After a few years sharpening his golf game Weaver got bored and applied for a job in Douglas, the county just to the south. "We are overjoyed with the verdict and relieved this won't happen to any other lady," said Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother. Additionally, detectives also discovered that shortly before Lynns death, Harold had doubled her life insurance in case of death by accident and subsequently had collected a lumpsum amount. 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. The only question was whether Harold Henthorn would ever face any consequences. 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. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 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. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Harold claimed that one of the cars tires felt mushy, and pulled over to change it. Following the death of his first wife, Harold married a second time after meeting Dr. Toni Jill Bertolet Henthorn on a dating site. What Toni meant was that Harold didnt like to be questioned. 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. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Toni Henthorn's brother, Todd Bertolet, told CBS4, "They're going to go after assets that should be in Toni's estate." She told Detective Weaver that she had been at accident scenes where family members of victims were crying, screaming, and in some cases so emotional they punched her. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. The Denver Channel, 7News, brings you the latest trusted news and information for Denver, Colorado, Mile High and. 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. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. Toni was a successful eye surgeon yet she wanted nothing more than to be in a loving marriage and have a family. 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. When she died, her daughter was only 7 years old. She was an eye surgeon. There was something else, too, buried inside the file. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. 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. Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. Harold Henthorn was the only witness to both bizarre deaths of his two wives. Phone calls and emails from CBS4 to Mackey were not returned. ", VIDEO:Watch the CBS4 special "Inside The Investigation: Harold Henthorn. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4. Bob and Yvonne watched as Harold slowly took control of Tonis life. 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. They spoke to a co-worker of Lynns who said the whole scenario seemed suspicious. It had been a full day, and the sun had set. 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. 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. "We don't have to worry anymore.". Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. Hey Mrs. B! Harold would say, using the pet name hed given Yvonne. It is often said that when a brilliant mind, talent, and heart come together as one, one should expect a Masterpiece. Nice, right? A 59-year-old Colorado man was found guilty Monday of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park in order to collect millions in life insurance money. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. 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. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time What that something actually was, the Bertolets were slow to find out. Then harder still. A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. As always, Dateline NBC will use experts, law enforcement officials, and friends and family members to shape the story. Here's everything to know about them. 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. How does she know that the person she chooses loves her for who she is and not for her wealth and lifestyle? However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. Harold stopped to check and had the vehicle propped up on a jack. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The Defendants jealousy and selfish ambition prevented any of his energies from being expended in considering the good of others, and, as such, his actions were accordingly contemptible.The Defendant mistakenly believes that he is a father and parent just because he has a child. The Defendant preyed on women of faith in a Christian environment because, as with Toni, Christian women move forward in life with goodness in their heart as opposed to vigilance in their eyes. The couple seemed quite happy initially and even gave birth to their only child, Haley, in 2005. After Tonis death, the Defendant routinely proclaimed that Haley Henthorn was doing just fine without her mother. 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. In fact, the Defendant has never been unlucky; only the Defendants wives have been unlucky with their untimely and obscure deaths. ", After the jury was dismissed, applause erupted in the courtroom. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. "); Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. Even though Harold had money, he refused to travel with Toni back to the South. "https://secure." Douglas County had changed tremendously in the intervening years. She was 10 when her mother, Toni was pushed off the cliff. Instead, it appears he risked it all for some insurance compensation. 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. "Toni was either a blessing to the people that surrounded her or a lesson to those that she mentored. Trending 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. And that was the end of the story, except for one detail: according to investigator Robert McMahan, On the front passenger fender of the vehicle, right behind the wheel well of the missing wheel, was an apparent partial foot print type mark. Meaning it looked like someone had tried to kick the car off its jack. Afterwards she would discover what it was that had hurt her so badly: a large piece of lumber that Harold said fell off the porch. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Sandra were driving home after a day of hiking. The travel for work that didnt seem, to Yvonne at least, to be real? For both wives of Harold Henthorn, the locations where they died were deserted and Henthorn was the only other person present. However, his first wife, Lynn . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. How else to explain all the strangeness? For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. 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. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. Todd Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother said, "That was what was so odd. The stories he told police werent at all consistent. After all, his first wife had also died under unusual circumstances, although her death was immediately ruled an accident. Harold Henthorn was one calculating and manipulative murderer. He was 50 when his wife Toni passed away. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. How does she know that a trusted person is not lying to her? There were other inconsistencies too. | He was a good guy, a loving husband, a good father to their daughter, and extremely busy working as a fundraiser for churches,. The Defendant even proclaimed to a group of school mothers that Tonis daughter would be fine, because the real relationship was actually between Haley and him. He told them, We are beyond sorry for not seeing through it. 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. 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. Grief doesnt move on and doesnt end for those that are loved. 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. On May 6 of that year, Henthorn and his first wife, Sandra Lynn, were driving through the dark. Early in her medical career, Toni received a call to give emergency care to a 4 or 5 year old little boy that had been critically injured in a car accident. 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. Henthorn was able to keep his shoplifting arrest a secret from everyone who knew him. As was the case with the crime scene photos, we can close our eyes to things that we dont want to see, but we cant close our hearts to the hurt that we dont want to feel.Tonis life was ruined by the lies and deceitfulness of the Defendant, but, in the end, the Defendant was exposed and convicted by the truth. statements about the tragedy kept changing. 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. Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. At trial, the coroner testified that Tonis lipstick hadnt been mussed, meaning Harold hadnt actually performed CPR. Harold Henthorn, accused of pushing his second wife to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park, is being eyed in the 1995 death of his first wife. That saying served him well working sex crimes for most of a decade. Storyline Colorado, 2001: Toni Bertolet Henthorn, a doctor and mother, falls from a cliff in the Rockies. Still, Harold persisted in his innocence, and in 2017 he filed an appeal for a retrial, which was subsequently denied. Friends and family were delighted for the pair, who seemed to be the perfect match. 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. She called the Sheriffs office the next day to ask where she could pick up the coat. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. Then, he asked Sandra to come help him. It took the jury about 10 hours to find Harold Henthorn, 59, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his second wife, a wealthy Mississippi native. 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. Initially quite respected and thought of as a regular citizen, people who knew Henthorn were shocked after his conviction as a murderer. They couldnt talk about Harold on the phone, since every call with her was also a call with him. They had lunch together, and headed down a nearby ridge to take pictures, passing the camera back and forth all the while. The case now before Weaver was different, though. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. And despite her having all the trappings of happiness a big house, a healthy child, a yearly Christmas card detailing everything thatd gone right for them that never seemed to happen. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. He tossed the flat in the back, as Harold had said hed done in one version of his story. Did you arrest the husband yet? shed asked. Although Harold pleaded not guilty at his trial, the jury did not deliberate long before pronouncing him guilty. Harold told her he was a wealthy businessman who fundraised for schools and Churches. In 2000, Harold Henthorn married eye doctor Toni Bertolet after they met on a Christian dating website. scJsHost+ Now he needed an answer to a question that was gnawing at him. She had a passion to console and give advice to those who were in need of direction and comfort. He probably could have continued to live that lie, but if he did this, then greed got the best of him. She told Toni she thought Harold wasnt working as much as he said he was, if at all. But, as the lead investigator would later testify to in court, theyd never checked the print against the shoes to see if they were a match. Harold Henthorn flanked by first wife Lynn and second wife Toni. Was that a dream?". On September 29, 2012, Harold and Toni Henthorn went for a hike at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Finally, Detective Weaver took his foot and, in the same place where the original partial print was found, kicked the Jeep. Suffer the consequences meant having to listen to Harold talk until he got what he wanted. You do with this what you want to. The only witness to the accident was her husband. 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. Yet every time Toni managed to sneak a look at the couples finances, she found that their bank accounts werent nearly as flush as he made them out to be. Shatterdaymorn Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Within less than a week, Douglas Countys coroner declared Lynn Henthorns death an accident. September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM 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. 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. Toni always carried the pain of a loss, but she also knew what those tragic moments taught her as a person. 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. Haley is not fine without her mother. var sc_security="9a0f0d6e"; Tonis family, though, did not have a high opinion of Harold and suspected foul play after her death. We grieve that we were not by her side in her dying moments. The basic facts of the case are these. This despite the fact that the Bertolets had been extra generous to Harold and Toni, gifting them some half-million dollars for a down payment on their house in Colorado, for cars and new appliances and for anything else the couple needed in the 10 years since theyd married. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son. Henthorn told investigators that his wife paused to take a photo of the view and fell face-first over the ledge. This is an adapted chapter from Caleb Hannans new Kindle Single The Accidents; read the full story here. Over the course of those dozen years, Bob and Yvonne Bertolet watched their daughter change. (Photo credits: Harold Henthorn case update via Dateline, Tyler Cipriani) Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. Yet as soon as she moved to Colorado, Toni was no longer able to speak to her mother alone. Where Is Harold and Toni Henthorns Daughter Now. 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. Montoya wanted to cover his wife with something warm. 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. 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. Even though he said he could work from anywhere, he didnt see a future in Mississippi, where Tonis family, friends and nearly everyone else who was dear to her already lived. January 10th was one day short of her mothers birthday on January 11th. Dale Archer, M.D., is a clinical psychiatrist and the author of Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional. July 26, 2017 at 11:59 a.m. 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. A former rural ranching community turned, nearly overnight, into one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. She was deeply religious-teaching Sunday school, singing in both college and church choirs. By the time Detective Weaver called Roberts, she had been promoted all the way up to chief of the department, and had witnessed more deaths than she cared to count. The show even traced the subsequent investigation, focusing on the authorities as they cast their net around the murderer. They also would have discovered that the amount was so high because Harold had changed the policy. The Douglas County Sheriffs employees registered Harolds conflicting statements and made note of the strange fact that the spare tire he said he was going to use was barely more inflated than the one he was removing. 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. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. 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. In each case, the Defendant made arrangements to be a lucky recipient of significant benefits from those deathshis own version a post mortem lottery. 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. 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. To one cop, Harold said he and Lynn ate dinner at a nearby restaurant just prior to the accident. 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. Harold Henthorn, convicted of killing his second wife by shoving her off a cliff, will not get a new trial according to a ruling. The Defendant proclaimed to be a Christian man when in fact he was an immoral man. Reviewed by Ekua Hagan. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed. But the rescue team couldnt make it to their position in time, and Toni died. It seemed to be a tragic accident. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. 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! Harold Henthorn and Toni Henthorn tied the knot in 2000. To one cop, Harold said the tire they pulled over to change was completely flat. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. Her husband calls 911 but she dies and, at first, it seems like an accident. A jury returned a guilty verdict Monday in its second day of deliberations. When the friends and family of Toni Henthorn heard how she died, only one was able to put into words what so many others were thinking. They even uncovered a startling fact: Harold was already a criminal. How does she know that grief and sadness will not fall upon her again at the hands of a person she trusted? The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. He was constantly talking, often bragging, and always had to be the center of attention. In the text, Harold claimed that Toni had fallen off a cliff and was critically injured. 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. We are hoping that you have no more nights, no more pain, no more tears with the Heavenly Father. To the young person contemplating committing suicide in need of compassion and skillful guidance, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. Storyline Edit 48 Hours re-examines and updates the case of Harold Henthorn whose wives Lynn and Toni died 17 years apart in what were supposedly freak accidents. No. 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. A year after he was sentenced to life in prison, it doesnt look like Harolds appeal has yet been carried out. His job, for instance. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. She was a beautiful hazel-eyed blonde Southern Belle who excelled in academics, sports, music and leadership. The Defendant never showed grief as to the loss of Toni, and has yet to tell anyone in this family that he actually loved her. I would not go anywhere alone with this man.. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Defendant claimed to be a provider, when, in fact he offered and gave nothing. CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". He took away one jack and ran through the whole scenario again. 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. Grief means coping, emptiness, adjusting, loss, and sadness. In December, Toni Bertolet's husband, Harold Henthorn, received a mandatory life sentence for her death. Stranger still was Harolds behavior on phone calls. 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.