Over the course of those dozen years, Bob and Yvonne Bertolet watched their daughter change. 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. Then came more subtle attempts to choke off any contact Toni might have with those who loved her. Instead, it appears he risked it all for some insurance compensation. The only witness to the accident was her husband. Even after shed fallen asleep, Harold found a way to keep his eye on his only child. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The Defendant chose his own selfishness and greed over the needs of his family. Yvonne always considered Toni the best birthday present she ever received. Something wasnt right, and Yvonne wanted to talk with Toni. In 2000, Harold Henthorn married eye doctor Toni Bertolet after they met on a Christian dating 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. Taking the aforementioned points into account, the police suspect foul play. Her husband, Harold Henthorn, was convicted of first-degree murder in her death. 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. Todd Bertolet, Toni Henthorn's brother said, "That was what was so odd. After all, his first wife had also died under unusual circumstances, although her death was immediately ruled an accident. Full disclaimer: I have not evaluated Harold Henthorn, but if he is guilty of murder, then he would fall into the range of what I call a borderline sociopath. 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. If Harold said they needed a new car, the car got bought. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78 We grieve that we were not by her side in her dying moments. A Colorado jury of eight women and four men deliberated for 12 hours over two days before deciding Monday afternoon that Harold Henthorn, 59, was guilty of murdering his wife three years ago. Here's everything to know about them. Reached this week, Rob Henthorn declined to discuss the half million dollars and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Mackey. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Harold Henthorn pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence. ". 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. 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. Harold never said she wasnt allowed, of course. Then, he said, he saw nothing but a blurand Toni was no longer standing there. 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. She, like Dr. Henthorn, died in a rural and deserted area. Stranger still was Harolds behavior on phone calls. Finally, Detective Weaver took his foot and, in the same place where the original partial print was found, kicked the Jeep. scJsHost+ "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. In December, Toni Bertolet's husband, Harold Henthorn, received a mandatory life sentence for her death. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The Defendant claimed to have a career and business, when, in fact he had neither. In 1995, long before Weaver ever stepped foot in Douglas County, a woman died on the side of a dark road on a cold night. I would not go anywhere alone with this man.. As an ophthalmologist, Tonis commitment was her recurring choice to make a positive difference in the lives of so many. 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. We can only hope to learn more as the trial kicks into gear. 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 was deeply religious-teaching Sunday school, singing in both college and church choirs. For most of their lives, Toni and her mother Yvonne had been best friends. 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. 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. Trending Employee communication . 48 Hours examines the case of Harold Henthorn whose wives died 17 years apart in supposedly freak accidents. Toni worked long and hard in pursuing her goal of being an ophthalmologist. Nevertheless, even in this case, Harolds numerous statements widely differed from each other and were not believable. Her husband calls 911 but she dies and, at first, it seems like an accident. First he convinced her to move to Colorado. Maybe it wasnt the most critical detail. Perhaps the most difficult part to understand is that Henthorn had it made. Harold Henthorn, and his wife Toni. It had been a full day, and the sun had set. Harold Henthorn was one calculating and manipulative murderer. By Kirk Mitchell. Toni and Harold Henthorn were celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary the weekend when she died. How does she know that the person she chooses loves her for who she is and not for her wealth and lifestyle? 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. The story went like this: Late one night, while Haley slept inside the cabin, Harold asked Toni to help him clean up some debris. To the young person contemplating committing suicide in need of compassion and skillful guidance, Tonis life mattered and was indispensable. var sc_project=9846729; Toni had fallen off a cliff? Friends and family were delighted for the pair, who seemed to be the perfect match. Thus, considering all evidence and statements, the police decided they had enough to charge Harold Henthorn with Toni Henthorns murder. I dont think that was an accident at all, she said, sitting on a bed next to Toni. How Psychologically Conditioned Rats Are Defusing Landmines, The Innate Intelligence Observed in the Dying Process. It went on like this for years, with occasional sunbreaks, moments when both Harold and Tonis moods improved and the union seemed salvageable. Rather, it defines an individual that doesnt meet the criteria for anti-social personality disorder, yet occasionally carries out anti-social acts. To one cop, Harold said he and Lynn ate dinner at a nearby restaurant just prior to the accident. We are forced to say goodbye, forced to learn to live without our loved one, and forced to fill the emptiness that remains in our hearts. Tonis family, though, did not have a high opinion of Harold and suspected foul play after her death. 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. 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. 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. Tonis brother Barry Bertolet spoke at the sentencing. 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 Defendant blamed the press for exposing the truth and destroying his scam and lies to the community in which he lived under false pretense. "Toni was either a blessing to the people that surrounded her or a lesson to those that she mentored. And despite her having all the trappings of happiness a big house, a healthy child, a yearly Christmas card detailing everything thatd gone right for them that never seemed to happen. Shortly before her death, the change Harold made allowed for double the compensation if Lynn died as a result of an accident. To another he said it wasnt him Lynn was actually rescued by a random group of helpful strangers. Not long after that he found what a lot of good detectives manage to find: a mantra. Earnings for Henthorn were in 1993, 1999, and 2000, but nothing after that. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". 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. A chance to speak frankly with her daughter was something she hadnt had for a long time and Yvonne didnt waste it. After all, Harold was a respected member of the community. Harold claimed that one of the cars tires felt mushy, and pulled over to change it. 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. Firstly, we wanted to be a strong voice for Toni and to seek justice in her behalf. January 10th was one day short of her mothers birthday on January 11th. 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. His first wife Lynn died in 1995 after a car held up by a jack fell on her. 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. Harold Henthorn, 59, was convicted of one count of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn. In 1994, Henthorn was arrested for shoplifting $47.49 worth of men's underwear from a JCPenney store. IE 11 is not supported. Yvonne had spent more than a decade suppressing her motherly intuition about Harold so that her daughter would be spared the consequences. However, his first wife, Lynn . DENVER - A Colorado man accused of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff has been found guilty, CBS Denver reports. Even early on, Weaver could see that the truth was leading somewhere he didnt want to be. And there was one huge, almost shockingly damning piece of evidence the prosecution used against Harold. A year after he was sentenced to life in prison, it doesnt look like Harolds appeal has yet been carried out. Harold Henthorn is 60 years old as he was born on January 10, 1962. 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. 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. The family had enough money. Harold owned a little house in the mountains west of Denver and took Toni and Haley there often. It is often said that when a brilliant mind, talent, and heart come together as one, one should expect a Masterpiece. / CBS Colorado. Prosecutors said Harold. 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. Tyler Hadley's Killer Party She wanted her to say that she would listen to her mothers warning. What that something actually was, the Bertolets were slow to find out. 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. (The detective would later testify to this in court.) Did You Know Anxiety Can Enhance Our Relationships? Henthorn was able to persuade police his first wife died as the result of a tragic accident. I think there is a special place in hell for someone like [Harold].. We want to hear it. The Bertolets could sense that Toni was unhappy but felt there was little they could do about it. 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! Buried inside the report, Detective Weaver found a reference to a footprint. 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. 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. Create and promote branded videos, host live events and webinars, and more. You do with this what you want to. 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. But the rescue team couldnt make it to their position in time, and Toni died. Dateline airs Friday nights at 9 PM on NBC. 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. In photographs released by the US Attorney's Office after the. If you would like to donate, you can visit www.umc.edu/tonibertoletendowment. And the only reason Weaver was even looking at this thin excuse for a file was that now that same husband was a widower once more. Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) November 23, 2016 A few weeks later, in early December, a judge handed down the official sentence: life in prison. That she would take it to heart. lost creek lake fishing, moira robertson baxter, liza huber son,