Kriti Mehrotra
It was on December 14, 2023, when the entire world turned upside down for the Grimsrud-Krug family as 43-year-old married mother of three Kristil Grimsrud Krug was found dead. She was actually struck on the back of her head before being stabbed in the heart, as per ABC’s ’20/20: He’s Right Behind You’ and NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Phantom,’ making it clear that her homicide was a crime of passion. Her family initially believed this was the doing of her alleged stalker since she had been receiving harassing messages for months (since October), but it turned out to be her husband of 16 years.
Kristil Krug Always Felt Most Secure With Her Family
Born on November 24, 1980, in Boulder, Colorado, to Linda and Lars Grimsrud Sr., as one of their two adorable children, Kristil Grimsrud Krug was always surrounded by love. The truth is, she had an unwaveringly supportive brother, Lars Grimsrud Jr., but because their parents separated when they were relatively young, they seemingly grew up in a blended family. Their father actually remarried, so they had a stepmother, a stepsister, and a stepbrother, with whom they ended up building a close bond, too, meaning they had additional family to love.
According to the accounts of these loved ones, Kristil’s passion for the sciences was evident from an early age, so they all supported her dreams no matter the direction they took her. Thus, they were extremely proud when she established a formidable career as a biochemical engineer, all the while also settling down in Broomfield with the man she loved, Daniel Krug. The couple gradually welcomed three beautiful kids – in 2009, 2012, and 2015 – juggling their respective professions with parenthood thanks to the help of their tight-knit extended family.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that when Kristil eventually started receiving harassing messages in October 2023, the first people she informed were her husband and her family. She also went to the police but felt “abandoned” by them as time passed, and she received no news of any investigations, per her brother, so she was extremely “scared” as well as “stressed.” It was to such an extent that she grew paranoid and split up the kids between her and Daniel so that she could spend Thanksgiving at her father’s place because that’s where she felt safest.
Kristil Krug’s Family Has Stood By Her in Life and in Death
Nobody could have ever imagined that less than a month later, on December 14, 2023, Kristil would be bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the garage of her suburban Broomfield home. Daniel called the police shortly after noon, asking for a welfare check because his wife had uncharacteristically not been responding to his texts, and he had last heard from her 3-4 hours ago. He also called her mother, Linda, who arrived at the scene at around 12:40 pm when a responding officer was performing CPR on her daughter, shattering her heart into a million pieces.
Kristil was declared dead at 12:43 pm, shortly following which even Daniel arrived home, saw his wife as well as the bloody scene, and broke down in the arms of their gathering family. Two days later, though, he was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, stalking, and criminal impersonation as officials uncovered that he had killed his wife after posing as her stalker ex-boyfriend. According to records, Kristil was planning to divorce him and take full custody of their three children, so he decided to “play” “puppet master” in the hopes of winning her back through fear.
When Daniel stood trial for the charges against him, his former brother-in-law testified about how scared Kristal was in the weeks leading up to her death and how the former pretended to care. Lars said that while discussing the stalker once, Daniel told him he was “between vigilance and paranoia” as “whenever a car would come by, he would stand up and look out the window.” Even Linda asserted how petrified her daughter was because nobody had any idea what the stalker was capable of, so it truly angered and shattered them to learn that it was none other than Daniel.
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Kristil Krug’s Family Has Chosen to Lead a Life Away From the Spotlight
During Daniel’s sentencing hearing following his conviction on all counts, all of Kristil’s loved ones gave victim impact statements to let the judge know precisely who he took away from this world. Apart from her parents, those who spoke included her stepsister, her aunts, her uncles, her cousins, and even friends ranging from elementary school to college to adult dance classes. Following all this, Lars Sr. stated in a press conference that the family is still grieving the loss of the vibrant soul that was their Kristil, but they never forget to celebrate her.
“We remember her for the joy that she brought into our lives and the beauty that she shared with us,” Lars Sr. said. “… Obviously, there’s never enough justice for a life that has been so wrongfully and horrifically taken, but the legal process and the support and dedication of many people has now at least allowed some relief in knowing that Dan Krug has been held accountable for his actions in achieving some justice for Kristil.” From what we can tell, Kristil’s loving family now prefers to remain well away from the limelight so as to deal with their grief and pain in private. All we know is that her children – now 16, 13, and 10 – are in the custody of her brother and his wife in Boulder, Colorado, where Lars works as an Engineer at FIRST RF Corporation. They seem to be doing their best to move forward in life while keeping her memories alive in their hearts.
