damage which has been officially diagnosed by a Doctor. So there is other factors to consider here when making a final decision. It's been a long time that she's been on death row and she is 50 years old. I don't think she should ever be released from prison if her sentence is changed at the last minute. Right now the execution is all set to go ahead. 

I will be keeping an eye on this case and I'm sure as we get closer to the 30th of September, the campaigns will step up even more and the story will be all over the media. What are your thoughts on this case? Please leave your comments below or email me in confidence at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

RIP Colleen, an innocent, beautiful girl who's life was cruelly taken from her in the most horrific way. My thoughts are with her family as I know this must be incredibly difficult for them. 

There is an online memorial for Colleen, please leave some virtual flowers and nice comments for her and her family here

Further Reading & Sources:

- Christa Pike: Article | WSMV

- Christa Pike: Article | Knoxville News Sentinel

- Christa Gail Pike vs. State of Tennessee

- Christa Pike | Wikipedia

- Christa Pike | Reddit Discussion

- Colleen Slemmer Murder: Article | T Libraries

- Christa Pike: News Report Segment | WATE 6

I believe in everyone's right to their opinion so I have included the link here to the Mercy For Christa petition. It's up to my readers what their views are on this case. 

If you have made it this far in this post I appreciate it. I know that this was another difficult case to get through with a lot of horrifying details. I do hope you have come away from this post with more knowledge of what happened that horrific night back in 1995. There's a lot of people who are against the death penalty and sometimes these same people will protest about a particular criminal, but they won't tell you the full details of what that criminal did to be given the death penalty in the first place. I think it's important to give people the full facts, no holds barred when sharing these cases, it's up to people to make up their own minds based on case evidence on what punishment they feel would better fit the crime. I always find it interesting to hear other people's opinions. 

I can understand campaigning about a death penalty case where there is not enough evidence and a lot of doubts. I can understand campaigning about the death penalty if there is a lot of factors involved for example the accused's proven psychological disabilities or severe abuse and childhood trauma. This is why I think that Christa Pike should not be given the death penalty as evil as she is. I'm not a Doctor or Psychologist but I do believe her childhood destroyed any chance of her leading a normal life. I think her approach to every day situations was difficult for her and she didn't know how to behave or respond appropriately. She was impulsive, desperate to be loved and accepted by anyone but carried an enormous amount of trauma and pent up anger. She should have been in Psychiatric care as soon as her school teachers noticed the signs (ie the distant behaviour, the sexually explicit drawings). It wasn't just her parents who failed her, it was the system too. Christa was able to develop more and more into a horrific monster and an innocent young woman paid the price. 

I hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime, I hope to see you on my socials

Take care of yourselves, stay safe...until next time x 

 (James Toliver Craig. Picture credit: CNN)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. I have aimed as always to be as sensitive as I can be with the details, without taking away from the details of the case. If you would like to discuss this post or any of the previous cases I have covered on this blog, please email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

You know, I've always said that it doesn't matter how well you think you know someone, even if you've lived in the same house with them for years, decades.....you never really know someone completely. Now, imagine being married to someone for 23 years, you met in your early 20s, you had six beautiful children together, travelled together, gone through life's highs and lows, supported each other through thick and thin. After 23 years you would consider that person a soulmate wouldn't you? A huge part of you? An important piece of your family, A huge part of your life, so many memories, so many experiences together! No doubt you would trust that person, you've basically grown with that person. Well, what if this wife or husband out of the blue decided that, after decades of your constant love and support, that it was time for you to exit the stage?

We've seen this happen to both men and women. I've written about such cases before (Betty Broderick, Mitchell Quy, Blanche Taylor Moore, John List amongst many others) where so called picture perfect marriages have turned out to be anything but the sort. The face of evil pictured above is that of so-called devoted Mormon, Dentist and pillar of the community....James Toliver Craig. This manipulative, cold-hearted philanderer (based in Aurora, Colorado) was a talented Dentist but horrific businessman who liked to live beyond his means. He built up a successful practice in the beginning with a partner but it all soon fell to the wayside with his mishandling of finances. James had been married to the beautiful Angela since 1999. They first met when he was 21 and she was just 20. It was a romance that blossomed pretty quickly and before anyone knew what was happening, they were married. In their faith (Angela was also Mormon) this was not unusual, people often married young and started families quickly. Angela was the youngest of 10 children and was always the life and soul of the party. She was always family orientated and amazing with children. 

It was clear that despite James being quite an intelligent guy, for some reason he just couldn't get the hang of managing money. He had issues with his finances early on in the marriage but Angela was determined to stand by her husband, even when she suspected he was having multiple affairs, which he was. The fact that this beautiful, intelligent and devoted woman would put up with this may baffle a lot of people but to Angela, the thought of divorce was the last thing she would ever want. Her faith and belief in the family unit and forgiveness was so strong that she couldn't bring herself to walk away from him. To leave James would mean that the family would be broken up and to her it would have been embarrassing to be seen as a divorced woman. So the red flags were there for years and Angela knew about them but she chose to just confide in her sisters and her friends. She was convinced that she could change James and that the marriage was worth fighting for.

Angela was known for wearing her heart on her sleeve. The church was an important part of her life and she wasn't just a devoted mother and wife, she was a choir director, a teacher and youth leader who was well known for supporting others, being a fantastic friend and helping raise money for good causes. Angela was not a fake person, she actually was someone who had a pure heart so much so that she took every single one of her marriage vows seriously, even if it was tremendously difficult. It wasn't just herself that she was thinking about, she was thinking about her children and wanted them to continue to have a solid relationship with their father. 

It's unclear how many affairs that James had but he was like an addict who would gamble whatever money they had left causing Angela the task of trying to keep the family afloat. They ended up using the family home as a safety net just so that the practice could stay open. The financial situation was in crisis but Angela was determined not to give up and James continued to work hard. At the Dentist practice, James came across as Mr Friendly, everybody's pal! He was popular with his patients and staff and was known to hand out cookies to everyone. Angela and the children would often visit him at work and staff would later say that the family were always smiling and seemed very close. 

James and Angela both liked to appear in public as a contented family but behind the scenes all was not well. This went on for years, going through the motions and hanging on financially by a thread until 2023 rolled around and things just went from bad to worse. Something had to be done because James was facing financial ruin and at this point Angela was fed up with the lack of love and support from her husband. They agreed to separate but live in the same house because money was so tight. James slept in a spare bedroom as they tried to figure out what their next step was going to be. He attended a conference in Las Vegas and it was there that he met an orthodontist named Karin. The pair hit it off and seemed to have a lot of things in common. He told her he was separated and she said she had been going through a divorce. They exchanged phone numbers. 

You'd think that the circumstances in which James found himself in (or should I say, put himself in), marriage crumbling, financial nightmare going on etc that the idea of getting into a new relationship with someone else, would be the last thing on his mind. In my opinion he saw Karin, who was older at the age of 49, as a potential meal ticket. Karin who was another innocent party in this, had no idea that this buffoon in front of her was a lying, manipulative scumbag and future murderer. I think he saw Karin as a fresh start for him, he could work in her practice, use her to help straighten out his finances, probably marry her so that he could guarantee that his feet would be right under the table. This guy didn't do anything out of the goodness of his heart....if he even has a heart!

It's unclear how long he was actually thinking about and planning to murder Angela but just after this conference in Las Vegas things sprung straight into action. He'd become fixated on Karin and what started off as general 'how are you doing' texts soon began to heat up. Apparently they exchanged 4,000 texts in the space of 18 days. He was determined that he was going to start a new life with Karin but there were problems, finances and Angela! He hadn't a dime to his name and there was no way that Angela was going to give him a divorce. The monster decided that instead of coming to his senses, cutting the crap and pulling his socks up and focusing on becoming a decent husband for once in his life, he came up with a despicable plan. Spending hours upon hours hovering over his laptop googling poisons and life insurance details, he decided that he was going to kill his wife, inherit her life insurance and run off into the sunset with Karin in Las Vegas. 

Angela and this demon were living under the same roof whilst James was secretly planning his wife's demise. It's utterly terrifying to think that the very man who is the father of your children, who you thought you knew for so many years, could be stood there thinking about how he's going to end your life and spend your life insurance money with his new found victim. Who know's what would have become of Karin either? this guy was capable of anything. 

Like a lot of women, Angela was trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and enjoyed a regular workout routine. Part of this routine was her protein shakes, however she began to notice that her favourite workout drinks were starting to make her feel a bit queasy, she put this down to overdoing things at first. At the age of 43 she attributed some of her dizzy feelings to possible peri-menopause and tried not to worry too much about it. It did cross her mind briefly that James had been messing about with her drinks again, apparently years before, he had tried to put something in her drink. She caught on to it straight away at the time and questioned him about it. He came up with this pathetic excuse that he was feeling suicidal and determined to take his own life so he wanted to drug her so that she wouldn't be able to stop him. Shockingly, Angela fell for this excuse and was either in denial or he'd managed to manipulate and gaslight her in such a way that he could've said that moon was made of green cheese and she would've believed him. This is no disrespect to Angela, these types of psychopaths are clever at getting inside people's heads, especially if they have known you for decades on a personal level, which is even more terrifying. He knew Angela's strengths and weaknesses so he could play with them to control her. 

After having a protein shake, Angela would become very ill with migraines, she couldn't understand as she'd had these drinks so many times before with no issues. The symptoms got worse with Angela vomiting, rushing to the bathroom and doubled up in pain. She tried to manage it herself but it was clear that this wasn't just some stomach bug or per-menopause symptoms. James, pretending to care would stand there watching his devoted wife in agony and suffering and would just let it continue. He would drive her to the hospital and callously watch as the medical staff would rush around trying different tests on Angela to find out what was wrong. He would hold her hand whilst she was terrified but too weak to cry from all the pain and suffering, he just stood there and let it all happen without a thought for anyone but himself. 

A whole saga of Angela being in and out of the hospital would play on. You may remember the Blanche Taylor Moore case which I wrote about back in September of last year (2025). Blanche's victims would be poisoned by her dinners and baked goods, end up in hospital at death's door and then make positive improvements when she was away from them. Then, the minute they were released from hospital and back home with Blanche, they would mysteriously fall dangerously ill again and back to the hospital. You may remember that Blanche started going into the hospital to 'visit' her victims and would bring in her 'homemade' cooking and cakes cause she was determined to finish these poor people off. James ended up poisoning Angela in hospital because she was such a fighter, her body was trying to fight back but in the end he just gave her more and more poison. 

As Angela lay in her hospital bed fighting for her life as Doctors were frantic that her organs were shutting down and they were running every test they could think of, whilst trying to keep her alive...James was in bed with Karin. He arranged for Karin to come to Colorado for a few days, they went out for romantic dinners, did some shopping and sightseeing, curled up on the sofa and watched movies together. I'm sure Karin looks back to these times and is thoroughly traumatized, to know that she was unknowingly part of a horrific set of circumstances that she had no idea about. James Craig's level of evil is just beyond the beyonds! How could you do that to a stranger let alone your own wife of 23 years? the mother of your children? How could he be in bed with someone else, enjoying himself, drinking glasses of wine whilst his wife was in a hospital bed losing her life? Putting his children...Angela's family and friends through hell? All of this for money? Did he ever really love her? Even if the marriage had turned sour, what about friendship? What about the fact that Angela gave him 6 beautiful children? What about all those years? What about all the good times? the memories? the endless times she stood by him? How could nothing mean a thing to him? He was an utter cold hearted psychopath and rotten to the core and I can think of even worse things to call him than that. 

Back at the Dentist practice, James's colleagues noticed a change in him, they knew that Angela was in and out of the hospital and he was under stress but something else was just not right. One of his colleague's Caitlin noticed he was acting odd, packages were being sent to him and he'd guard these with his life. He'd show up at odd hours and looked like he was up to something. He told the staff that a package was going to be arriving for him but to put it to the side and under no circumstances are they to open it. A few days later, either Caitlin forgot that she wasn't supposed to open this particular package that had arrived (or she knew fine well and purposefully opened it anyway) but she opened it and there it was, Potassium Cyanide! 

He was having the poisons delivered to the practice along with the usual supplies that were regularly ordered. Caitlin knew about Angela's health troubles and rumours has been going around about his financial problems. She began to do some digging into what Angela's symptoms were and could they in anyway be related to those of cyanide poisoning? Turned out, all of Angela's symptoms were an exact match for someone who had been poisoned with Cyanide. Caitlin informed her colleagues and the police straight away. 

Sadly Angela, who had put up such an incredible fight, had sadly passed away in hospital at the age of 43 on the 18th of March 2023. The medical staff and the police had been informed the day before that colleagues of James had found bottles of Cyanide at the practice and were suspicious that he had been poisoning his wife. An investigation was in full swing so they had James in their sights just before Angela had died but it was too late. The poison had caused so much damage to her internal organs and she had been poisoned by James numerous times, he was trying to kill her over and over and over again! An autopsy confirmed everything, she had a combination of Potassium Cyanide and Tetrahydrozoline. Tetrahydrozoline is commonly found in eye-drops but if swallowed can cause blood pressure to drop dangerously low as well as causing respiratory failure. 

When the investigation switched from suspected attempted murder to full blown first-degree murder, investigators arrested James and searched both the Dentist practice and the Craig family home. They found poison, tons of empty bottles of eye drops, evidence of receipts for poisons and evidence on and in Angela's favourite protein shaker bottle. 

Karin was investigated and completely cleared of any knowledge or wrongdoing. Nobody else was involved in this, it was all the evil doing of James Toliver Craig. James did try to contact Karin after Angela's death telling her not to believe anything she heard about him, he told her he was innocent. 

He had the nerve to plead not guilty and even behind bars the lies never stopped! He tried to paint a picture of Angela being depressed and claimed that she told him to poison her. When nobody fell for that, he tried to manipulate one of his daughters into lying for him by asking her to make an AI video of her own mother saying that she wanted to poison herself. And to add to the madness, he tried to persuade a fellow inmate to murder the lead investigator in his case to what ends that he thought this would help him, nobody knows. The man (look who I'm calling a man), the monster, didn't know when to shut up and to be honest, he was just telling on himself with all of that. He'd completely lost the plot but did he ever have it to begin with?

He stood trial in July of 2025 and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Angela's children and family later filed a lawsuit against James, his practice and Midland Scientific (the company which sold James the poison), they won their case. 

James Craig is currently serving his sentence at Bent Correctional Facility in Las Animas, Colorado. Understandably, his children have severed all ties with him.

James Craig may have had money problems but at the end of the day he had a beautiful wife and children, more than anyone could have asked for. He had a loving, family home and instead of appreciating that, he threw it all away and caused so much pain, heartbreak and misery. Where did it all get him? In a prison cell for the rest of his miserable life. He didn't deserve a lovely wife and children, he deserves nothing. He should've got the death penalty in my opinion (I know there are some readers who will disagree with me), he stood there and tortured his devoted, innocent wife of 23 years so that he could get rid of her and steal her money, that's not a human being, that's a monster, a demon. So many people have been horrendously hurt by him. Even Karin, who only knew him for a short period of time but the guy was so toxic that any contact with him, no matter how much, left a horrible scar. He was and is, no good to anybody. I'm so grateful that Angela's children have each other and a strong community of support. 

Angela left an incredible legacy behind and along with the numerous kind-hearted things she had done and the joy she brought to others, I think about how incredibly brave and strong she was fighting for her life in hospital. In all honestly it's actually incredible how much of a fight her body put up because she kept fighting back. 

So many beautiful pictures, stories, memories left behind and her 6 children are carrying on their mother's legacy. She did an incredible job raising them, her light will never fade. RIP Angela, you will never be forgotten x

Further Reading & Sources: 

- James Craig: Article | BBC News

- James Craig: Article | Sky News

- James Craig: Article | NPR

- James Craig: Article | Court TV

- James Craig: Article | NBC News

- Angela Craig: Article | CNN

- Karin Cain: Article | ABC News 

- Aurora, Colorado | Wikipedia

- Colorado Department of Corrections

- Angela Craig | Memorial 

Thank you as always if you are a regular reader of my posts, I always appreciate it. Thank you also if you are new to my work, I appreciate you being here too. I write about a lot of dark things on this blog but I want to remind you, that there is a lot of good in this world, amazing people, amazing things. We live in a beautiful world where so many wonderful things happen. For the horrific husbands like James Craig, there are millions of others husbands out there that are like the Milk Tray man (Tongue in cheek commercial superhero from back in the day who delivered a box of chocolates 'Milk Tray' to his beloved. Retro TV commerical). I thought I would try to end on a positive note! Anyway, there is good and bad and I hope after reading this that you do something relaxing that'll make you smile . 

Come and say hi on my Socials! Stay safe and I hope you will join me in my next post x 

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. As always, I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be when sharing the details, without taking away from the facts of the case. If you would like to comment about this post or any of the cases I have covered, please do so below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

When it comes to being falsely accused, this is a case that is one of the worst. Imagine just being an ordinary person who is just carrying out your security job....and a horrific terrorist attack happens?. You risk your life and put your neck on the line to help people and keep them safe. That's what Richard Jewell did in 1996, at the summer Olympics, which were being held in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. Two people sadly lost their lives and hundreds were injured as a result of a bomb. It was devastating on what was supposed to be an amazing event in Atlanta's history. Richard stood out as a true hero that day and I watched his story on Netflix this past weekend (it was brilliantly directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood). I was completely moved by it, but I did come away from it with so many questions. The movie was around 2 hours and 9 minutes long but I felt that the film had been rushed at the end and left me wondering about a few details.

As you may know, Richard was very passionate about law enforcement and was working his way up the ranks, but he had been dismissed a couple of times for being over enthusiastic and demonstrating reckless behaviour. He was determined to get back his career fully and saw the temporary job as a security guard during the Olympics, as a great way to make some money and try again with his law enforcement career once the dust had settled. Richard's face was splashed all over the newspapers and TV news reports, he was hailed as a hero (and quite rightly so) for his bravery during the horrific events of the 27th of July 1996. 

Everywhere he went, he received a hero's welcome. He was living with his Mother at the time and he was single and money was tight but his Mother was immensely proud of him. It was all amazing....until it wasn't! The pressure was on to find the monster who planted that bomb and there was misguided suspicion that Richard was the culprit because he did all he could to raise the alarm. They also decided that Richard must be the number one suspect because he was a single man living with his Mother and collected guns. Richard knew a lot about guns and military operations. The FBI became convinced that Richard had planted the bomb so that he could pretend that he was the hero that saved lives. At first these suspicions just stayed amongst investigators but a member of the FBI, blabbed all the details to a well-known, ruthless and publicity/career hungry reporter named Kathy Scruggs, late one night in a bar over drinks. 

Kathy couldn't wait to run with the headline that Richard was the main suspect. She was an ambitious reporter who would do anything to get a story. She was often found at late-night bars, wearing short skirts and flirting with policemen, charming them into providing her with information. She worked for the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) and was well-known for her gutsy and feisty attitude, hard drinking, smoking and sexy outfits. Some people were complaining about how she was portrayed in the movie (she was brilliantly played by the amazing Olivia Wilde) because they find it hard to accept that some women can be like that, that some women will use their looks to try and further their careers and get whatever information they may seek. Kathy and other media outlets were so thirsty for a juicy story that they all rushed to print without taking a moment to fully do their research. If they actually took a moment to look at the actual timeline they would see that there was no way Richard could have been the bomber. The FBI soon realised this but they were so head-strong that they were not going to admit that they were wrong, they came up with a ridiculous excuse that Richard must have had an accomplice. 

Richard and his Mother Bobi, had to endure seeing Richard's face splashed across the newspapers and TV screens with the headline 'Suspected Bomber'. They had their home and personal belongings turned upside down for all to see. Every aspect of their lives was put under the microscope and they were utterly humiliated. As time went on, the FBI knew they had nothing on Richard but, again still not wanting to admit they got it all wrong, they just said that he was no longer a suspect because they didn't have enough evidence on him. It's terrible to think that a lot of these people still believed him to be guilty. Richard was well aware that he had his doubters and it had a huge effect on him as one could imagine. To go from being celebrated as a hero to all of a sudden being branded a suspected terrorist, must have been incredibly traumatic. Richard and his mother were put through hell and constant pressure from the police and media for 88 days. 

As shown at the end of the movie, the individual who was fully responsible for the horrific bombing on the 27th of July 1996 was 29 year old Eric Rudolph. He was 29 at the time he carried out the horrific crime and the police soon had him on their FBI Most Wanted List. Eric was a raving nutcase who was on the run for five years. He had a military background but had turned fully against the federal government. He was racist to the extreme and often quoted Adolf Hitler, he was very anti-abortion and was constantly banging on about commercialism. He believed that the Jews ruled the world, specifically the banks. He would insist on hiding or burying any money he had instead of putting it in a bank account. He believed the Jews ran the world and would refer to his TV as 'The Electric Jew'. He was highly paranoid as well as opinionated and overbearing. Not surprising that he was a loner who was fixated on guns and spent a lot of time making pipe bombs. He wanted to make a statement and his first target was the Centennial Olympic Park. 

As a result of his horrific actions 111 people were injured and 2 people passed away. Sometimes, if you are reading about this case you will find that an article may mention that one person was killed. The reason for that is, that one victim, 44 year old Alice Hawthorne was killed as a direct result of the bomb. The other deceased victim, Melih Uzunyol passed away from a heart attack in response to the horrific events. I'm not sure why they class one death as direct and one as indirect because I consider them both sadly deceased due to the cold-hearted and evil actions of Eric Rudolph. If it wasn't for that bomb, Alice and Melih would be with us today. Melih was obviously in complete trauma and shock at what had happened and his heart couldn't take it. Utterly devastating!

Quite rightly so, Richard began to fight back as soon as the FBI said that he was no longer their prime suspect (he still didn't get a proper apology). He took out lawsuits against a number of media outlets including the employer of Kathy Scruggs, AJC. Everybody else settled and Richard was paid damages but AJC with the support of Kathy Scruggs and vice versa, refused to settle. According to them, they believed that they were not responsible for wrong doing. As far as they were concerned, Kathy Scruggs was given information by a reliable source and she was just simply repeating what she had been told. One thing I will say about Kathy Scruggs, she did remain loyal to the person from the FBI who gave her that private information and she swore not to reveal who it was, a promise she would take to the grave with her. 

Some people believe that the backlash against the media (especially Kathy and AJC) when it was proven that Richard was 100% innocent, took a tremendous toll on Kathy both physically and psychologically. She struggled with alcohol addiction and had run-ins with the law due to intoxication. She felt that she had the support of her colleagues at AJC but she still felt the embarrassment and regret over her part in the negative press fueling the false allegations about Richard Jewell. Despite some of the negative things about Kathy, nobody could say that she wasn't a determined woman, she was hardworking and was 100% committed to her role as a reporter but cutting corners had come back to haunt her. Sadly things for Kathy didn't get any better, she was found deceased in her home of a suspected drug overdose at just 42. The coroner was unable to determine if the overdose was intentional or an accident but she had been going through a lot at the time and heavy drinking. She also had severe coronary artery atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries) which may have also been a contributing factor to her death.  

After a five year manhunt, Eric Rudolph was finally caught on the 31st of May 2003. He was arrested by a police officer who found him scrounging through trash bins, he had been on the run for a while and had been living off of the land, some food he had stored and discarded food from grocery stores and restaurants. After the horrific events of the 27th of July 1996, Eric had tried to carry out two more attacks in Birmingham, Alabama and Georgia which resulted in many people sustaining injuries and the death of a police officer. He never showed any remorse and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He accepted a plea deal where he confessed to his crimes plus the locations of where he kept various weapons, explosives which he previously buried. 

Richard may have won his lawsuits and finally been able to clear his name, but the toll of the whole ordeal greatly affected him. He managed to find some happiness with his partner Dana who he married in 1998. The couple would be together right to the end, Dana sadly found Richard lying on the floor when she returned from work on the 29th of August 2007. He had sadly passed away at the age of just 44. His cause of death was heart failure which was also tied into his diabetes and weight problems. Some people will say that his weight and love of calorific foods were to blame for his young death but in my opinion, although that was obviously a factor, I think that the years of hell he had endured, had put so much strain on his heart. 

The whole story with Richard is just truly heartbreaking and to pass away at the age of just 44 is so terribly sad. Some comfort can be taken in the fact that he did marry his beloved wife Dana and the terrible injustice he endured was fully exposed and people were held accountable (although the FBI admitting any fault was like trying to get blood out of a stone, all they said was that they regretted details of the investigation being made public). I am so grateful for the incredible Clint Eastwood making the movie (I'll include the trailer below & links at the end of this post) which shows some of what Richard and his mother went through, it shows the hero that he truly was. I think that it is such a wonderful tribute to a hero to have a legend like Clint Eastwood make a movie about your life. It felt like Richard was getting the full bouquet of flowers he deserved.....well, you know what I mean, like the kids say today ''He got his flowers''. 

I never knew the story of Richard Jewell and thanks to Clint Eastwood making this movie, I do. Hopefully by reading this post you will feel a bit more clearer on some of the questions that you may have had at the end of the movie. It truly was a brilliant film and I'm so glad that his mother Bobi was able to see all of this before she sadly passed away on the 18th of August 2024 at the incredible age of 88. She endured so much in her life and to go though all she went through supporting Richard and then losing him at the age of 44 must have been so difficult. It goes to show how incredibly strong she was to have made it to 88. She passed away knowing her son was a hero and that he was celebrated and remembered as such. To see a movie directed by Clint Eastwood about your son and have the iconic Kathy Bates play you in the movie, must have been amazing for her. In all of this tragedy, there were some incredible moments. 

RIP to Richard, Bobi and Kathy. 

In regards to Kathy Scruggs, whatever the situation, she was someone who was truly committed to her role and in the end she suffered a great deal for her career and actions she may have regretted taking. I believe at the end of the day that she was a good person and that she was caught up in a world back then which was tough for a female reporter/journalist. She really wanted to make her mark and possibly lost her footing a long the way. At the time she was trying to find a story she had financial difficulties and maybe was in fear of losing her job? who knows? She thought she had a trusted source in the FBI and it was a risk she took that backfired. I think she would have done things differently today. 

Thank you, as always for making it this far in my post. Don't forget to check out the movie if you haven't already done so: 

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Richard Jewell story and I hope you will join me elsewhere on my Socials! If you would like to help support my weekly content or my upcoming book by buying me a coffee, please do so here, thank you so much!

Further Reading & Sources:

- Eric Rudolph | FBI Gov

- The Suspect: A Contributing Source For The Film: Richard Jewell. | Book by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen

- Richard Jewell | Movie: Netflix

- Richard Jewell | Reddit Discussion

- Richard Jewell | 60 Minutes Interview

- Eric Rudolph: Article | The New York Times

- Eric Rudolph: Article | History.Com

- Kathy Scruggs: Article | Atlanta Magazine

- Centennial Olympic Park Bombing | Wikipedia

- Richard Jewell | Wikipedia

- Richard Jewell | Find A Grave (Memorial)

Stay safe as always & see you in my next post x

(From left: Raymond Semple, William McGrath and Joseph Mains. Picture credits: Belfast Telegraph / Collage created by Caledonian Kitty/Blog author)

*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post. This horrific case involves child abuse and physical/psychological trauma. I have tried to be as sensitive as I can be with the delicate details involved, without taking away from the facts of the case. If you have any comments about this post or would like to discuss it with me in confidence, please feel free to contact me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com* 

It was supposed to be a sanctuary, a place where young boys could finally feel safe, secure and be around other boys who had been through similar difficult backgrounds. It was supposed to be a place where they could grow in confidence, learn valuable life lessons and have some peace to be kids. Instead it was a nightmare, a place of hell, a place of physical and psychological torture, where these young boys were made to feel isolated, used and full of shame for things that weren't their fault. Some of these boys were sent here by their parents who couldn't look after them, some were orphans, but all of them were vulnerable, aged 14-18 (and possibly younger by some reports). The fact is, they were just kids. 

The very people in charge, the so-called adults, authority figures who painted themselves as pillars of the community....and claimed to be all about guiding these young boys to be independent, so that one day they would be able to stand on their own two feet in the world...in truth, they were nothing but a bunch of low-life child predators who used their positions to prey on vulnerable young boys, leaving them with scars that would last a lifetime. Leaving some of them to take their own lives because they could never forget what they did to them when they were a helpless child locked in a room, at the complete control of these older, sadistic so-called men. 

The full extent of the horrors that went on in Kincora Boys' Home on 236 Upper Newtownwards Road in East Belfast, Ireland, may never be truly known. What we do know, thanks to the bravery of survivors like Richard Kerr (I'll talk more about him as the post goes on) is horrendous enough. 

The home was originally opened in 1958, the building itself just looked more like a regular house and was classed as a smaller care facility, housing up to 18 boys with a few members of staff. The idea was that a smaller setting was beneficial to the care of the young boys, giving them more of a 'home' environment rather than feeling like they were in the care of the authorities. It felt less formal and was supposed to give the staff and children more of a chance to bond and was supposed to make it easier for staff to be able to focus on supporting the boys & working through any issues that they may have. Nowadays we still have smaller care facilities in residential houses but they are even smaller with anything up to just four or five young residents with maybe two or three members of staff. It is reportedly regulated to ensure, not only the safety and care of the young people but also the staff. 

In Kincora this tight-knit 'more homely' environment was taken advantage of in a very sick and sinister way. Abuse can happen in any setting but in this particular case, we had vulnerable young boys who would be targeted by evil paedophiles who had the time and circumstances to focus on who they knew would be an ideal victim for them. There was time for them to not only groom and bully the child but be able to carry out their sickening acts whilst still being able to control the environment and people around them, almost like a way in which one would manage a cult. There was a constant atmosphere of fear and control at Kincora, there was always a fear of the consequences if you spoke the truth and the belief that nobody would believe you even if you did. The boys were led to believe that they were nothing, degenerats on the wrong side of society up against these older, well-respected authority figures who moved in upper class circles. Who's going to believe a troubled kid against a well-educated older man who rubbed shoulders with politicians and was well-spoken and well-traveled? These boys were stuck in a nightmare that they believed they would never get out of and there was nowhere to run and nobody to ask for help. 

Some of the boys had gotten so used to being abused before they even set foot in Kincora, that they truly believed that this was what their lives were to be about. They'd gotten so exhausted trying to fight back and then it became just a combination of exhaustion and fear. As years past and some of the boys were able to escape the hell of Kincora, they would find their voices that had been silenced for so long and they would tell people, they would tell authorities.....and nobody would listen. There was a stigma if you were a kid who'd been in care, almost like the stigma you have if people know you've been in prison. Some people would hear 'Kincora' and assume that the boy or man talking to them, telling them some of the dark truths of the place, must have been troubled, must be trying to get some revenge on someone and just making up stories. For others who ignored the many, many horrific stories that had been reported by former residents, they chose to turn a blind eye because they knew the people involved and they knew the power of the people involved. 

There were constant stories circulating around Belfast about boys being sexually abused at Kincora. Former residents who were victims themselves or had witnessed horrible acts, were continually ignored when they tried to speak up about it. Richard Kerr (who I mentioned earlier and spoke of how he is truly a hero for being a voice for not only himself, but for all of those boys who, like him, had endured hell) had arrived at Kincora at the age of 14 and he endured sexual and psychological abuse at the home. He was also taken out of the home on many occasions and taken to hotels (especially the well-known 'Europa' hotel) and other locations where he would be subjected to horrendous sexual abuse by well-known politicians and public figures. He suffered sickening abuse both inside and outside of Kincora and he wasn't the only one. Richard has been very vocal about boys being trafficked out of the home and used as pieces of meat for these upper class paedophiles. When Richard talks about some of the things he endured and saw all those years ago, you can see how haunted and badly it has affected him. He witnessed what other boys went through, including his friend Stephen Waring. 

Stephen Waring who was another young boy at Kincora, was subjected to the similar nightmarish treatment that Richard went through. As you can imagine, the trauma really took it's toll on Stephen, he tried to get help and nobody listened. He battled so much with the horrible memories that he tried to make a fresh start by moving out of Ireland but he ended up taking his own life. To this day, Richard has not spoken fully about what he endured because it's too disturbing and that's a pain that he carries. He is still fighting for justice to this very day.

Joseph Mains was given a six year sentence but he only served three years. Raymond Semple was sentenced to five years in 1981 and he was back on the streets in 1984. The biggest monster of all three of them (and the other two were sick and evil enough as it was), William McGrath was sentenced to four years of which he only served two. The sentences themselves were a joke in the first place but to learn that they only served half their time is just utterly appalling and I cannot imagine what the victims felt through all of this. It must have felt like another let down again by a so-called justice system.

When Kincora was shut down and the public, not only in Belfast but beyond, were now more aware of what went on behind the doors of that home and who was responsible. The building itself stood as a painful reminder, nobody wanted to buy it, it was eventually used as an office space for storage until it was eventually demolished in 2022. It took all of those years and finally there was a sense of relief that it was gone but the horrific memories and scars still remain. 

From 2012 until early 2017 The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (known as the HIA in short) conducted a full investigation into Kincora and according to them (which Richard and other survivors dispute) that the three accused, Joseph Mains, Raymond Semple and William McGrath were purely responsible for everything that happened at Kincora and nothing went beyond them. The HIA said that reports of child trafficking to hotels and other locations outside of the home are unfounded and there's no evidence to prove that this took place. They say that there is no evidence that there was a cover-up despite revelations that William McGrath was a loyalist and founder of a right-wing organisation known as Tara. He wasn't even qualified to work with children and it is believed that he was known to be a paedophile to the authorities but they chose to keep him in the position at Kincora in exchange for information and to keep him quiet. The whole set-up was a farce and innocent children were abused and constantly put at risk whilst the authorities turned a blind eye, HIA say this isn't true, Richard and his fellow survivors say it is.....and I know who I believe.

The system failed the children of Kincora and they're still failing them now because this goes far beyond Kincora and Richard has been fighting for a full investigation into as far as London, the infamous Elm Guest House and Dolphin Square.....leading politicians, Jimmy Savile, the list goes on. It's terrifying how big all of this actually is and it's all been covered up for years. In his book (which I highly recommend) Journalist Chris Moore blows the lid off of it all and he claims that Lord Mountbatten (Great-Uncle of King Charles) was involved with child trafficking (and that's not the first time I've heard that). All of this is a huge rabbit hole and it's decades of decades of cover-ups and abuse of innocent children who've been silenced. 

Kincora is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many stories similar to this involving these so-called places of care for vulnerable children. This is dark history but it is very much our present, cover-ups are still going on and the people responsible need to be held accountable no matter how high-up it goes. It's sickening to think that McGarth, Semple and Mains all were given pathetic sentences and only served half of them. It's also sickening that they were able to be back on the streets, living their lives and they are all deceased now. They never fully faced justice for what they did, their victims were numerous and it must be so devastating for them to know that even after all these years, proper justice has not been done. 

RIP to Stephen Waring and to any of the former residents of Kincora who are sadly no longer with us. 

I know this was a difficult post to get through, (as a lot of my posts are) but I really appreciate you taking the time to join me on this dark journey. Hopefully you gained a lot of information from this post and I hope you will check out Chris's book. Please feel free to leave any comments below or email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Kincora Boys' Home | HIA Report Documents

- Historical Child Abuse Allegations | UK Parliament

- Richard Kerr: Article | KRW LAW LLP

- Kincora: Article | The Guardian

- Kincora: Article | BBC News

- Kincora Boys' Home | Police Ombudsman Ireland

- Kincora Britain's Shame | Book by Chris Moore

- Kincora: Article | BBC News

- Kincora Boys' Home | Wikipedia

- Kincora: Article | Channel 4 News

- Historical Child Abuse Inquiry | The Executive Office

- Kincora Boys' Home | The Irish Independent

I hope you will join me in my next post. In the meantime, I hope to see you on my Socials. Take care and stay safe, until next time x