Colorado man sentenced to life for pretending to be wife's stalker, killing her

A Broomfield man convicted yesterday of impersonating his wife's stalker was sentenced to life in prison Friday for her murder.  

Daniel Krug, 44, won't ever be eligible for parole. 

Evidence presented at his murder trial suggested Krug used a fake social media identities, a phony email address and burner phones to harass his wife in the month's prior to killing her. Krug connived the scheme to throw investigators of his tracks, prosecutors alleged, and "terrorized" his wife.

"I go to Boulder every few weeks and thought we could hook up. U game?" read a text message to Krug's wife two months before she died. It used the name of a man she had briefly dated more than 20 years earlier.

Another message from the same number featured a photo of Krug walking into work, apparently in an effort to convince his wife that both of them were being threatened. "This ur husband?" the text stated. "He needs to drive safe....Ur license plate expired. Gotta fix that."

Krug took the photo himself and sent the message to his wife, alleged prosecutors. More messages - "U don't belong in that big house. U belong with me.,Ill get rid of him and then we can be together," for instance - created the illusion that Krug himself was in danger. Many of the attempts to frame the ex-boyfriend often contained vulgar sexual references and threats. Some tried to establish proof that Krug's wife had been unfaithful.

Investigators, however, were able to prove the ex-boyfriend - now living in another state - could not have committed the murder. His alibi was verifiable, they said.

Krug, in fact, went to even greater lengths of deception.

Police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call found Kristil Krug lying in the couple's garage with obvious head trauma and a fatal stab wound to the heart on Dec. 14, 2023. She was pronounced dead 15 minutes after officers had arrived. 

Krug made the 9-1-1 call, per case records. He asked officers to check on his wife's safety. 

Evidence provided in court, however, showed that Krug used his wife's phone to disable the home's security system and covered the family's doorbell camera with blue masking tape. Krug was seen on other surveillance recordings leaving the house 30 minutes later than usual. On his way to work, his car's dashcam was deactivated. 

Investigators were also able to determine many of the text messages from the ex-boyfriend were sent through the IP address of Krug's employer in Denver.

Kristil Krug's mother also told investigators the couple was planning on getting a divorce. The couple had three children.

Krug was convicted of 1st Degree Murder, two felony counts of stalking, and felony criminal impersonation. The life sentence was mandatory based on the murder conviction alone.