Attorney accused of setting own house on fire during high-profile Colorado murder case pleads guilty
The Colorado attorney accused of setting his own house on fire last year while he was handling a high-profile murder case pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor weapons and harassment charges.
Robert Werking, 60, pleaded guilty to possessing a gun while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and to harassing his wife, attorney Lisa Fine Moses, in an act of domestic violence on June 14.
Prosecutors dropped the two charges of felony arson that Werking faced after authorities said he set fire to his own home in Centennial in a separate incident on June 28, writing in court records that dismissing the felonies was “in the interests of justice.”
At the time of the two incidents, Werking and Fine Moses were both representing James Craig, the Aurora dentist who was charged at the time with — and has since been convicted of — poisoning his wife to death.
Werking withdrew from the case after his arrest on the arson charges, just days before Craig’s high-profile trial was set to start. Fine Moses represented Craig through the trial. The dentist was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
About 10 days before Craig’s trial began, first responders found Werking sitting on the front porch of his single-family home while it burned behind him. He was charged with arson after investigators found signs that an accelerant had been used in the blaze.
Werking’s attorney, David Beller, said during Thursday’s hearing that Werking experienced “mental health problems” that were either “undiagnosed or self-medicated.” He noted that Werking entered an inpatient treatment facility immediately after his release from jail and said the attorney, whose license to practice law is currently inactive due to disability, has since “rallied.”
Senior Judge Dinsmore Tuttle sentenced Werking to a year of probation with mental health and substance use treatment and ordered him to complete 40 hours of community service.
Werking offered an emotional statement Thursday in which he apologized, called Fine Moses a “saint” and said he hoped to “make things right” through community service.
“My actions in this case devastated my family,” he said. “…I hurt our family, our children so badly… I am very sorry. My actions were selfish; my actions were terrible. …I am ashamed and I will carry this guilt and shame for the rest of my life.”
A person who answered the phone at Fine Moses’ law firm declined to comment Thursday.
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