In Broomfield, Colorado, a man named Daniel Krug was found guilty on Thursday of the murder of his wife, whom he had been stalking while pretending to be her former boyfriend.
The jury delivered its verdict one day after deliberations began, convicting Krug on all charges: first-degree murder, two counts of stalking, and one count of criminal impersonation.
Following the verdict announcement, authorities placed Krug, dressed in a gray suit and accompanied by his legal team, in handcuffs. His sentencing is scheduled for Friday, where he faces a life sentence without parole.
During the proceedings, Krug’s parents were present in the courtroom, seated behind him, while the family of his late wife, Kristil Krug, sat on the opposite side.
Prosecutors argued that as the couple’s marriage deteriorated, Krug orchestrated a plan to manipulate and frighten Kristil, ultimately aiming to depict himself as her protector against a fabricated threat.
A biochemical engineer, Kristil Krug meticulously recorded the increasingly menacing texts and emails she received, which suggested surveillance. Prosecutors alleged that upon realizing the potential for criminal charges as the situation escalated, Daniel Krug plotted to murder his wife to prevent her from ending their relationship and to ensure her silence.
On December 14, 2023, after she returned from dropping their children at school, Krug reportedly attacked Kristil in their suburban Denver home, rendering her unconscious before fatally stabbing her in the heart.
In her closing arguments, Senior Deputy District Attorney Kate Armstrong remarked on the crime’s brutality. “He didn’t love her. He hated her,” Armstrong asserted. When Kristil was killed, her former boyfriend was in Utah, a substantial distance away, investigators confirmed.
The defense’s case highlighted the absence of physical evidence directly linking Daniel Krug to the murder. His defense attorneys noted that no blood was found in his car or on his attire, which his daughter confirmed he wore that morning.
Furthermore, Daniel Krug’s DNA was not at the crime scene, although unidentified partial DNA was detected on Kristil’s neck.
Krug’s defense team criticized police actions, arguing that their negligence failed to protect Kristil prior to her death and compromised the subsequent investigation.
Accusations included neglecting to test Kristil’s phone for fingerprints, despite allegations that Krug used it posthumously to send messages, and overall investigative incompetence.
Eyewitness accounts placed Krug at a coffee shop shortly after the alleged time of the murder, complaining about the temperature of his drink. Defense attorney Phillip Geigle questioned whether an individual involved in such a heinous crime would be concerned with a coffee complaint.
Prosecutors suggested Krug’s public coffee shop visit was a tactic to appear nonchalant and unassociated with the crime.
An email account used for harassing messages to Kristil was traced to Krug’s workplace computer network, and a burner phone, linked via a gift card registered to him, showed concurrent location data with his personal phone, noted Armstrong.
Notably, surveillance cameras within the home were non-functional when Kristil’s body was found, as described in the arrest affidavit. One garage camera was obscured with tape containing unidentified DNA, the defense pointed out.
Despite trying to implicate Kristil’s ex-boyfriend initially, Daniel Krug shifted to suggest potential infidelities on her part upon police confirmation of the ex-boyfriend’s alibi.
In summing up the prosecution’s case, Armstrong referenced Krug’s dismissive remark to detectives: “It’s always the husband.”