It had been a full day, and the sun had set. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. For some reason, though it was clear she needed their help, Harold yelled at them when they dragged Lynns unconscious body out from underneath the Jeep. Harold planned every one of the little girls days and nights. 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. 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. scJsHost+ Technically Weaver wasnt even supposed to be a detective. She was in immense pain and had numbness in her fingers when she was taken by ambulance to the ER. Can Humans Detect Text by AI Chatbot GPT? Even early on, Weaver could see that the truth was leading somewhere he didnt want to be. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 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. The Defendant claimed to have a career and business, when, in fact he had neither. 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. On May 6, 1995, Harold and Lynndecided to go on a long drive along a highway in Sedalia, Colorado. Toni was a medical doctor that had this unique perspective on life, and those moments affirmed her compassionate care and concern for others. 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 How else to explain all the strangeness? "Believe it or not I forgive him (Henthorn) for doing it. It's a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder. 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. They even uncovered a startling fact: Harold was already a criminal. Toni had fallen off a cliff? The lies? 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. We agonize over the question: Did Toni know she was being murdered and what were her thoughts as she fell 140 feet? 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. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. 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. Only then did it come crashing down. His second wife Toni died in 2012 after a fall during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. 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. The spring night was cold and Lynn was only wearing a t-shirt. Harold Henthorn news, trial, appeal updates, photos - The Denver Post Over the course of those dozen years, Bob and Yvonne Bertolet watched their daughter change. Harold Henthorn and Toni Henthorn tied the knot in 2000. Harold, in contrast to all those grieving family members, had been calm. Detective Weaver now had no doubts. The basic facts of the case are these. Maybe it wasnt the most critical detail. 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.). Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Weaver was the man for the job because even in a room full of patient people, his patience marked him as different. He was careful and methodical and knew how to navigate the choppy waters of bureaucracy even when it came to the toughest cases. Her mother, Yvonne Bertolet, says two years since her death, she still finds herself reaching for the phone to call her daughter. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Yet Toni remained silent. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Feds say Henthorn pushed his wife over a cliff at Rocky Mountain National Park. Henthorn was able to keep his shoplifting arrest a secret from everyone who knew him. At the bottom it reads: In Loving Memory, January 10, 1962-September 29, 2012. 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. Haley Henthorn is the daughter of Harold Henthorn. 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 family had enough money. Lynns death and Harolds behavior, Montoya told him, were still the creepiest thing Ive ever seen.. Then he tried to get the car to fall. Its a mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado; Henthorn was 59. Incidentally, the highway was quite deserted at that time of the year and did not witness much traffic. 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. Gacy was a popular Chicago contractor who entertained children in hospitals, yet also raped, tortured, and killed 33 young men. 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. Similar to his first wifes death, Harold Henthorn began showing inconsistencies in his statements, but the police were cautious this time. No physical evidence remained. 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. The 2 Most Psychologically Incisive Films of 2022, The Surprising Role of Empathy in Traumatic Bonding. 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. Wife-killer Harold Henthorn failed to win his appeal for a new murder trial Harold owned a little house in the mountains west of Denver and took Toni and Haley there often. First published on September 23, 2015 / 11:02 PM. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. Oh it was nothing, Mrs. B! Harold had insisted on one of their phone calls afterwards. 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. A government auditor testified at a grand jury hearing that Henthorn not only kept things from friends and family but also deceived on many occasions. Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives. Montoya wanted to cover his wife with something warm. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. That detail led to a much closer investigation of Tonis death. Man Accused in Wife's Deadly Fall Also Killed First Wife: Prosecutor A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. Haley Henthorn, Harold Henthorn Daughter Age Now - Mixedarticle Bertolet said, "There's no doubt he paid for his defense with Toni's money.". He was 50 when his wife Toni passed away. Initially quite respected and thought of as a regular citizen, people who knew Henthorn were shocked after his conviction as a murderer. To the young medical physician in need of an accomplished mentor to guide a promising medical career, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. Hey Mrs. B! Harold would say, using the pet name hed given Yvonne. Harold Henthorn, Colorado man, found guilty of murder - CBS News 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. Rather, it defines an individual that doesnt meet the criteria for anti-social personality disorder, yet occasionally carries out anti-social acts. 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. Harold Henthorn pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence. Toni Henthorn was a skilled ophthalmologist and loving mother. They were the first people to witness his incredibly odd behavior the evening his first wife died. Trending 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. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. All of Lynns belongings, along with the Jeep, were returned to Harold. All Rights reserved. She told Detective Weaver that she had been at accident scenes where family members of victims were crying, screaming, and in some cases so emotional they punched her. 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. Where is Harold Henthorn now in 2022? He will likely - TheNetline 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. To one cop, Harold said that they were driving east. There was something else, too, buried inside the file. Prosecutors said Harold. Her husband, Harold Henthorn, was convicted of first-degree murder in her death. Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". And, ultimately, the investigation rattled Harold. It took Harold 45 minutes to get to her, and he claimed he performed CPR as best he could after dialing 911. 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. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. When Weaver finally left the Air Force and asked her where she wanted to live, she chose Denver. The story went like this: Late one night, while Haley slept inside the cabin, Harold asked Toni to help him clean up some debris. Author Vissarion Belinsky appropriately noted, Nothing is more sacred and selfless like the love of a mother; every affection, everylove, every passion, is either weak or selfish in comparison with her. "That was very meaningful," Bertolet said. The money was purportedly for a business investment, according to evidence presented at an earlier federal court hearing. 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. He probably could have continued to live that lie, but if he did this, then greed got the best of him. Where is Toni Henthorn's Daughter Haley Bertolet Now? - The Cinemaholic Knowing what you value will help you build the most meaningful life possible. Yet as soon as she moved to Colorado, Toni was no longer able to speak to her mother alone. After a few years sharpening his golf game Weaver got bored and applied for a job in Douglas, the county just to the south. 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. 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. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. Her greatest asset was her ability to feel what others were feeling.