On December 14, 2023, police found Kristil Krug, a 44-year-old chemical engineer and mother of three, dead in her Broomfield, Colorado garage. The officers were following up on a welfare check called in by her husband, Daniel. On the recording of the call Daniel says, “I don’t think this is an emergency, but this feels really weird… my wife isn’t responding to text messages or phone calls.”
Someone Harassed Kristil Krug For Months
Investigators treated Kristil’s death as the culmination of months of harassment by someone claiming to be her ex-boyfriend, Jack Holland. Kristil went to the police weeks earlier with a detailed spreadsheet of texts and emails from the supposed stalker. Body camera footage from October shows her telling officers, “This is exhausting. It has definitely made me paranoid everywhere I go.”
Digital Forensics Caught Daniel Red-Handed
Workers at the Digital Forensics Lab demonstrate their processes and equipment used to retrieve data from different electronic devices Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Stg 0223 Digital Forensics Lab 07
Once digital forensics officers got involved Daniels story unraveled almost immediately. Their investigation revealed that the emails and text messages didn’t come from Holland at all, but from Daniel’s workplace computer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Investigators came to the conclusion that Daniel spent the previous months impersonating Holland, using burner phones and fake accounts to terrify his wife. He even sent himself threatening messages. Deputy District Attorney Kate Armstrong laid it out bluntly in court: “Daniel Krug was losing control and his marriage was falling apart. Kristil wanted out, but Daniel was in denial. He decided he was going to play puppet master.”
Daniel’s Attack Was Relentless
On the morning of December 14, prosecutors said, Daniel attacked Kristil after she returned from dropping their children at school. He struck her in the head, then stabbed her in the heart. He disabled home security cameras, taped over the Ring doorbell, and used her phone to schedule delayed text messages in a bid to create an alibi. The night before, his search history included: “how much head trauma do you need to cause to knock someone unconscious?”
This Wasn’t The First Time He Did Something Like This
It wasn’t the first time Daniel had allegedly manipulated women this way. A former girlfriend testified that, decades earlier, he stalked her online with multiple fake personas after their breakup. He was never charged, but prosecutors said the behavior bore an eerie resemblance to the pattern that ended in Kristil’s death. In April 2025, a jury convicted Daniel of first-degree murder, stalking, and criminal impersonation. He was sentenced to life without parole. From prison, he continues to maintain his innocence and vows to appeal.
