Chilling acts of husband who 'posed as his wife's ex-boyfriend and stalked her before bludgeoning her to death'

Mother-of-three Kristil Krug inactive had her concealed limb successful her purse - which she'd precocious obtained successful fearfulness of the antheral who'd been stalking her for months  - erstwhile she was fatally bludgeoned and stabbed successful the bosom successful the store of her household home, a Colorado tribunal heard Friday.

The antheral stalking her, prosecutors allege, was the suspect present sitting charged with with her murder: Her hubby of 17 years, Daniel Krug.

A assemblage of 9 men and six women heard opening arguments connected Friday successful the proceedings of Krug, 44, connected charges of first-degree murder, stalking and transgression impersonation successful the December 2023 decease of his wife.

'Daniel Krug, implicit the people of 2 months anterior to his wife's murder, posed arsenic her distant ex-boyfriend,' Senior Deputy District Attorney Kate Armstrong said. 'He utilized a numb of antithetic telephone numbers arsenic good arsenic email accounts to terrorize her, arsenic good arsenic her children, by claiming to beryllium actively surveilling her arsenic good arsenic threatening Kristil, arsenic good arsenic himself.'

A gangly and rail-thin Krug, wearing a brownish jacket, glasses and neatly trimmed achromatic hair, occasionally took notes during proceedings. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors argued that the matrimony betwixt Kristil and Krug was crumbling; she had moved her belongings retired of the chamber they shared and was sleeping successful her son's room.

'She had told her household that she had nary emotion near for the suspect and, portion initially she intended to stay wrong the matrimony until the kid turned 18, by October of 2023, it was clip for a bolt,' the authoritative said.

That's astir the aforesaid clip Kristil began receiving messages claiming to beryllium from a fellow she'd breached up with successful 2000. 

Krug knew that this man, Jack Anthony Holland, had made respective attempts to reconnect with Kristil successful the intervening years, including during their marriage, according to the prosecution.

The past clip Kristil had heard from Holland was successful 2016, and they'd mutually blocked each different connected Facebook, the authoritative said.

But messages started coming done opening connected October 2, 2023 by substance and email that purported to beryllium from Holland - including immoderate that noted details, similar Kristil's expired conveyance tags,  implying she and her household were being watched. 

There was an emailed representation of Krug astatine his workplace. One connection referred to a dentist's assignment Kristil had precocious attended.

Kristil didn't initially archer her hubby - since the parents were 'essentially cohabitating and coparenting' but not romantically involved, the prosecution said - but by November, a terrified Kristil had told Krug and progressive police.  

Police had completed wellness checks connected some based connected frightening accusation and had adjacent conducted undercover operations to drawback the 'stalker,' the authoritative said.

Also astatine the opening of November, Kristil began receiving an array of unsolicited 'd*** pics' - and traced them to an advertisement placed successful her name, and listing her telephone number, connected a hookup site. 

Investigators would aboriginal observe the advertisement had been placed by a fake Holland gmail relationship 'and connected the wifi astatine the defendant's workplace astatine the Colorado Department of Public Health,' Armstrong said.

Prosecutors present accidental that Krug had sent galore of the substance messages from a 'track phone,' oregon burner phone, which he'd purchased astatine a section Walgreens with a acquisition paper registered to himself.

When Kristil didn't instantly reply the archetypal substance helium sent posing arsenic Holland, the authoritative said, Krug texted his ain compartment telephone fig 'test' and 'shortly aft helium responded to the way phone: "yeah,"' she said.

The prosecution argued that Krug made google searches connected his telephone the time earlier the execution that were 'all related to caput trauma' - including 'when is simply a caput wounded origin for concern,' what happens erstwhile you're knocked unconscious' and 'how hard for caput trauma to spell unconscious.'

On the greeting of December 16, Kristil dropped 2 of her children astatine schoolhouse earlier returning location and pulling her car into the store - but she 'never made it backmost into the house,' Armstrong said.

Instead, she argued that Krug had disabled 3 of the 4 information cameras successful the location and 'was lying successful hold for her.'

'When she walked by him, helium assaulted her from behind, hitting her respective times successful the backmost of the caput with a blunt entity earlier stabbing her successful the heart,' the authoritative said.

Krug besides scheduled delayed messages to himself from Kristil's telephone aft sidesplitting her to assistance with an alibi, the prosecution alleged. 

Kristil's assemblage was discovered aft Krug called constabulary connected December 16 for a wellness check, saying helium hadn't heard from her successful 3 hours. 

The find of Kristil's assemblage prompted authorities to instantly way down Holland, who had a coagulated alibi and was an eight-hour thrust distant successful Utah, the authorities wherever helium present resides. He besides had alibis for the times erstwhile the messages had been sent, Armstrong said.

When presented with this accusation during interviews aft his wife's murder, Krug responded: 'If it's not him, I person nary different proposition ... possibly she was having an affair. Maybe she was having aggregate affairs,' Armstrong said Friday.

'And, erstwhile pressed a small further, the suspect rolls his eyes and says: "It's ever the husband."'

After seeing grounds similar Krug's video interrogation and proceeding from witnesses during the trial, including the ex involved, jurors volition beryllium near with 'no tenable uncertainty that helium stalked his woman and children for months earlier readying and deliberately and violently taking her beingness connected December 14, 2023,' Armstrong said.

Krug's defense, meanwhile, painted a representation of a constabulary section that had ignored the concerns of Kristil and her husband.

'Incompetence, sloppiness, arrogance, abandonment and deficiency of information is wherefore we're here,' Krug's lawyer said Friday. 'It was not what Kristil oregon Mr Krug wanted from them.'

The defence told the tribunal that the constabulary section was celebrating a vacation enactment erstwhile Kristil's assemblage was recovered and highlighted issues with investigative processes and hunt warrants, repeating and dwelling heavy connected the 5 supra accusations.

An autopsy conducted the time aft Kristil’s decease recovered preliminarily that she'd suffered 'wo oregon much blunt-force trauma wounds connected the backmost of her caput and 1 stab coiled connected the near broadside of her chest.'

Krug was arrested 2 days aft his wife’s murder.

He was conspicuously near retired of Kristil’s obituary, which remembered the Colorado autochthonal ‘for the joyousness she brought into our lives, the quality she shared done her art, and the intellect she brought to the technological community.’

A GoFundMe was acceptable up successful December 2023 for the Krug children which had raised $64,226 arsenic of Friday.

Another crowdfunding page, which had been acceptable up by Krug’s household and supporters aft his apprehension for ‘mounting a vigorous defense, countering these unspeakable accusations’ – which had raised $6,225 by May 2024 - appeared to person vanished.