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Prosecutors say evidence will show Fort Worth man cut throats of wife, baby in 2016

On the night of Dec. 15, 2016, Craig Vandewege called 911 to report someone had broken into his home in north Fort Worth, ransacked it and cut the throats of his wife and 3-month-old son.

Prosecutors said it was a lie, according to WFAA-TV, the media-partner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

And prosecutors continued on Thursday to try and prove that 39-year-old Craig Vandewege slashed the necks of his wife, Shanna Riddle Vandewege, and their infant son, Diederik.

Vandewege’s capital murder trial began Wednesday in a Fort Worth courtroom.

He has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Vandewege faces a maximum of life in prison because prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

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Testimony is expected to continue on Friday.

Dispatchers who took Vandewege’s 911 call testified Wednesday that Vandewege’s calm tone during the emergency call struck them, which they said is uncommon given the circumstances of the situation, according to WFAA-TV.

Prosecutors said Vandewege’s coworkers told police that he often complained about his wife and wished her harm.

A former coworker who worked with Vandewege at a Costco in Colorado testified on Wednesday that Vandewege frequently spoke negatively of his wife and commented on her physical appearance and the relationship even before the marriage.

Family members have said that the couple had moved from Colorado to Fort Worth in early 2016..

Craig Vandewege had worked at Costco. His wife, a registered nurse who worked at a hospital, was on maternity leave at the time of her death, family members say.

A warrant obtained by the Star-Telegram in 2016 stated that a co-worker of Vandewege told police that he had talked recently about taking a new medication that made him hear voices telling him to kill people..

The co-worker told investigators that Vandewege wished he could kill his then-pregnant wife by pushing her down the stairs, according to the warrant.

A few days before Shanna Vandewege and their infant son, Diederik, were found dead, Vandewege recounted a dream in which he “sliced the heads of his wife and father like bologna,” the co-worker told police.

Vandewege was arrested in December 2016 by police in Glenwood Springs, Colo., on charges of speeding and failure to show proof of insurance. His arrest came after a man called 911, reporting that Vandewege had said he was running from the law and had asked to borrow his phone to call some people and talk about a murder.

This report contains information from Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives.