Broomfield Man Found Guilty of Killing Wife After Pretending to Be Her Stalker
A Broomfield man has been found guilty of murdering his wife after a disturbing scheme in which he posed as her ex-boyfriend to create the illusion she was being stalked. A jury delivered the verdict on Thursday, convicting Daniel Krug of first-degree murder, stalking, and criminal impersonation in the death of his wife, Kristil Krug.
In the fall of 2023, Kristil began receiving text messages from someone claiming to be a former boyfriend. The messages, sent from an unknown number, included unsettling statements referring to her “loser husband” and suggested she was being watched. One message said the sender wanted to “hook up” while in town. Kristil did not respond, but the messages continued over several weeks.
On December 14, Kristil was found dead in the garage of her Denver home. She had been stabbed and beaten. Two days later, Daniel Krug was arrested and charged in connection with her murder.
Investigators later determined that the texts had not come from Kristil’s ex-boyfriend, but were instead sent by Daniel. A digital trail led police to his workplace at the state health department, where an IP address associated with the texts originated. Police also found that Daniel had purchased a burner phone used to send the messages, using a gift card registered in his name.
Daniel initially called police for a welfare check while at work, claiming Kristil wasn’t responding to his messages. But several inconsistencies in his account and physical evidence led investigators to suspect him. Security cameras Kristil’s mother had installed due to the alleged stalking had been disabled—one even had tape over the lens. Meanwhile, surveillance footage from neighbors failed to show any unfamiliar person entering the home prior to Kristil’s death.
Adding to the case against him, Kristil’s mother told investigators her daughter had planned to divorce Daniel and was seeking full custody of their three children. The supposed ex-boyfriend Daniel impersonated was found to be in Utah at the time of the murder and was cleared as a suspect.
Daniel Krug now faces sentencing after being found guilty of orchestrating the deadly deception that took the life of his wife.
