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. He was 50 when his wife Toni passed away. Henthorn told authorities his wife was busy taking photographs and must have slipped, although he didn't see exactly what happened because he was using his phone at the time. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Lynndecided to go on a long drive along a highway in Sedalia, Colorado. Little did Harold Henthorns friends and neighbors know of the terrible secret he had been hiding for most of his married life. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. By Kirk Mitchell. 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. She had fallen 128 feet, and suffered numerous severe injuries. We grieve that we were not by her side in her dying moments. Where Is Harold and Toni Henthorns Daughter Now. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. And, strangest of all from Montoyas perspective, Harold refused to hand over the coat he was wearing. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The Defendant proclaimed to be a Christian man when in fact he was an immoral man. Similar to his first wifes death, Harold Henthorn began showing inconsistencies in his statements, but the police were cautious this time. 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. 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. "statcounter.com/counter/counter.js'>"+"script>"); We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 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. 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. Harold told her he was a wealthy businessman who fundraised for schools and Churches. 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. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. 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. Every morning, she wakes up asking herself, "Did it really happen? It appeared instead to be a terrible accident. The Defendants entire adult life was a lie and scam to live his life and lifestyle while others paid the price. Even after shed fallen asleep, Harold found a way to keep his eye on his only child. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Jul 26, 2017 Slain Woman's Ashes Returned 4 Years After Murder. Yet it was hard for the Bertolets not to notice that so much about Harold seemed not to make sense. 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. Earnings for Henthorn were in 1993, 1999, and 2000, but nothing after that. 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. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. If he is ultimately convicted of murder, he will face a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives. In December, Toni Bertolet's husband, Harold Henthorn, received a mandatory life sentence for her death. When that didnt work, he threw it a little harder. I dont think that was an accident at all, she said, sitting on a bed next to Toni. Family, friends and co-workers were convinced Harold Henthorn was responsible for his wife's death. But the rescue team couldnt make it to their position in time, and Toni died. It would be years before they would find justice. I would not go anywhere alone with this man.. Dateline airs Friday nights at 9 PM on NBC. It went on like this for years, with occasional sunbreaks, moments when both Harold and Tonis moods improved and the union seemed salvageable. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Special administrators representing Toni Henthorn's estate are trying to recover the money so it eventually benefits Haley Henthorn, Toni Henthorn's daughter, not Harold Henthorn or his brother. To one cop, Harold said the tire they pulled over to change was completely flat. He pushed her.. Technically Weaver wasnt even supposed to be a detective. Grief doesnt move on and doesnt end for those that are loved. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. A former rural ranching community turned, nearly overnight, into one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. 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. 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. He had seen a lot. Henthorn had been living a lie for years. As an ophthalmologist, Tonis commitment was her recurring choice to make a positive difference in the lives of so many. Suffer the consequences meant having to listen to Harold talk until he got what he wanted. Henthorn had been in prison since his arrest for Tonis murder in November of 2014 Since then, hes been transferred twice: in March, he went from Colorado to a Federal holding pen in Oklahoma City; then, to the high-security United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Henthorn has sociopathic tendencies, without doubt, but what makes this so challenging is that a murderer is typically not a sociopath. 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. 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. Toni worked long and hard in pursuing her goal of being an ophthalmologist. 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. Oh it was nothing, Mrs. B! Harold had insisted on one of their phone calls afterwards. 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. September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM 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. All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold. She was in immense pain and had numbness in her fingers when she was taken by ambulance to the ER. Many notorious serial killers have been sociopaths, such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. Haley Henthorn is the daughter of Harold Henthorn. 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 basic facts of the case are these. Although Harold pleaded not guilty at his trial, the jury did not deliberate long before pronouncing him guilty. Dateline Toni Henthorn, Harold Henrhorn's 37-year-old wife, was killed in October 2015. Lynns death and Harolds behavior, Montoya told him, were still the creepiest thing Ive ever seen.. 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. "We are overjoyed with the verdict and relieved this won't happen to any other lady," said Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother. Initially quite respected and thought of as a regular citizen, people who knew Henthorn were shocked after his conviction as a murderer. The Douglas County Coroner had ruled Lynns death as accidental. Not only for the death of the wife hed just lost, but for the one whod died so many years before. He was careful and methodical and knew how to navigate the choppy waters of bureaucracy even when it came to the toughest cases. When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Toni Bertolet Henthorns life was a masterpiece and role model to those who were fortunate to be a part of her life. Tonis brother Barry Bertolet spoke at the sentencing. It would take a lot less time to find out that for Harold, their son-in-law, his tragic present looked very much like his past. The Defendant only made withdrawals and made no deposits in the lives of his wives and their families. 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. Shatterdaymorn Plot summary Add synopsis Genres The Danger of Manipulative Love-Bombing in a Relationship, 7 Ticking Time Bombs That Destroy Loving Relationships, An Addiction Myth That Needs to Be Revisited, 5 Spiritual Practices That Increase Well-Being. Had they checked, they would have found that Harold actually received twice that much. Then came the incident at the cabin. The innocence of a child should not be violated by evil within and, more importantly, evil within a trusted family unit. We never imagined that murder would come into our lives like a thief in the night. 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 Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. How does she know that grief and sadness will not fall upon her again at the hands of a person she trusted? 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. Douglas County had changed tremendously in the intervening years. Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. Then he tried to get the car to fall. Her dreams seemed to come true when she met Harold. Toni was either a blessing to the people that surrounded her or a lesson to those that she mentored.Toni used her extraordinary abilities to become an accomplished medical physician in the specialty of ophthalmology. 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. They spoke to a co-worker of Lynns who said the whole scenario seemed suspicious. My name is Bob Bertolet, father of the victim, Toni Bertolet Henthorn. Tyler Hadley's Killer Party Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. Harold Henthorn was a grieving widower. When she died, her daughter was only 7 years old. The letter was from the Department of the Interior, which oversees every one of the countrys 417 national parks. 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. var sc_invisible=0; 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. The Bertolets said goodbye to their only daughter a few days later. Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary News Certificate TV-PG Parents guide Add content advisory Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. One night, something happened at that cabin that left Toni recovering in a hospital bed. A partial footprint wasnt necessarily evidence of anything. Toni Henthorn's brother, Todd Bertolet, told CBS4, "They're going to go after assets that should be in Toni's estate." 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. We take solace that prayers are being answeredIn closing, I thank the Court for allowing me to present this Victim Impact Statement. 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. 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. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. Stranger still was Harolds behavior on phone calls. Related: Man Accused in Wife's Deadly Fall Also Killed First Wife: Prosecutor, They seized on Henthorn's inconsistent accounts of the fatal fall and said the evidence did not match his shifting stories. 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. July 26, 2017 at 11:59 a.m. Investigators searched deeper and found that Henthorn's first wife, Sandra, died in 1995 when their Jeep Cherokee fell on her. 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. The Defendant deserves the sentence of this Court as he has worked his entire adult life earning the same. 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 Defendant has blamed the victim for her own death. Perhaps the most difficult part to understand is that Henthorn had it made. She called the Sheriffs office the next day to ask where she could pick up the coat. Her mother, Yvonne Bertolet, says two years since her death, she still finds herself reaching for the phone to call her daughter. Haley is not fine without her mother. var sc_project=9846729; 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. Initially, the couple appeared ecstatic in their new life and were happy with each other. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. He pushed her, said Tonis father, Bob. Nothing budged the car. Harold was usually cheery, often irrepressibly so. Can Humans Detect Text by AI Chatbot GPT? I know he killed her, he says. 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. Incidentally, the highway was quite deserted at that time of the year and did not witness much traffic. 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 cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". First published on September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM. He took away one jack and ran through the whole scenario again. 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.Todd Bertolet. He was indicted on first-degree murder charges earlier this month in the second death and officials believe he is. Do it carefully, not quickly, was Weavers. At that time, her death was quickly deemed an accident. 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. He needed things done his way something that was becoming more and more evident with each passing day. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. The Defendant created his own reality and everyone in it. After Tonis death, the Defendant routinely proclaimed that Haley Henthorn was doing just fine without her mother. 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. 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. Did you arrest the husband yet? shed asked. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. We are hoping that you have no more nights, no more pain, no more tears with the Heavenly Father. He's 38 years old, a married, religious person and he's shoplifting underwear in JCPenney." Within less than a week, Douglas Countys coroner declared Lynn Henthorns death an accident. 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.). On May 6, 1995, Harold and Sandra were driving home after a day of hiking. Harold stopped to check and had the vehicle propped up on a jack. It just so happened that every time Bob or Yvonne called their daughter, Harold was the one to answer. (Photo credits: Harold Henthorn case update via Dateline, Tyler Cipriani) At trial, the coroner testified that Tonis lipstick hadnt been mussed, meaning Harold hadnt actually performed CPR. 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. Harold never said she wasnt allowed, of course. Only then did it come crashing down. Yet Toni remained silent. Toni Henthorn fell to her death off a cliff while hiking with her husband, Harold. 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. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 After years of trying, the two managed to have a daughter, Haley. The file contained a note from a woman named Patricia Montoya, who called the day after the accident with a question. The spring night was cold and Lynn was only wearing a t-shirt. Prosecutors and authorities learned that before Tonis death, she had been subjected twice to injuries allegedly caused by a wooden beam. ", After the jury was dismissed, applause erupted in the courtroom. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice James 3:16. 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. They can keep it under control most of the time, but sometimes when the opportunity arises, they strike. The Defendant claimed to be financially wealthy, when, in fact he had no fortune at all. Toni had fallen off a cliff? The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4. 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. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Then came Harold. No physical evidence remained. What Toni meant was that Harold didnt like to be questioned. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. My child now asks the appropriate question of how do I know. Secondly, we wanted to provide a safe and loving environment for Haley, preferably with her mothers Mississippi family. After all, his first wife had also died under unusual circumstances, although her death was immediately ruled an accident. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. A jury returned a guilty verdict Monday in its second day of deliberations. Related How else to explain all the strangeness? The wrongful death was affirmed by an attentive, intelligent, meticulous, and methodical jury that considered the facts and evidence in this case and reached the verdict of guilty of 1st degree murder.