On May 6 of that year, Henthorn and his first wife, Sandra Lynn, were driving through the dark. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. Solutions . Toni worked long and hard in pursuing her goal of being an ophthalmologist. The lies? My child now asks the appropriate question of how do I know. Grief is place where one never wishes to remain; yet it will be our unending passage due to the wrongful acts of the Defendant. Storyline Colorado, 2001: Toni Bertolet Henthorn, a doctor and mother, falls from a cliff in the Rockies. Yvonne always considered Toni the best birthday present she ever received. The U.S. Attorney's crime auditor testified last week that Henthorn had no employment and no steady source of income. Secondly, we wanted to provide a safe and loving environment for Haley, preferably with her mothers Mississippi family. 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. "statcounter.com/counter/counter.js'>"); We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. The control Harold seemed to demand over Toni extended to their daughter as well. July 26, 2017 at 11:59 a.m. But I would be very careful. In 2000, Harold Henthorn married eye doctor Toni Bertolet after they met on a Christian dating website. 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. The travel for work that didnt seem, to Yvonne at least, to be real? / CBS Colorado. Psychology Today 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC. 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. Harold stopped to check and had the vehicle propped up on a jack. To the young medical physician in need of an accomplished mentor to guide a promising medical career, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. Harold was later sentenced to life in federal prison. The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to have a child. 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. Yvonne wanted Toni to say something, anything. After Tonis death, the Defendant routinely proclaimed that Haley Henthorn was doing just fine without her mother. "Certainly those weren't my sister's wishes," said Bertolet of Harold Henthorn spending his wife's money to fight charges that he killed her. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 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 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. Toni Henthorn's brother, Todd Bertolet, told CBS4, "They're going to go after assets that should be in Toni's estate." On May 6, 1995, Harold and Lynndecided to go on a long drive along a highway in Sedalia, Colorado. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 The Defendant now denounces and rejects a judicial system that convicted him of his crime beyond a reasonable doubt.The public needs to be able to forget Harold Henthorn, because he does not belong in anyones future. Andaccording to Haroldhe was putting the old tire in the trunk, with Sandra underneath the car, when the car slipped off its jack and crushed her. CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. I dont think that was an accident at all, she said, sitting on a bed next to Toni. At least that's what he told family, friends, and everyone else. Harold Henthorn with Sandra Lynn, his first wife. 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. 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. 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. He pushed her.. Three years later we are still heavy laden with the emotional shock of her death.Toni was a special child, a precious gift to us from God. 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.". Here's everything to know about them. Old Medication, New Use: Can Prazosin Curb Drinking? We grieve that we were not by her side in her dying moments. Buried inside the report, Detective Weaver found a reference to a footprint. (This was also brought up in court.) Haley Henthorn is the daughter of Harold Henthorn. Harold Henthorn, convicted of killing his second wife by shoving her off a cliff, will not get a new trial according to a ruling. Nevertheless, even in this case, Harolds numerous statements widely differed from each other and were not believable. 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. She had insurance policies, and Henthorn collected $496,000 from her death. "We are overjoyed with the verdict and relieved this won't happen to any other lady," said Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother. Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. 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. Related January 10th was one day short of her mothers birthday on January 11th. By Kirk Mitchell. 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. Detective Weaver discovered that there were multiple witnesses to the accidents aftermath who were never contacted. Did you arrest the husband yet? shed asked. 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 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. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. 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. Selling the Bro Dream: Are Frat Boys Peddling Vemma Suckers? Now that effort is laid to waste. Even after shed fallen asleep, Harold found a way to keep his eye on his only child. Dale Archer, M.D., is a clinical psychiatrist and the author of Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional. Technically he was retired. 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. scJsHost+ The spring night was cold and Lynn was only wearing a t-shirt. 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 sentence to be handed down by this court is the only result that the Defendant has actually earned in his adult life. 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. DENVER - A Colorado man accused of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff has been found guilty, CBS Denver reports. Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. He had no real mentor to help him, Weaver said recently, in his first public comments since his retirement in August. 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 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. How does she know that the person she chooses loves her for who she is and not for her wealth and lifestyle? They couldnt talk about Harold on the phone, since every call with her was also a call with him. Then came the incident at the cabin. Still, Harold persisted in his innocence, and in 2017 he filed an appeal for a retrial, which was subsequently denied. Since Harold was treated from the start as a victim, not a suspect, and since his wifes death was treated as an accident, not a deliberate murder, clues that wouldve appeared to others as red flags had no discernible hue at all. 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 Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. 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. Only then did it come crashing down. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Toni Bertolet Henthorns life was a masterpiece and role model to those who were fortunate to be a part of her life. Nor did the coroners office report whether the contents of Lynns stomach indicated one story was more plausible than the other. 48 Hours examines the case of Harold Henthorn whose wives died 17 years apart in supposedly freak accidents. 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. It wasnt until Toni came back to Mississippi to visit, for the first and only time in a decade without Harold, that Yvonne began to worry for her daughters safety. 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. 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. 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. Bertolet said, "There's no doubt he paid for his defense with Toni's money.". These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. He probably could have continued to live that lie, but if he did this, then greed got the best of him. His second wife Toni died in 2012 after a fall during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. 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. All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold. When Dave Weaver first sat down with the file he wasnt impressed. 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. Reached this week, Rob Henthorn declined to discuss the half million dollars and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Mackey. How does she know that grief and sadness will not fall upon her again at the hands of a person she trusted? 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,. 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. 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. 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. 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. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. 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. Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. Police investigators, however, believe that Harold murdered them. The lead investigator made mention of a partial print on the wheel well, above the missing tire, the same one that Lynn had supposedly been trying to help change when she was killed. The money was purportedly for a business investment, according to evidence presented at an earlier federal court hearing. To another he said it wasnt him Lynn was actually rescued by a random group of helpful strangers. Harold was usually cheery, often irrepressibly so. How else to explain all the strangeness? 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 was deeply religious-teaching Sunday school, singing in both college and church choirs. 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. Create and promote branded videos, host live events and webinars, and more. And, ultimately, the investigation rattled Harold. After years of trying, the two managed to have a daughter, Haley. Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives. Then came Harold. 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. Get the help you need from a therapist near youa FREE service from Psychology Today. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. After meeting on a Christian dating website, the two got in touch and connected over their love for religion. She told Toni she thought Harold wasnt working as much as he said he was, if at all. Harold told her he was a wealthy businessman who fundraised for schools and Churches. He had seen a lot. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The Defendant claimed to have a career and business, when, in fact he had neither. A true parent places a childs needs above their own selfish wants. Montoya eventually got so fed up with the fact that Harold wouldnt help warm up his freezing, near-death wife that she used her own coat and left it at the scene once she and her family realized the police were almost there. He was indicted on first-degree murder charges earlier this month in the second death and officials believe he is. 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. It took Harold 45 minutes to get to her, and he claimed he performed CPR as best he could after dialing 911. Taking the aforementioned points into account, the police suspect foul play. In 1994, Henthorn was arrested for shoplifting $47.49 worth of men's underwear from a JCPenney store. This development recalls the story of another notorious convicted Colorado killer: Harold Henthorn, who was convicted of killing his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 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. The Accidental Husband: With Peter Van Sant, Brian Maass, Barry Bertolet, Toni Henthorn. The show even traced the subsequent investigation, focusing on the authorities as they cast their net around the murderer. It was only a few days into the new year, 2013, and only a few weeks after the Douglas County Sheriffs Department received a curious letter. 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. 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. We want to hear it. The Bertolets have always been a close-knit family, loving, helping and protecting one another. Incidentally, the highway was quite deserted at that time of the year and did not witness much traffic. We take solace that prayers are being answeredIn closing, I thank the Court for allowing me to present this Victim Impact Statement. He was a wealthy fundraiser for hospitals and churches. Douglas County had changed tremendously in the intervening years. No physical evidence remained. At first glance, it wasnt even apparent that it was a case. Bob and Yvonne watched as Harold slowly took control of Tonis life. 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. Gacy was a popular Chicago contractor who entertained children in hospitals, yet also raped, tortured, and killed 33 young men. As fate would have it, the couples Jeep Cherokee suddenly had a problem with one of its tires in the middle of the road. Thus, considering all evidence and statements, the police decided they had enough to charge Harold Henthorn with Toni Henthorns murder. Then, he asked Sandra to come help him. A jury convicted him of murdering his second wife, Toni Bertolet, based on evidence that he murdered his first wife, Sandra 'Lynn' Henthorn. She died after plummeting about 130 feet off a cliff in a remote, rocky area where the couple had been hiking on Sept. 29, 2012, their 12th wedding anniversary. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. After a few years sharpening his golf game Weaver got bored and applied for a job in Douglas, the county just to the south. According to the testimony later given at a trial, instead of learning for themselves how much money Harold was due to receive from his wifes life insurance, Douglas Countys detectives took his word for it that the payout was $300,000 still a large amount considering his wifes modest social workers salary of $14,000 a year. She told Toni that Harold may have even been having an affair. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. The Defendant deserves the sentence of this Court as he has worked his entire adult life earning the same. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. Grief means coping, emptiness, adjusting, loss, and sadness. Several of the jurors spoke with the Denver Post following the verdict, and one jurors comment summed their thinking up maybe better than any other. He's 38 years old, a married, religious person and he's shoplifting underwear in JCPenney." Toni was a successful eye surgeon yet she wanted nothing more than to be in a loving marriage and have a family. Trending Harold Henthorn and Toni Henthorn tied the knot in 2000. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Friends and family thought they knew him, but did they, really? How does she know that a person of perceived trust will not cause her harm? 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. You do with this what you want to. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. That woman on the mountain, she said. 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. The couple seemed quite happy initially and even gave birth to their only child, Haley, in 2005. Even early on, Weaver could see that the truth was leading somewhere he didnt want to be. According to Henthorn, he said a tire felt "spongy," so he pulled off the road to change it. He was a good guy, a loving husband, a good father to their daughter, and extremely busy working as a fundraiser for churches,. Bob Bertolet, Tonis father, and Todd Bertolet, her younger brother, read the following victim impact statements at Harolds sentencing. Her husband, Harold Henthorn, was convicted of first-degree murder in. Harold owned a little house in the mountains west of Denver and took Toni and Haley there often. The Defendants so called estate planning banked on and invested heavily in the premature demise of his wife. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. All of this led to the filing of murder charges last week. Toni always carried the pain of a loss, but she also knew what those tragic moments taught her as a person. A former rural ranching community turned, nearly overnight, into one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. It appeared instead to be a terrible accident. That she would take it to heart. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. Which he always did. Finally, Detective Weaver took his foot and, in the same place where the original partial print was found, kicked the Jeep. He insisted to anyone who would listen that he was an in-demand fundraiser who had a large staff and made millions a year. 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. 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. var sc_project=9846729; Reviewed by Ekua Hagan. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. During the initial investigation, Detective Weavers colleagues had found some inconsistencies. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. 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. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. Had they checked, they would have found that Harold actually received twice that much. We can only hope to learn more as the trial kicks into gear. She wanted her to say that she would listen to her mothers warning. 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. Toni Henthorn was a skilled ophthalmologist and loving mother. 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. ". Many notorious serial killers have been sociopaths, such as Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. Even though Harold had money, he refused to travel with Toni back to the South. 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! Lynn Henthorns death was a tragedy, not a crime. Harold Henthorn was the only witness to both bizarre deaths of his two wives. However, Harold kept insisting on his innocence and in 2017 appealed for a retrial which was subsequently shot down. 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. Plot summary Add synopsis Genres Documentary News Certificate TV-PG Parents guide Add content advisory 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. The Denver Channel, 7News, brings you the latest trusted news and information for Denver, Colorado, Mile High and.