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It is unknown when Harold married for the first time, but he and his first wife, Sandra Lynn Henthorn, were together for 12 years before a terrible tragedy affected their seemingly happy lives. She was deeply religious-teaching Sunday school, singing in both college and church choirs. Harold was convicted of first-degree murder, and in 2015 was sentenced to life in federal prison. A year after he was sentenced to life in prison, it doesnt look like Harolds appeal has yet been carried out. To the young man who thought he needed a new prescription for his glasses, but was diagnosed by Toni with an aggressive brain tumor requiring immediate intervention, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. Weaver was the man for the job because even in a room full of patient people, his patience marked him as different. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Harold was convicted of first-degree murder, and in 2015 was sentenced to life in federal prison. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. The Defendant claimed to be a provider, when, in fact he offered and gave nothing. January 10th was one day short of her mothers birthday on January 11th. It was only a few days into the new year, 2013, and only a few weeks after the Douglas County Sheriffs Department received a curious letter. Technically Weaver wasnt even supposed to be a detective. But given the inconsistencies in Harolds story plus the inaccurate life insurance figure he shared, along with the fact that no one could explain exactly how the Jeep had fallen in the first place its existence pointed to an alternative explanation: Harold had kicked the car and killed his wife on purpose. He slammed the tailgate. The only witness to the accident was her husband. She was a volunteer with the West Douglas County Fire Department who arrived on scene shortly after Montoya left. They were out hiking when Toni lost her balance on a steep cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park on September 29th, 2012, bleeding out on the ground 130 feet below where she fell. The Defendant evidently perceived a strong and viable mother / daughter relationship as a threat to his authority in his warped world. The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. Although the police found a partial footprint on the Jeeps tires and Harolds statements about the tragedy kept changing, Lynns death was soon determined an accident. Toni sat next to her mother saying nothing. When Harold Henthorns second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn, appeared to lose her life after a tragic fall, authorities became suspicious of the two times widower. The Defendant feels no guilt, and, as is the case with most criminals, blames the victim, the victims family, the Good Samaritan and rescuers, the press, the investigative authorities, and the judicial system for his troubles. To Toni Bertolet Henthorns family, her friends, and the people for whom she cared, Tonis life was about the moments that took our breath away., Beyond even that, Sandras brother, Kevin Richell, went so far as to apologize to Tonis family for not seeing through the curious circumstances surrounding Sandras death. Now that Toni was home by herself in Mississippi, Yvonne could no longer hold her tongue. After meeting on a Christian dating website, the two got in touch and connected over their love for religion. Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Bertolet said he supported what the court-appointed administrators were doing since Toni Henthorn's family believes Harold Henthorn has likely spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his dead wife's money to pay his own defense lawyers. IE 11 is not supported. Phone calls and emails from CBS4 to Mackey were not returned. Bertolet said he and his family believe Harold Henthorn funneled the $500,000 to his brother anticipating that he would eventually be charged criminally for Toni Henthorn's death and might not have access to the money. (The detective would later testify to this in court.) He said he believed Henthorn's brother, who lives in Massachusetts, was served Monday in Denver federal court because "'obviously they knew he was there.". The Defendant referred to Haley as a trooper and that life moved on as if nothing ever happened with respect to the permanent absence of Haleys mother. Yet as soon as she moved to Colorado, Toni was no longer able to speak to her mother alone. One night, something happened at that cabin that left Toni recovering in a hospital bed. It just so happened that every time Bob or Yvonne called their daughter, Harold was the one to answer. He's 38 years old, a married, religious person and he's shoplifting underwear in JCPenney." Henthorn has sociopathic tendencies, without doubt, but what makes this so challenging is that a murderer is typically not a sociopath. This begs the question, why was he deceiving himself? Following the death of his first wife, Harold married a second time after meeting Dr. Toni Jill Bertolet Henthorn on a dating site. Not long after that he found what a lot of good detectives manage to find: a mantra. Now he needed an answer to a question that was gnawing at him. She told Toni she thought Harold wasnt working as much as he said he was, if at all. Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. "Believe it or not I forgive him (Henthorn) for doing it. In the process of his own investigation, Detective Weaver discovered that no officer had called the restaurant where Harold claimed, at least in one version of his story, he and Lynn had eaten before the accident. The Defendant severely limited and constrained the mother / daughter relationship of Toni and her mother and closely monitored all communication, not because they didnt get along, but merely because they were too close. Did you arrest the husband yet? shed asked. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The Defendant proclaimed to be a Christian man when in fact he was an immoral man. In 2012, Harold and Dr. Toni Henthorn celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary with a hiking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives. He was indicted on first-degree murder charges earlier this month in the second death and officials believe he is. Yet Toni remained silent. In 1994, Henthorn was arrested for shoplifting $47.49 worth of men's underwear from a JCPenney store. But in Detective Weavers mind, none of that mattered to the men investigating the case because every piece of information they gathered was viewed through the same distorting prism. Harold Henthorn was one calculating and manipulative murderer. The questions from Douglas County police to Harold were perfunctory. Then, when she found out that Lynn had died, she asked the follow-up question, the one record of her that still remained in the case file and made it clear how she felt about Harold. She was an eye surgeon. He rested the car on the same type of jacks Harold said hed used, in the same spot on the same side of the road where Lynn died. Harold and Toni Henthorn (credit CBS) A federal jury convicted Henthorn of pushing his second wife, Toni, off a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012. Prosecutors and police. He told them, We are beyond sorry for not seeing through it. Dateline reporter Andrea Canning talked with family members who still live in Mississippi and retraced the day of her death and the investigation by federal authorities. Prosecutors and authorities learned that before Tonis death, she had been subjected twice to injuries allegedly caused by a wooden beam. After a few years sharpening his golf game Weaver got bored and applied for a job in Douglas, the county just to the south. Was that a dream?". The Defendants so called estate planning banked on and invested heavily in the premature demise of his wife. It seemed to be a tragic accident. The story behind that tragedy was revealed last November in an episode of CBS' "48 Hours" and, apparently, more details are forthcoming with the "Dateline" broadcast this month. The sentence to be handed down by this court is the only result that the Defendant has actually earned in his adult life. Toni Henthorn fell to her death off a cliff while hiking with her husband, Harold. Every great doctor had seen loss, had seen suffering, had seen lifes struggles, but all had discovered a purpose in their own lives to rebound from the lows of tragedy. The Bertolets found it odd that long after shed ceased to be a baby, Harold kept a video monitor running in his daughters room. When that didnt work, he threw it a little harder. 48 Hours examines the case of Harold Henthorn whose wives died 17 years apart in supposedly freak accidents. Todd Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother said, "That was what was so odd. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Maybe even that she would leave Harold. Her greatest asset was her ability to feel what others were feeling. The Sheriffs Office grew with it, from a few dozen to some 500 employees. Harold Hentho These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. He needed things done his way something that was becoming more and more evident with each passing day. I disagree with the Defendants counsel when he proclaimed that the Defendant told lies to his detriment; the truth is the Defendant told lies for his direct benefit. Before becoming a detective hed spent decades moving his wife from base to base. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. And, though hes already serving a life sentence for killing his second wife, the total lack of charges stemming from the strange, mysterious death of his first continues to fuel general outrage and disbelief. He was a wealthy fundraiser for hospitals and churches. When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed. The Defendant has blamed the victim for her own death. Years removed from the original investigation, with Toni Henthorns suspicious fall raising new concerns, Detective Weaver was told to go where the truth led him. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to. It turned out that Harold sent texts to friends and family telling them his wife was injured well after he knew that she was dead. Jul 26, 2017 Slain Woman's Ashes Returned 4 Years After Murder. Haley is not fine without her mother. To one cop, Harold said he and Lynn left their house to go on the drive around 1 p.m. To another he said 7. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. Henthorn shook his head when the judge polled the jury, and after the verdict was read, one of the jurors hugged Toni Henthorn's mother, Yvonne Bertolet. Nice, right? Yvonne had spent more than a decade suppressing her motherly intuition about Harold so that her daughter would be spared the consequences. He was a good guy, a loving husband, a good father to their daughter, and extremely busy working as a fundraiser for churches, charities, and non-profit groups. : "http://www. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Bob Bertolet, Tonis father, and Todd Bertolet, her younger brother, read the following victim impact statements at Harolds sentencing. And the only reason Weaver was even looking at this thin excuse for a file was that now that same husband was a widower once more. The innocence of a child should not be violated by evil within and, more importantly, evil within a trusted family unit. In a horrible turn of events, Lynn crawled under the car to retrieve a lug nut when the vehicle came down on her crushing her fatally. Then came the incident at the cabin. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Nevertheless, even in this case, Harolds numerous statements widely differed from each other and were not believable. If you would like to donate, you can visit www.umc.edu/tonibertoletendowment. And that might have been the end of the storywere it not for an anonymous tip to authorities, encouraging them to look at the circumstances of Harolds first wifes death. It's a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. Reached this week, Rob Henthorn declined to discuss the half million dollars and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Mackey. The Dateline NBC episode 'Over the Edge' tells the story of Toni Henthorn who fell to her death while hiking with her husband Harold Henthorn in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012. So Yvonne continued with a final warning. Toni had a profound effect on people with her care, having been consistently described by her patients and their families as that of an Angel and a Godsend in the time of need. "statcounter.com/counter/counter.js'>"); We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Lynndecided to go on a long drive along a highway in Sedalia, Colorado. Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. He had her body cremated, scattered the ashes on Colorados Red Mountain, and collected the $4.7 million life insurance payout from the plan she had recently signed up for. What that something actually was, the Bertolets were slow to find out. Of Henthorns defense, Peter Christofolo said, It didnt meet the common-sense barometer., It was supposed to be the perfect weekend #Dateline pic.twitter.com/ccPUf1sDEy, Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) November 23, 2016, A few weeks later, in early December, a judge handed down the official sentence: life in prison. As an ophthalmologist, Tonis commitment was her recurring choice to make a positive difference in the lives of so many. The Defendant vilified and chastised each Good Samaritan and rescuer that attempted to come to the aid of his critically injured wives; aid which he never gave nor intended to give. Related To the young medical physician in need of an accomplished mentor to guide a promising medical career, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. It would have been, except that Toni plunged down a 50-foot cliff to her death. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. I know he killed her, he says. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Toni Bertolet Henthorns life was a masterpiece and role model to those who were fortunate to be a part of her life. I would not go anywhere alone with this man.. Harold Henthorn and Toni Henthorn tied the knot in 2000. They also would have discovered that the amount was so high because Harold had changed the policy. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 Testimony in the Henthorn trial showed Harold Henthorn never really had steady employment, had brought in no income while married to Toni Henthorn, and had been living off his ophthalmologist wife and her family's money for years. Something wasnt right, and Yvonne wanted to talk with Toni. Then, he asked Sandra to come help him. He had done a lot: Two tours in Vietnam, a return to the country to help evacuate Saigon and 20 years patrolling Air Force bases. First published on September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM. Three years later we are still heavy laden with the emotional shock of her death.Toni was a special child, a precious gift to us from God. Detective Weaver further discovered that the department was woefully undertrained: the man in charge of the investigation had been a detective for all of five months, had never been the lead on any homicide, and had never undergone any formal training before becoming a detective. Then he tried to get the car to fall. Harold had her body cremated, scattered the ashes on Colorados Red Mountain, and collected the $500,000 life insurance payout from the plan she had recently signed up for. She was in immense pain and had numbness in her fingers when she was taken by ambulance to the ER. The bad guy is the Defendant, and the evil that our children must now comprehend came from within the family in the form of a parent and an uncle. ". A true parent places a childs needs above their own selfish wants. After a careers worth of experience, Roberts told Detective Weaver that she could confidently say the accident scene that took Lynns life and the behavior of her husband were the most unusual she had ever come across. But there was something else. Over the course of those dozen years, Bob and Yvonne Bertolet watched their daughter change. The stories he told police werent at all consistent. And he maintains his innocence. The Defendant chose his own selfishness and greed over the needs of his family. Case closed. Harold Henthorn talked to many different members of Douglas County law enforcement on May 6th, 1995, the night his wife Lynn died after being crushed underneath their Jeep Cherokee. DENVER (CBS4) - CBS4 has learned that the brother of convicted killer Harold Henthorn -- Rob Henthorn -- has been ordered to appear in court next month to explain what happened to $500,000. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. According to the Denver Channel, Toni Henthorn's husband, Harold Henthorn, was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, but his supporters say that he didn't do it. The Bertolets hoped life might get better for Toni with the birth of Haley in 2005, but found, to their dismay, that things only got worse. It took Harold 45 minutes to get to her, and he claimed he performed CPR as best he could after dialing 911. The Accidental Husband: With Peter Van Sant, Brian Maass, Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn. Author Vissarion Belinsky appropriately noted, Nothing is more sacred and selfless like the love of a mother; every affection, everylove, every passion, is either weak or selfish in comparison with her. Harold Henthorn was the only witness to both bizarre deaths of his two wives. Harold said Toni got a text message from the babysitter, letting her know that her daughters soccer team had won. The Defendant is neither a good father nor a replacement for a loving mother. DENVER (CBS4) - CBS4 has learned that the brother of convicted killer Harold Henthorn -- Rob Henthorn -- has been ordered to appear in court next month to explain what happened to $500,000 sent to him in 2014 by his brother Harold Henthorn. She told Toni that Harold may have even been having an affair. She wanted her to say that she would listen to her mothers warning. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. How does she know that the person she chooses loves her for who she is and not for her wealth and lifestyle? "); The spring night was cold and Lynn was only wearing a t-shirt. Do not expect it from cheap people. The defendant is morally cheap and is bankrupt of all honesty.In the Defendants sociopathic world, no person, place, or thing had any power over him, as his thoughts and his mind were the only authority. The control Harold seemed to demand over Toni extended to their daughter as well. If Toni mentioned a stove wasnt working properly or noticed something else that needed fixing, the issue got deliberated for hours, until Toni was so exhausted by the argument that she gave up. She, like Dr. Henthorn, died in a rural and deserted area. Yvonne always considered Toni the best birthday present she ever received. Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. A federal jury on Monday convicted a man of murder for pushing his wife to her death off a cliff as they hiked in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate their wedding anniversary, rejecting his claim that her fall was a tragic accident. Lynn Henthorns death was a tragedy, not a crime. Similar to his first wifes death, Harold Henthorn began showing inconsistencies in his statements, but the police were cautious this time. Harold owned a little house in the mountains west of Denver and took Toni and Haley there often. To another he said they were on their way to the restaurant. We never imagined that murder would come into our lives like a thief in the night. The Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. The file contained a note from a woman named Patricia Montoya, who called the day after the accident with a question. She said she believed Harold was living off of his first wifes life insurance, a death that everyone in the Bertolet family understood to be the result of a tragic car accident. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. Then came Harold. Her husband's past is probed and deadly secrets are revealed. But was it an accident? As exhibited previously of the mother / daughter relationship between Toni and her mother, the Defendant saw no value in a mothers love; the Defendant only saw the financial value of the life of the mother.To a child, evil and villains are supposed to be easily identifiable. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. The Bertolets have always been a close-knit family, loving, helping and protecting one another. July 26, 2017 at 11:59 a.m. Moments after a federal court jury convicted Harold Henthorn Monday of killing his second wife Toni, a process server surprised Rob Henthorn with court papers compelling him to appear in court in Douglas County Oct. 30 to tell a probate judge what happened to the half million dollars Harold Henthorn transferred to him, or a business controlled by him, in early 2014 before Henthorn was arrested for his wife's murder. | Also, an extensive review found that Henthorn, who had a clean police record besides a couple of minor traffic citations, had been charged with shoplifting underwear! We feel guilt that we failed to act on our suspicions concerning Tonis welfare in her marriage. First he convinced her to move to Colorado. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. Full disclaimer: I have not evaluated Harold Henthorn, but if he is guilty of murder, then he would fall into the range of what I call a borderline sociopath.