The couple’s children are now being raised by Kristil Krug’s brother and his wife, with help from their extended family, including her father, Lars Grimsrud.
“Our entire family will never be the same again,” Grimsrud told Judge Priscilla Loew before the sentence was imposed.
With his marriage to Kristil Krug falling apart, prosecutors said Daniel Krug decided to play “puppet master” by scaring his wife and then trying to win her back by protecting her from the fake stalking, uniting them against a common threat.
Kristil Krug kept a log tracking the increasingly threatening texts and emails that suggested she was being watched. As police investigated the messages, prosecutors said Daniel Krug began to realize that he could face criminal charges and started plotting how to kill his wife to silence her and because she didn't want to be with him anymore.
Prosecutors said he waited for her to return to their suburban Denver home on Dec. 14, 2023, after taking two of their children to school, attacked her from behind and knocked her unconscious before stabbing her in the heart.
At the time of the killing, the ex-boyfriend was an eight-hour drive away in Utah, where he was living, according to investigators.
The defense stressed there was no physical evidence or DNA linking him to the violent killing, noting that there was no blood found in his car or his clothes.
Kristil Krug, a biochemical engineer who also was a talented dancer, was described by family and friends as “fiercely smart,” funny and creative.
Her cousin, Becky Ivanoff, said Friday that Daniel Krug had “ripped a gaping hole in the hearts of everyone who loved her.”
“The depths of depravity, the manipulation he displayed in torturing Kristil and her children knew no bounds, and the terror he inflicted on her and her children is unimaginable,” she said.
At the request of prosecutors, Loew found that Daniel Krug’s crimes were acts of domestic violence. In addition to the life sentence imposed for the murder conviction, Loew also added another 9 ½ years to his sentence for the stalking and criminal impersonation convictions.
District Attorney Brian Mason said the motive was “control,” saying Daniel Krug’s actions were “an example of depravity.”
Krug chose not to speak before he was sentenced. His older brother Jeremy Krug was the only person to address the judge from his side of the family.
Jeremy Krug said the family had held out hope that someone else was responsible for what happened and did not learn of the evidence linking his brother to the crimes until the trial. He expressed grief for the couple's children and said he hoped his own children would be able to see their cousins.
“We love him and God forgive him what he’s done,” he said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP