But all was not as it seemed. He insisted to anyone who would listen that he was an in-demand fundraiser who had a large staff and made millions a year. var sc_project=9846729; First he convinced her to move to Colorado. He tossed the flat in the back, as Harold had said hed done in one version of his story. 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. Her mother, Yvonne Bertolet, says two years since her death, she still finds herself reaching for the phone to call her daughter. "Toni was either a blessing to the people that surrounded her or a lesson to those that she mentored. 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. The sentencing today is the final act in completing our first goal and has opened the door to achieving the second goal. That detail led to a much closer investigation of Tonis death. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The Defendant claimed to be financially wealthy, when, in fact he had no fortune at all. A jury convicted him of murdering his second wife, Toni Bertolet, based on evidence that he murdered his first wife, Sandra 'Lynn' Henthorn. Their only daughter was gone. 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. 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. 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. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. They also would have discovered that the amount was so high because Harold had changed the policy. Harold Henthorn pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Even though Harold had money, he refused to travel with Toni back to the South. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. 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. His second wife had $4.5 million in life insurance. For both wives of Harold Henthorn, the locations where they died were deserted and Henthorn was the only other person present. Now that Toni was home by herself in Mississippi, Yvonne could no longer hold her tongue. We never imagined that murder would come into our lives like a thief in the night. To another he said it wasnt him Lynn was actually rescued by a random group of helpful strangers. 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. Tonis family, though, did not have a high opinion of Harold and suspected foul play after her death. 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 Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. 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. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. Then, he asked Sandra to come help him. 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. If Henthorn is found guilty, I would not think either killing was premeditated but rather an opportunity arose and impulsively he used it to his advantage. She called the Sheriffs office the next day to ask where she could pick up the coat. 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. He was constantly talking, often bragging, and always had to be the center of attention. Eventually, Harold is arrested and convicted of first-degree murder. His bosses told him to work the case the same way he worked every other case, which meant to go where the truth led, no matter where it led. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. Its a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado; Henthorn was 59. 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. Harold was later sentenced to life in federal prison. Of all the titles that the Defendant has bestowed upon himself without merit, the title of Murderer, bequeathed by the jury, is the only title that the Defendant has earned. 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. Storyline Colorado, 2001: Toni Bertolet Henthorn, a doctor and mother, falls from a cliff in the Rockies. In 2019, he filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to investigate the matter, which was again denied. We feel some of the information in the article is misrepresented or incorrect, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock toldRolling Stone in a statement, but we still have an ongoing criminal investigation and are not at liberty to discuss the case any further.). 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.". 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. It is often said that when a brilliant mind, talent, and heart come together as one, one should expect a Masterpiece. Following the death of his first wife, Harold married a second time after meeting Dr. Toni Jill Bertolet Henthorn on a dating site. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Detective Weaver heard something similar from Rebecca Roberts. 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. Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Her husband, Harold Henthorn, was convicted of first-degree murder in her death. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Sandra were driving home after a day of hiking. We ask: How could money be so important to a man, that he would kill the mother of his seven year old daughter? He took away one jack and ran through the whole scenario again. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 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. 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. 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 claimed that one of the cars tires felt mushy, and pulled over to change it. He was able to hide the fact that he didn't work, even though he maintained for years that he did. 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. Nevertheless, even in this case, Harolds numerous statements widely differed from each other and were not believable. The strange saga of Henthorn and his two ill-fated wives began back in the spring of 1995. Toni. 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. I think there is a special place in hell for someone like [Harold].. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Henthorn told investigators that his wife paused to take a photo of the view and fell face-first over the ledge. To others he said the flat tire actually bounced out; it was the spare, which he said he loosened, that fell and provided the impact necessary to jolt the Jeep off its moorings and crush his wife. She was in immense pain and had numbness in her fingers when she was taken by ambulance to the ER. He refused to allow Toni to help put Haley to bed at night, insisting that the hour or so before Haley fell asleep was his daddy-daughter time. But the rescue team couldnt make it to their position in time, and Toni died. The Defendant only made withdrawals and made no deposits in the lives of his wives and their families. It would have been, except that Toni plunged down a 50-foot cliff to her death. As always, Dateline NBC will use experts, law enforcement officials, and friends and family members to shape the story. This trial was about the last moment in Tonis life and the moment that Toni took her last breath, he saidand he was actually speaking for two Bertolets; his brother, Todd, wrote the statement. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. According to the show, Tonis family passed a statement claiming that their daughter was quite disturbed in the days leading up to her passing. The only question was whether Harold Henthorn would ever face any consequences. The travel for work that didnt seem, to Yvonne at least, to be real? Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. His second wife Toni died in 2012 after a fall during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. At one time she had been assertive and confident a former high school athlete with a deep commitment to God and an unwavering belief that she was put on Earth to help people heal. Dale Archer, M.D., is a clinical psychiatrist and the author of Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional. Bob Bertolet, Tonis father, and Todd Bertolet, her younger brother, read the following victim impact statements at Harolds sentencing. She had fallen 128 feet, and suffered numerous severe injuries. He was 50 when his wife Toni passed away. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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 Defendant has blamed the victim for her own death. Henthorn had been living a lie for years. 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. When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed.
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