Problems Persist For Henthorn Family: Brother Ordered To Court

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 sent to him in 2014 by his brother Harold Henthorn.

Moments after a federal court jury convicted Harold Henthorn Monday of killing his second wife Toni, a process server surprised Rob Henthorn with court papers compelling him to appear in court in Douglas County Oct. 30 to tell a probate judge what happened to the half million dollars Harold Henthorn transferred to him, or a business controlled by him, in early 2014 before Henthorn was arrested for his wife's murder.

The money was purportedly for a business investment, according to evidence presented at an earlier federal court hearing. 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."

VIDEO: Watch the CBS4 special "Inside The Investigation: Harold Henthorn

Special administrators representing Toni Henthorn's estate are trying to recover the money so it eventually benefits Haley Henthorn, Toni Henthorn's daughter, not Harold Henthorn or his brother.

Toni Henthorn's brother, Todd Bertolet, told CBS4, "They're going to go after assets that should be in Toni's estate." 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."

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.

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.

"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. Bertolet said, "There's no doubt he paid for his defense with Toni's money."

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.

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.

Reached this week, Rob Henthorn declined to discuss the half million dollars and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Mackey. Phone calls and emails from CBS4 to Mackey were not returned.

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.