Harold Henthorn's trail of victims
(Editor's Note: "48 Hours" has followed and investigated the mysterious death of Toni Henthorn since 2013)
In many ways, the story of Harold Henthorn is one about victims. One victim is Harold's wife, Toni, a beloved ophthalmologist in Denver, who died in 2012. Toni fell to her death during an anniversary hike with Harold in Rocky Mountain National Park. Harold claimed it was an accidental fall, in which he played no part. The FBI, National Park Service and US Attorney disagreed and two years after her fatal fall, Harold was charged with Toni's murder. In September of 2015, a jury found the evidence against Harold compelling and found him guilty. As "48 Hours" covered the story of Toni's death, we learned about the unusual circumstances surrounding the 1995 death of his first wife, Lynn, a social worker. Lynn Henthorn
died while on a drive with Harold. The couple had stopped to change a tire and Lynn somehow ended up pinned under the car and died from injuries sustained from the car falling on her. The local sheriff's department investigated Lynn's death, but quickly closed the case calling it an accident. Many friends and family found the circumstances unusual, and after Toni's death in Rocky Mountain National Park , the case was re-opened. However, no charges have ever been filed.
When people think of crime victims, minds go to those who died. Often times , their friends and relatives are also victims. In the case of Harold Henthorn, for those who believe he killed his first wife Lynn, this includes Lynn's family. They feel Harold should be charged with her murder and live with the thought that they should have pushed law enforcement and raised more questions about Lynn's death. Lynn's brother, Kevin Rishell telling us, "We grieve for the Bertolet's because had we come forward at that time with more suspicions, then maybe Toni would be alive today."
Toni's family members are victims as well. They lost someone beloved to a man they thought they knew and who they now wish they had scrutinized more closely. And in this tragedy there is one victim who has lost both parents: Harold and Toni's daughter, Haley. When her mother Toni died, Haley was seven years old. For more than a year, while Harold was in prison awaiting trial and during the criminal proceedings that followed, Haley lived with family friends in Colorado. Toni's relatives, who lived in Mississippi, where Toni was raised, visited her often. Toni's brother and sister in law, Barry and Paula Bertolet, while fighting for justice for Toni, were also fighting for custody of Haley.
Barry told us he wanted to bring Haley home to Mississippi where, "she can be in a place where she's loved by family and grow up in an environment where everybody knew her mom as intelligent, smart, as a hero."
And this past December, the Bertolet's got the only Christmas present they wanted, permanent custody of Haley. Haley, now 10, is living with them in Mississippi and adjusting to life as a Southerner.
Ruth Chenetz is a producer for "48 Hours."