Taking the aforementioned points into account, the police suspect foul play. Dateline airs Friday nights at 9 PM on NBC. Henthorn was indicted on Nov. 6 in the death of his second wife, who fell to her death while hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. Over the course of those dozen years, Bob and Yvonne Bertolet watched their daughter change. This begs the question, why was he deceiving himself? Toni sat next to her mother saying nothing. According to the show, Tonis family passed a statement claiming that their daughter was quite disturbed in the days leading up to her passing. Their only daughter was gone. Over a year before Lynns death, he had been arrested outside of a J.C. Penney for shoplifting $40 worth of underwear, odd behavior for a man who claimed to be so well off. All Rights reserved. When she died, her daughter was only 7 years old. But all was not as it seemed. Trending Toni was a medical doctor that had this unique perspective on life, and those moments affirmed her compassionate care and concern for others. Grief doesnt move on and doesnt end for those that are loved. She had a passion to console and give advice to those who were in need of direction and comfort. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. He tossed the flat in the back, as Harold had said hed done in one version of his story. The only question was whether Harold Henthorn would ever face any consequences. He pushed her.. Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. Toni Henthorn fell to her death off a cliff while hiking with her husband, Harold. Technically Weaver wasnt even supposed to be a detective. Then, he asked Sandra to come help him. var sc_invisible=0; Incidentally, the highway was quite deserted at that time of the year and did not witness much traffic. She called the Sheriffs office the next day to ask where she could pick up the coat. "Believe it or not I forgive him (Henthorn) for doing it. Reading through the file 18 years later, Detective Weaver realized something, which would later come out in court testimony from his superiors: that in almost every one of those conversations Harold made a statement that conflicted with something else hed already said. Technically he was retired. How does she know that grief and sadness will not fall upon her again at the hands of a person she trusted? What Toni meant was that Harold didnt like to be questioned. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. She had fallen 128 feet, and suffered numerous severe injuries. Rather, it defines an individual that doesnt meet the criteria for anti-social personality disorder, yet occasionally carries out anti-social acts. 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. To one cop, Harold said that he jacked up the fallen car and pulled Lynn out from underneath it in a desperate attempt to save her life. And he maintains his innocence. Harold was later sentenced to life in federal prison. (This was also brought up in court.) The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 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. He had no real mentor to help him, Weaver said recently, in his first public comments since his retirement in August. The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to have a child. Which he always did. The Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. Gary Clexton, a court-appointed special administrator representing Toni Henthorn's estate, declined to discuss the new court case involving Rob Henthorn and the half million dollars. Although Harold pleaded not guilty at his trial, the jury did not deliberate long before pronouncing him guilty. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. He had arrived with grand promises, including a claim that he was so rich that Toni would never have to work again. It had been a full day, and the sun had set. A partial footprint wasnt necessarily evidence of anything. Now that effort is laid to waste. Tonis alma mater, the University of Mississippi, has set up an endowment in her name that will raise money for ophthalmology education and surgical equipment. They spoke to a co-worker of Lynns who said the whole scenario seemed suspicious. | 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. Within less than a week, Douglas Countys coroner declared Lynn Henthorns death an accident. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Although Toni lived near her family in Mississippi and was a well-established opthalmologist, Harold persuaded her to leave her roots behind and move with him to Colorado. She was killed while trying to change a flat tire when the car she was underneath fell on top of her, thousands of pounds of metal pinning her to the ground. The couple seemed quite happy initially and even gave birth to their only child, Haley, in 2005. Nothing budged the car. Her mother, Yvonne Bertolet, says two years since her death, she still finds herself reaching for the phone to call her daughter. I know he killed her, he says. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. But every time she broached the subject of Harolds job, the couples lack of money or his need for control over every part of her life, Toni always had the same response: If you do that, Ill suffer the consequences. It was Yvonnes job as a surgical nurse and the fact that she kept medical textbooks lying open around the house while Toni was growing up that first inspired Toni to get her start in medicine. Prosecutors argued during a two-week trial that Henthorn carefully staged Toni Henthorn's death to look like an accident because he stood to benefit from her $4.7 million in life-insurance policies, which she didn't know existed. He would put them on speakerphone and then do the majority of the talking, while Tonis voice came in faint and distant, as if she were standing in another room. Their grandchild was now in the care of the man they believed to be her killer. 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. His attorney, Craig Truman, said prosecutors failed to prove he killed her. Following the death of his first wife, Harold married a second time after meeting Dr. Toni Jill Bertolet Henthorn on a dating site. Yet it was hard for the Bertolets not to notice that so much about Harold seemed not to make sense. Thus, Harold Henthorn is currently serving his life sentence at the Terre Haute United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Now those cops had a message for Douglas County: You need to go take a second look at something you thought you were done with. Unlucky in love, but a success just about everywhere else. var sc_project=9846729; Harold was usually cheery, often irrepressibly so. Then came more subtle attempts to choke off any contact Toni might have with those who loved her. 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. It would have been, except that Toni plunged down a 50-foot cliff to her death. Hey Mrs. B! Harold would say, using the pet name hed given Yvonne. His job, for instance. Children shouldnt have to sacrifice so that one can have the life one wants, one makes sacrifices so ones children can have the life that they deserve. From the time of Tonis death, the Defendant has made it abundantly clear that he just wanted to move on with his life. A year after he was sentenced to life in prison, it doesnt look like Harolds appeal has yet been carried out. I will never celebrate my birthday again. Yvonne and I will never again hear Toni say, Hi Momma, Hi Daddy, this is Sissy.We hear you, Sissy, in our hearts. Was that a dream?". Harold stopped to check and had the vehicle propped up on a jack. There was something else, too, buried inside the file. How else to explain all the strangeness? Harold planned every one of the little girls days and nights. He slammed the tailgate. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. Not long after that he found what a lot of good detectives manage to find: a mantra. In each case, the Defendant made arrangements to be a lucky recipient of significant benefits from those deathshis own version a post mortem lottery. They can keep it under control most of the time, but sometimes when the opportunity arises, they strike. Still, Harold persisted in his innocence, and in 2017 he filed an appeal for a retrial, which was subsequently denied. 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. That she would take it to heart. 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. The story went like this: Late one night, while Haley slept inside the cabin, Harold asked Toni to help him clean up some debris. Harold even called 911, and when first responders reached the scene, they noticed that Toni had fallen from a height of 140 feet to her death. scJsHost+ PostedNovember 18, 2014 "That was very meaningful," Bertolet said. Tyler Hadley's Killer Party Gacy was a popular Chicago contractor who entertained children in hospitals, yet also raped, tortured, and killed 33 young men. She told Toni that Harold may have even been having an affair. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Douglas County wasnt prepared to investigate Lynns death not only because theyd never seen one like it, but because they werent prepared anything of this magnitude. Henthorn had been living a lie for years. Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. Editors picks It seemed to be a tragic accident. "We don't have to worry anymore.". For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice James 3:16. I think there is a special place in hell for someone like [Harold].. It does not store any personal data. In 2014 federal magistrate judge Kathleen Tafoya said at a hearing, "The court views these transfers as an attempt to hide $500,000 in cash assets which could be used should the defendant decide to flee the country. Harold Henthorn was the only witness to both bizarre deaths of his two wives. But I would be very careful. The silence of the victim, Toni Bertolet Henthorn, in the court today represents her loudest cry for her daughter and the injustice at the hands of the Defendant.In closing, this trial was about the last moment in Tonis life and the moment that Toni took her last breath. He was 50 when his wife Toni passed away. My child now asks the appropriate question of how do I know. They were the first people to witness his incredibly odd behavior the evening his first wife died. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. Then, while she was standing below a raised porch with her back turned, Toni felt the weight of something heavy hit her on the neck and knock her to the ground. On looking back, authorities realized that they had failed to follow up on numerous leads regarding Lynns death, including the partial footprint found on the Jeeps tire. At first glance, it wasnt even apparent that it was a case. The Bertolets had accepted those quirks early on because thats what a good family does they worked hard at liking the person that made their daughter happy. 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. Buried inside the report, Detective Weaver found a reference to a footprint. Secondly, we wanted to provide a safe and loving environment for Haley, preferably with her mothers Mississippi family. The Defendants phony status and perception took priority over his family, and he chose family and friends based solely on his ability to deceive the same. There were other inconsistencies too. Months later, when they got the news that she was dead, and that she had died while alone with Harold, her father Bob said what most in the family were already thinking. Employee communication . Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Harold told her he was a wealthy businessman who fundraised for schools and Churches. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. First published on September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM. Hulus Wild Crime tells the story of Harold Henthorn and how he almost got away with murder. She Used the Bathroom And Became a Target of the Culture War, Here's How LaRussell and Intuit are Helping Independent Artists Understand How to Achieve Their Financial Ambitions, Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Wife and Son, Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son, Tennessee Enacts Nations First Law Restricting Drag Shows, The National Stay Up Late to Perform 'Tropic Morning News' on Fallon, David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78, Suki Waterhouse Won't Take Romance for Granted on New Single 'To Love', Travis Barker Says His Finger Ligament Surgery Was a 'Success' After Postponing Blink-182 Tour. Feds say Henthorn pushed his wife over a cliff at Rocky Mountain National Park. Sandra suffered numerous severe injuries, but hung on long enough for the paramedics to arrive. I feel for him and his family. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC. Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) November 23, 2016 A few weeks later, in early December, a judge handed down the official sentence: life in prison. Henthorn was able to keep his shoplifting arrest a secret from everyone who knew 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. To another he said it was merely spongy. As the little boy lay on the emergency room table, he pointed to his head and moaned hurt..hurt. "We are overjoyed with the verdict and relieved this won't happen to any other lady," said Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother. But for us, there will be, forever in this life, the pain and tears, maybe not seen by others, for our daughter, killed in a cruel, sadistic, senseless and cowardly act of violence.On September 29, 2012, the family as a whole decided on a course of action, not believing that the tragedy was an accident. She told Toni she thought Harold wasnt working as much as he said he was, if at all. Case closed. Toni worked long and hard in pursuing her goal of being an ophthalmologist. Yvonne had spent more than a decade suppressing her motherly intuition about Harold so that her daughter would be spared the consequences. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Grief means coping, emptiness, adjusting, loss, and sadness. That woman on the mountain, she said. 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. Every morning, she wakes up asking herself, "Did it really happen? It is often said that when a brilliant mind, talent, and heart come together as one, one should expect a Masterpiece. Her husband, Harold Henthorn, was convicted of first-degree murder in her death. 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. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. July 26, 2017 at 11:59 a.m. Now that Toni was home by herself in Mississippi, Yvonne could no longer hold her tongue. "Toni was either a blessing to the people that surrounded her or a lesson to those that she mentored. 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. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. My wife is Yvonne and our two sons are Barry and Todd. September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM To the little boy that was dying on the emergency room table that felt the healing hand of a wonderful physician, but was in need of a guiding hand to heaven from a person of tremendous faith, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable.On September 29, 2012, the Defendant murdered Toni Bertolet Henthorn. Harold couldnt account for how the SUV fell off not one, but the two jacks he said hed used to prop it up. Only then did it come crashing down. Harold Henthorn was one calculating and manipulative murderer. In 2012, Harold and Dr. Toni Henthorn celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary with a hiking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. In fact, the most endearing and only statement that has been uttered by the Defendant is that he lost his best friend, a less than committed affirmation of a supposedly loving relationship. : "http://www. A jury returned a guilty verdict Monday in its second day of deliberations. Related She was a volunteer with the West Douglas County Fire Department who arrived on scene shortly after Montoya left. And, ultimately, the investigation rattled Harold. 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. Selena Gomez vs. Hailey Bieber: Why Everyone Thinks They Need to Pick a Side. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. 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. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn var sc_security="9a0f0d6e"; Maybe it wasnt the most critical detail. We can forgive a child for being afraid of the dark, but we cannot forgive the darkness of selfish desolation that lies within the Defendants heart.The Defendant would have us erroneously believe that he is an unlucky man, a hard luck husband, and a person in which lightning has tragically struck twice. The audacity of Henthorns crimesand the fact that hes only been charged with one murder, though public opinion has deemed him overwhelmingly guilty of twocontinues to shock and amaze, even years after they first came to light. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. No physical evidence remained. What kind of mind thinks like that to kill based on an opportunity? Toni was a successful eye surgeon yet she wanted nothing more than to be in a loving marriage and have a family. She had insurance policies, and Henthorn collected $496,000 from her death. "); 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. The Defendant created his own reality and everyone in it. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. To another he said west. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. He was a wealthy fundraiser for hospitals and churches. Her brother, Todd Bertolet, after learning about the theft arrest, said, "I'm blown away. If she hadnt moved a millisecond before it hit her, she later told her mother, it may have landed right on her head, perhaps with enough force to kill. statements about the tragedy kept changing. The travel for work that didnt seem, to Yvonne at least, to be real? Reached this week, Rob Henthorn declined to discuss the half million dollars and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Mackey. The stories he told police werent at all consistent. That detail led to a much closer investigation of Tonis death. To one cop, Harold said he and Lynn ate dinner at a nearby restaurant just prior to the accident. The sentence to be handed down by this court is the only result that the Defendant has actually earned in his adult life. 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. All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold. The Defendant is neither a good father nor a replacement for a loving mother. Harold Henthorn with Sandra Lynn, his first wife. The Accidental Husband: With Peter Van Sant, Brian Maass, Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. The Sheriffs Office grew with it, from a few dozen to some 500 employees. A portrait artist once said that it is only when the details of eyes are revealed that the observer becomes committed to the face and person before them. The Defendants estate planning was grossly disproportionate as to his gained benefits from the death of his wife, yet showed little or no reciprocity had the circumstances been reversed and he met his untimely death.Grief is the human emotion that is exhibited by the loss of a loved oneit is the price of love. Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother addresses the media following the guilty verdict (credit: CBS), Harold and Toni Henthorn (courtesy to CBS), Watch the CBS4 special "Inside The Investigation: Harold Henthorn. Toni had fallen off a cliff? 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. 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. He insisted at both the verdict and the sentencing that he would appeal the decision. Investigators searched deeper and found that Henthorn's first wife, Sandra, died in 1995 when their Jeep Cherokee fell on her. A jury convicted him of murdering his second wife, Toni Bertolet, based on evidence that he murdered his first wife, Sandra 'Lynn' Henthorn. He pushed her, said Tonis father, Bob. The letter was from the Department of the Interior, which oversees every one of the countrys 417 national parks. We are hoping that you have no more nights, no more pain, no more tears with the Heavenly Father. Harold and Toni Henthorn Toni and Harold met online in 1999 and married just nine months later. Eventually, Harold is arrested and convicted of first-degree murder. In the document, he implied that. Detective Weaver discovered that there were multiple witnesses to the accidents aftermath who were never contacted. As Warren Buffet stated, Honesty is a very expensive gift. Her husband's past is probed and deadly secrets are revealed. Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. Something wasnt right, and Yvonne wanted to talk with Toni. Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. ", VIDEO:Watch the CBS4 special "Inside The Investigation: Harold Henthorn. A Colorado jury of eight women and four men deliberated for 12 hours over two days before deciding Monday afternoon that Harold Henthorn, 59, was guilty of murdering his wife three years ago. Montoya and her family had been driving home that night from a day of fishing and picnicking when Harold appeared in the glow of their cars headlights and waved them down. We want to hear it. Many notorious serial killers have been sociopaths, such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. "She contributed a lot to society, and to be wiped out for no good reason, it's more devastating." To another he said it wasnt him Lynn was actually rescued by a random group of helpful strangers. Shatterdaymorn Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Even though Harold had money, he refused to travel with Toni back to the South. He was able to hide the fact that he didn't work, even though he maintained for years that he did. A federal jury on Monday convicted a man of murder for pushing his wife off a cliff as they hiked in Colorado to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
