harold henthorn dateline

Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. "Believe it or not I forgive him (Henthorn) for doing it. 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. I would not go anywhere alone with this man.. Sandra suffered numerous severe injuries, but hung on long enough for the paramedics to arrive. Dateline airs Friday nights at 9 PM on NBC. Toni was a medical doctor that had this unique perspective on life, and those moments affirmed her compassionate care and concern for others. Gary Clexton, a court-appointed special administrator representing Toni Henthorn's estate, declined to discuss the new court case involving Rob Henthorn and the half million dollars. "She contributed a lot to society, and to be wiped out for no good reason, it's more devastating." 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. 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. 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. How does she know that a person of perceived trust will not cause her harm? He had arrived with grand promises, including a claim that he was so rich that Toni would never have to work again. Grief is place where one never wishes to remain; yet it will be our unending passage due to the wrongful acts of the Defendant. If you would like to donate, you can visit www.umc.edu/tonibertoletendowment. Little did Harold Henthorns friends and neighbors know of the terrible secret he had been hiding for most of his married life. 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. Then harder still. He organized playdates with other parents, told Haley when and what to eat, and made it clear to everyone paying attention that he, not Toni, was in charge. Here's everything to know about them. 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. My wife is Yvonne and our two sons are Barry and Todd. Trending Now that effort is laid to waste. 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. 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. We grieve that we were not by her side in her dying moments. It just so happened that every time Bob or Yvonne called their daughter, Harold was the one to answer. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Suffer the consequences meant having to listen to Harold talk until he got what he wanted. We can only hope to learn more as the trial kicks into gear. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. Prosecutors and police. Harold was convicted of first-degree murder, and in 2015 was sentenced to life in federal prison. To some people he said the Jeep fell when he threw the flat tire into the open hatch in the back. Toni had fallen off a cliff? 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. The spring night was cold and Lynn was only wearing a t-shirt. In 1994, Henthorn was arrested for shoplifting $47.49 worth of men's underwear from a JCPenney store. In 2000, Harold Henthorn married eye doctor Toni Bertolet after they met on a Christian dating website. In the process of his own investigation, Detective Weaver discovered that no officer had called the restaurant where Harold claimed, at least in one version of his story, he and Lynn had eaten before the accident. Not long after that he found what a lot of good detectives manage to find: a mantra. CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. The Defendant proclaimed to be a Christian man when in fact he was an immoral man. 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. Bundy was recognized for being very charming but also killed more than 30 young women. 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. Hey Mrs. B! Harold would say, using the pet name hed given Yvonne. 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. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. First he convinced her to move to Colorado. The sentence to be handed down by this court is the only result that the Defendant has actually earned in his adult life. After years of trying, the two managed to have a daughter, Haley. But all was not as it seemed. 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. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. 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. After his second wife died in an accident, authorities found that circumstances of his first wife's death were more suspicious than they realized. Buried inside the report, Detective Weaver found a reference to a footprint. Henthorn shook his head when the judge polled the jury, and after the verdict was read, one of the jurors hugged Toni Henthorn's mother, Yvonne Bertolet. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Sandra were driving home after a day of hiking. 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 money was purportedly for a business investment, according to evidence presented at an earlier federal court hearing. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. He had to give his bosses credit; they were telling him he was likely going to find something that embarrassed them, but encouraged him nonetheless. She was an eye surgeon. As always, Dateline NBC will use experts, law enforcement officials, and friends and family members to shape the story. She had already suffered through one previous marriage, and her parents knew that her deepening faith and the fact that she and Harold now had a child of their own meant it was unlikely she would ever choose to divorce him. 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. 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. According to the file, the investigators noted the brand of shoes Harold was wearing at the time Sperry Topsider and took pictures of the tread. As an ophthalmologist, Tonis commitment was her recurring choice to make a positive difference in the lives of so many. She was a beautiful hazel-eyed blonde Southern Belle who excelled in academics, sports, music and leadership. scJsHost+ Dateline Toni Henthorn, Harold Henrhorn's 37-year-old wife, was killed in October 2015. Old Medication, New Use: Can Prazosin Curb Drinking? That detail led to a much closer investigation of Tonis death. The Harold Henthorn-Toni Henthorn murder case will be aired on the latest episode of 48 Hours. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. He probably could have continued to live that lie, but if he did this, then greed got the best of him. Only a few years later he was surprised to find that the people who ran the county wanted him to work cases. In September of 2015, three years after the incident, a jury found Harold Henthorn guilty of first-degree murder in the case of Toni Henthorns death. A year after he was sentenced to life in prison, it doesnt look like Harolds appeal has yet been carried out. Toni Henthorn fell to her death off a cliff while hiking with her husband, Harold. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Shortly before her death, the change Harold made allowed for double the compensation if Lynn died as a result of an accident. Before becoming a detective hed spent decades moving his wife from base to base. At first glance, it wasnt even apparent that it was a case. Toni was a successful eye surgeon yet she wanted nothing more than to be in a loving marriage and have a family. I think of how desperately she wanted a child and now she will never see that child grow up, never see her grandchildren.There is a picture of a smiling Toni resting on an easel in our home. Create and promote branded videos, host live events and webinars, and more. "); 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. A jury returned a guilty verdict Monday in its second day of deliberations. To the young man facing total blindness from an injury requiring the skilled hands of a surgeon, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. All Rights reserved. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni.. 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 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. The Bertolets have always been a close-knit family, loving, helping and protecting one another. He was careful and methodical and knew how to navigate the choppy waters of bureaucracy even when it came to the toughest cases. Henthorn had been living a lie for years. They even uncovered a startling fact: Harold was already a criminal. He was older. It went on like this for years, with occasional sunbreaks, moments when both Harold and Tonis moods improved and the union seemed salvageable. We take solace that prayers are being answeredIn closing, I thank the Court for allowing me to present this Victim Impact Statement. We want to hear it. Henthorn told investigators that his wife paused to take a photo of the view and fell face-first over the ledge. 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. Overwhelmed by the loss of the child, Toni never wanted to see the hurt in another persons eyes, much less a childs eyes. This case has revealed more than just the circumstances behind the wrongful death of Toni Bertolet Henthorn; it has also revealed the ugly truth of the extent of the deceitfulness of the Defendant.The Defendant is the evil that lurked in unthinkable places to manipulate his way into Tonis life as well as others of her character. The sentencing today is the final act in completing our first goal and has opened the door to achieving the second goal. Harold said Toni got a text message from the babysitter, letting her know that her daughters soccer team had won. Haley is not fine without her mother. The Defendant claimed to have a career and business, when, in fact he had neither. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. 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. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. The Defendant only made withdrawals and made no deposits in the lives of his wives and their families. 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. Solutions . 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. Henthorn was able to persuade police his first wife died as the result of a tragic accident. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The Defendant claimed to be a family man, when, in fact he was a selfish man. Harold Henthorn with Sandra Lynn, his first wife. Case closed. My name is Bob Bertolet, father of the victim, Toni Bertolet Henthorn. 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. 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. The family had enough money. If he is ultimately convicted of murder, he will face a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. 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. 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. 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. ", After the jury was dismissed, applause erupted in the courtroom. Harold Henthorn and Toni Henthorn tied the knot in 2000. It seemed to be a tragic accident. 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. He had seen a lot. He took away one jack and ran through the whole scenario again. The file contained a note from a woman named Patricia Montoya, who called the day after the accident with a question. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". According to the show, Tonis family passed a statement claiming that their daughter was quite disturbed in the days leading up to her passing. 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. A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. The Defendant has blamed the victim for her own death. To one cop, Harold said he and Lynn ate dinner at a nearby restaurant just prior to the accident. The control Harold seemed to demand over Toni extended to their daughter as well. Nice, right? 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. On September 29, 2012, Harold and Toni Henthorn went for a hike at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. For a time, she wondered if she would ever be able to perform another operation. She called the Sheriffs office the next day to ask where she could pick up the coat. He insisted at both the verdict and the sentencing that he would appeal the decision. It would have been, except that Toni plunged down a 50-foot cliff to her death. Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM Henthorn was able to keep his shoplifting arrest a secret from everyone who knew him. 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. At least that's what he told family, friends, and everyone else. Harold told her he was a wealthy businessman who fundraised for schools and Churches. 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. She was 10 when her mother, Toni was pushed off the cliff. Harold Henthorn, convicted of killing his second wife by shoving her off a cliff, will not get a new trial according to a ruling. Tonis brother Barry Bertolet spoke at the sentencing. 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. 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. Toni Bertolet Henthorns life was a masterpiece and role model to those who were fortunate to be a part of her life. In the document, he implied that. That saying served him well working sex crimes for most of a decade. Now that Toni was home by herself in Mississippi, Yvonne could no longer hold her tongue. 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. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I am haunted by my wifes lament: When Toni died, I died. Toni Bertolet Henthorn died after she was pushed off a cliff during an anniversary hike in Rock Mountain National Park. var sc_security="9a0f0d6e"; 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. 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. Harold never said she wasnt allowed, of course. Grief means coping, emptiness, adjusting, loss, and sadness. 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. 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. What they wanted was to see Toni happy. Man Accused in Wife's Deadly Fall Also Killed First Wife: Prosecutor. It's a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder. CBS 48 Hours file photos This wasn't the only circumstance that Walsh saw as suspicious. ". 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.). Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. She, like Dr. Henthorn, died in a rural and deserted area. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time He was indicted on first-degree murder charges earlier this month in the second death and officials believe he is. The couple met online in late 1999 and got married only nine months later, both in a rush to. Yet Toni remained silent. (The detective would later testify to this in court.) He told them, We are beyond sorry for not seeing through it. 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. 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. In each case, the Defendant made arrangements to be a lucky recipient of significant benefits from those deathshis own version a post mortem lottery. 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. Editors picks In fact, the Defendant has never been unlucky; only the Defendants wives have been unlucky with their untimely and obscure deaths. Douglas County had changed tremendously in the intervening years. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now that Harold had taken that daughter away from them, however, and made it almost impossible to talk with her, the quirks became decidedly less charming. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. Video marketing. The Defendant demeaned the investigative authorities for uncovering his murder and sinister intentions. Harold, in contrast to all those grieving family members, had been calm. 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. A medical physician of Tonis caliber doesnt just happen because one simply holds a medical degree; this type of physician evolves through extraordinary experiences and is not readily replaced.There is no unique perspective or lesson to garner from the wrongful death and loss of Toni it is what it is a devastating loss. Bob Bertolet, Tonis father, and Todd Bertolet, her younger brother, read the following victim impact statements at Harolds sentencing. Unlucky in love, but a success just about everywhere else. 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Then he tried to get the car to fall. 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. In the Defendants selfish quest to hoard a child as a possession, he interfered with and severed a sacred relationshipthat of a mothers love for her child and the childs need for the love her mother. The Defendant is neither a good father nor a replacement for a loving mother. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. What Toni meant was that Harold didnt like to be questioned. The stories he told police werent at all consistent. She had fallen 128 feet, and suffered numerous severe injuries. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold.

Pisces Ascendant Man Physical Appearance, Articles H