Naman Shrestha
In late 2023, fate shattered the dreams of a mother of three named Kristil Krug of watching her children achieve success. Her gruesome killing sent shockwaves across the community of Broomfield, Colorado. ABC’s ’20/20: He’s Right Behind You’ chronicles the entire case and the investigation that followed, featuring the footage of Kristil’s loved ones after they arrived at the crime scene. The documentary also consists of emotional interviews with her parents, her ex-boyfriend, and officials linked to the investigation.
Kristil Krug Was a Biochemical Engineer With a Deep Passion For Dance
Born on November 24, 1980, Kristil Grimsrud Krug hailed from Boulder in Boulder County, Colorado. She was raised in the warmth and care of her loving family, comprising her parents and brothers. As per reports, she also shared good relations with her stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister. At a young age, she developed an affinity for science in all its myriad forms. She was also a fantastic dancer, a skill she began displaying as a child and honed with each passing year. She grew into a kindhearted individual who could light up the dullest of rooms. Her humorous nature and laughter could make anyone smile. She radiated warmth and positivity, and her free-spirited energy made her the source of encouragement among her people. Kristil’s academic intellect earned her an Academic Scholarship to the Colorado School of Mines.
The determined young woman set stones in order to pursue a career in the field of biochemical engineering, which drove her to enroll at the University of Colorado (Boulder). She proved herself and graduated with excellent grades, taking home her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Engineering. When not immersing herself in the wonders of science, Kristil loved to explore the performing arts and contemporary dance. Over the years, she had showcased her mesmerizing dancing abilities on many platforms. She kick-started her professional journey by securing a position at Agilent Technologies. In a short period of time, Kristil went from strength to strength, impressing everyone with her talent and commitment. With resilience and dedication, she combined her academic learnings and experience and built a thriving career in technology and innovation.
The Mother of Three Was Found Beaten to Death in Her Garage
On the personal front, Kristil was a doting mother and wife from Broomfield, Colorado. She had been married to Daniel Krug for several years, and the two were parents to two daughters and a son. While Kristil held a corporate job, Daniel worked in the state health department. Together, the two aimed at bringing up their young kids with immense love, support, and resources they needed to lead a good life. Interestingly, the daughters inherited their mother’s love for performing arts, while the son had begun harboring an inclination towards technology.
On the morning of December 14, 2023, Daniel headed out to work as usual. Around noon, however, Daniel requested that the authorities perform a welfare check on his wife. Over the call, he told the officers that he was concerned as Kristil had failed to reply to his messages and receive his calls. As soon as the officers reached the residence around 12:28 pm, they discovered the 43-year-old on the floor of the garage. Upon inspection, they deduced she was stabbed and beaten to death. They proceeded to officially declare her dead at 12:43 pm. Kristil’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma sustained to the backside of her head. She also had a puncture wound to her heart.
Kristil Krug’s Ex-Boyfriend Was Initially Suspected by the Police
As part of the investigation, the detectives talked to Kristil Krug’s family and friends, all of whom told them about the harassing and threatening messages that she had been receiving for months prior to her murder. The police suspected that her ex-boyfriend might be involved in the crime and tracked him down in Eagle Mountain, Utah. However, upon interviewing him, they cleared him as he had a concrete alibi and no evidence that he had traveled to Broomfield, Colorado. When they interviewed Kristil’s mother, she alleged that her daughter’s marriage was far from perfect. She claimed Kristil had considered divorce and seeking full custody of their children.
As the suspicions against Daniel Krug were raised, the investigators dug deeper into him and learned that one of the fake email accounts from which Kristil was harassed was created on his workplace’s network. As for the burner phones used to torment Kristil, they were purchased using a gift card registered to Daniel. Upon going through his Google search history, they also came across a number of suspicious entries he searched for the day before the murder. Thus, just a couple of days after Kristil’s killing, on December 16, 2023, the police arrested her husband, Daniel Krug, and charged him with the murder.
The Killer Posed as a Stalker For Months Before Killing Kristil Krug
Prosecutors alleged that when Daniel Krug noticed his marriage was deteriorating, he hatched an elaborate plan to torment his wife, Kristil Krug, by posing as a stalker and sending her threatening messages, only to win her back by protecting her. While pretending to be a stalker, he attempted to frame her ex-boyfriend and used fake email accounts and burner phones to send her threatening and vulgar texts. In order to convince her that both of them were the targets of the stalker, he also sent her a photo of himself at work. As the stalking intensified, she filed a complaint, after which they began surveilling Daniel and Kristil to get to the bottom of it.
The authorities alleged that Daniel was scared of facing criminal charges and losing Kristil, so he plotted to kill her. On the fateful morning of December 14, 2023, the prosecutors argued that while Kristil reportedly took their two children to school, he covered the CCTV camera in the garage with tape and waited for her to return home. When she arrived home, he reportedly attacked her from behind and proceeded to kill her. Per court records, in order to stay out of suspicion, he used her phone and sent misleading texts to her brother and a detective, claiming that she had been disloyal to Daniel. It was also discovered that he scheduled a text message from her phone for himself that he later received while at work, creating a fake alibi for himself. Despite his best efforts, the police managed to apprehend him.
Daniel Krug is Currently Incarcerated at a Colorado Prison Facility
Around early April 2025, Daniel Krug’s murder trial for killing Kristil Krug commenced. While the prosecution presented several pieces of evidence against him, the defense argued that no physical evidence or DNA linked him to the crime. They highlighted that a partial DNA from an unknown individual was allegedly recovered from her neck. Daniel’s attorney also blamed the police, accusing them of not being able to keep her safe despite her complaints about being stalked and harassed. After more than a couple of weeks of trial, the jury deliberated and reached a verdict.
On April 17, 2025, Daniel Krug was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder, two counts of stalking, and one count of criminal impersonation. Just a day after the conviction, on April 18, his sentencing hearing took place. Before he was sentenced, his older brother, Jeremy Krug, took the stand and expressed grief for Kristil and Daniel’s children. “We love him and God forgive him what he’s done,” he added. In the end, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction. On top of that, he was also ordered to serve an additional nine and a half years for the stalking and criminal impersonation convictions. Today, 44-year-old Daniel Krug is serving his sentence at Sterling Correctional Facility in Sterling, Colorado.
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