Harold owned a little house in the mountains west of Denver and took Toni and Haley there often. "); Toni's Family Addresses the Judge At Harold Henthorn's Sentencing Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. 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 Defendant demeaned the investigative authorities for uncovering his murder and sinister intentions. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. They can keep it under control most of the time, but sometimes when the opportunity arises, they strike. Harold was usually cheery, often irrepressibly so. On Thursday, prosecutors released photos and audio used in the murder trial of Harold Henthorn, 59 Henthorn was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his wife Toni,. Husband charged in wife's fatal fall off Colorado cliff marked spot of It would be years before they would find justice. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Sandra were driving home after a day of hiking. His job, for instance. 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. In Memory of Toni - University of Mississippi Foundation She told Toni she thought Harold wasnt working as much as he said he was, if at all. It would have been, except that Toni plunged down a 50-foot cliff to her death. 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. Friends and family thought they knew him, but did they, really? Grief is place where one never wishes to remain; yet it will be our unending passage due to the wrongful acts of the Defendant. "That was very meaningful," Bertolet said. Their grandchild was now in the care of the man they believed to be her killer. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn What that something actually was, the Bertolets were slow to find out. But the rescue team couldnt make it to their position in time, and Toni died. 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. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice James 3:16. 48 Hours examines the case of Harold Henthorn whose wives died 17 years apart in supposedly freak accidents. Its a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado; Henthorn was 59. Thus, Harold Henthorn is currently serving his life sentence at the Terre Haute United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. At first glance, it wasnt even apparent that it was a case. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Did you arrest the husband yet? shed asked. The Defendant proclaimed to be a Christian man when in fact he was an immoral man. 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. Yvonne had spent more than a decade suppressing her motherly intuition about Harold so that her daughter would be spared the consequences. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. Her mother, Yvonne Bertolet, says two years since her death, she still finds herself reaching for the phone to call her daughter. Initially quite respected and thought of as a regular citizen, people who knew Henthorn were shocked after his conviction as a murderer. The most recent Harold Henthorn case update comes courtesy of NBCs Dateline, which devoted an entire two-hour episode to the bizarre chain of events that led to Henthorns conviction on a murder charge. At the bottom it reads: In Loving Memory, January 10, 1962-September 29, 2012. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. 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. A jury convicted Henthorn of murder in 2015 after about 10 and a half hours of deliberation. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. Thus, considering all evidence and statements, the police decided they had enough to charge Harold Henthorn with Toni Henthorns murder. The questions from Douglas County police to Harold were perfunctory. On September 29, 2012, Harold and Toni Henthorn went for a hike at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son. 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. Dateline airs Friday nights at 9 PM on NBC. Bob and Yvonne voiced their concerns to Toni when they could, which meant the few times they traveled to Colorado to see her in person and got her alone. He told them, We are beyond sorry for not seeing through it. As fate would have it, the couples Jeep Cherokee suddenly had a problem with one of its tires in the middle of the road. Although Harold pleaded not guilty at his trial, the jury did not deliberate long before pronouncing him guilty. The Defendant created his own reality and everyone in it. 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. The Bertolets have always been a close-knit family, loving, helping and protecting one another. She told Toni that Harold may have even been having an affair. Harold Henthorn was the only witness to both bizarre deaths of his two wives. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. First he convinced her to move to Colorado. As Warren Buffet stated, Honesty is a very expensive gift. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. Unlucky in love, but a success just about everywhere else. The silence of the victim, Toni Bertolet Henthorn, in the court today is another word for the pain that she lived at the hands of the Defendant. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. She was a volunteer with the West Douglas County Fire Department who arrived on scene shortly after Montoya left. : "http://www. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. It went on like this for years, with occasional sunbreaks, moments when both Harold and Tonis moods improved and the union seemed salvageable. 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. 10-year-old Henthorn daughter now ward of uncle - The Denver Post 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. He was a wealthy fundraiser for hospitals and churches. How does she know that grief and sadness will not fall upon her again at the hands of a person she trusted? DENVER - A Colorado man accused of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff has been found guilty, CBS Denver reports. 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. Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary News Certificate TV-PG Parents guide Add content advisory var scJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. I am haunted by my wifes lament: When Toni died, I died. It seemed to be a tragic accident. 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. Can Humans Detect Text by AI Chatbot GPT? If you want to know more about this baffling case and where Harold Henthorn is today, we have you covered. To Detective Weaver, it was just one sign among many that the investigation was botched from the beginning. (When reached for comment, the Douglas County Sheriffs Department disputed this characterization, but said they could not elaborate. According to Henthorn, he said a tire felt "spongy," so he pulled off the road to change it. All Rights reserved. 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold. Shatterdaymorn Plot summary Add synopsis Genres The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to. "48 Hours" The Accidental Husband (TV Episode 2015) - IMDb Montoya wanted to cover his wife with something warm. 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. Incidentally, the highway was quite deserted at that time of the year and did not witness much traffic. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. Employee communication . Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. Henthorn had been living a lie for years. Prosecutors and police. Harold never said she wasnt allowed, of course. That wasnt really a concern for the Bertolets Tonis father, Bob, had grown wealthy by making smart bets on pieces of land that turned out to be full of oil. Harold Henthorn Convicted Wife Killer May 2022 Court Appeal - Westword Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. 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. Maybe even that she would leave Harold. But at the time of Lynns death, there were only five detectives covering an area half the size of Rhode Island. Harold Henthorn Convicted of Murdering His Wife By Pushing Her Off Cliff The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. ". Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. 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. 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. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. That woman on the mountain, she said. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. 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. Most people dont know that within that department there are teams of cops who work cases just like police in less scenic precincts. Dale Archer, M.D., is a clinical psychiatrist and the author of Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional. Henthorn was able to keep his shoplifting arrest a secret from everyone who knew him. DATELINE Harold Henthorn case update involves possible - Starcasm It had been a full day, and the sun had set. She wanted her to say that she would listen to her mothers warning. The Bertolets said goodbye to their only daughter a few days later. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. The show even traced the subsequent investigation, focusing on the authorities as they cast their net around the murderer. As always, Dateline NBC will use experts, law enforcement officials, and friends and family members to shape the story. Last pictures of Toni Henthorn killed by her husband Harold Henthorn on Technically he was retired. 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. By Kirk Mitchell. She was a beautiful hazel-eyed blonde Southern Belle who excelled in academics, sports, music and leadership. 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. The Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. Convicted Killer Ralph Candelario: Case of Missing 1st Wife Dena 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. 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. Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives He then let them take the lead when it came time to give her CPR. This is an adapted chapter from Caleb Hannans new Kindle Single The Accidents; read the full story here. The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to have a child. On September 29, 2012, the couple was hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park when Tonis brother received a chilling text. We want to hear it. His second wife Toni died in 2012 after a fall during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. There were other inconsistencies too. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. The Defendant blamed the press for exposing the truth and destroying his scam and lies to the community in which he lived under false pretense. On May 6 of that year, Henthorn and his first wife, Sandra Lynn, were driving through the dark. According to the show, Tonis family passed a statement claiming that their daughter was quite disturbed in the days leading up to her passing. She had insurance policies, and Henthorn collected $496,000 from her death. Storyline Colorado, 2001: Toni Bertolet Henthorn, a doctor and mother, falls from a cliff in the Rockies. Lynn Henthorns death was a tragedy, not a crime. He needed things done his way something that was becoming more and more evident with each passing day. The Defendants so called estate planning banked on and invested heavily in the premature demise of his wife. His second wife had $4.5 million in life insurance. 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. 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. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. 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. Taking the aforementioned points into account, the police suspect foul play. 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. When Detective Weaver called her nearly 20 years later and asked if she had any idea why he, an officer from Douglas County, might be calling out of the blue, Montoyas answer came quick and definitive. At one point, Sandra ended up underneath the car looking for a lug nut and the car crushed her when it fell off the jack. Where is Toni Henthorn's Daughter Haley Bertolet Now? - The Cinemaholic Selling the Bro Dream: Are Frat Boys Peddling Vemma Suckers? Here's everything to know about them. Henthorn was able to persuade police his first wife died as the result of a tragic accident. 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. That saying served him well working sex crimes for most of a decade. Read More: Where Is Harold and Toni Henthorns Daughter Now? 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. Their only daughter was gone. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 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. 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. 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. To another he said it was merely spongy. Her greatest asset was her ability to feel what others were feeling. What they wanted was to see Toni happy. IE 11 is not supported. Was that a dream?". Then came the incident at the cabin. The case now before Weaver was different, though. Her husband's past is probed and deadly secrets are revealed. 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. They even uncovered a startling fact: Harold was already a criminal. Harold Henthorn flanked by first wife Lynn and second wife Toni. Now that Toni was home by herself in Mississippi, Yvonne could no longer hold her tongue. 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. His wife supported him, he didnt work, and he could have continued to live that life forever. Toni Henthorn's brother, Todd Bertolet, told CBS4, "They're going to go after assets that should be in Toni's estate." He was a good guy, a loving husband, a good father to their daughter, and extremely busy working as a fundraiser for churches,. There was something else, too, buried inside the file. The Defendant only made withdrawals and made no deposits in the lives of his wives and their families. 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. She, like Dr. Henthorn, died in a rural and deserted area. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. (Photo credits: Harold Henthorn case update via Dateline, Tyler Cipriani) When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed. Harold and Toni Henthorn Toni and Harold met online in 1999 and married just nine months later. "https://secure." In fact, the Defendant has never been unlucky; only the Defendants wives have been unlucky with their untimely and obscure deaths. scJsHost+ Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. To some people he said the Jeep fell when he threw the flat tire into the open hatch in the back. The Sheriffs Office grew with it, from a few dozen to some 500 employees. Toni was a medical doctor that had this unique perspective on life, and those moments affirmed her compassionate care and concern for others. A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. 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. 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. Jul 26, 2017 Slain Woman's Ashes Returned 4 Years After Murder. Reviewed by Ekua Hagan. The Douglas County Coroner had ruled Lynns death as accidental. We ask: How could money be so important to a man, that he would kill the mother of his seven year old daughter? In the document, he implied that. The strange saga of Henthorn and his two ill-fated wives began back in the spring of 1995. When she died, her daughter was only 7 years old. document.write("