Harold and Toni Henthorn
Courtesy Harold Henthorn/Facbeook
The pious Colorado man lost his first wife, Sandra Lynn Henthorn, when she was accidentally crushed to death by their car while trying to fix the tire in 1995.
He found love again with his second wife, Toni Henthorn, whom he met on a Christian dating website – only to lose her when she plunged to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park in September 2012.
Henthorn claimed Toni was just trying to take a picture when she slipped, according to CNN.
But what was initially written off as an accidental fall took a more sinister turn when Henthorn was indicted by a federal grand jury Nov. 5. The charge? First-degree murder.
"Henthorn willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought did unlawfully kill his wife, Toni Henthorn," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.
The 58-year-old was arrested outside his Highlands Ranch, Colorado, home Nov. 6 after he dropped his daughter off at school.
Now, authorities are looking into Sandra Lynn's death as well.
"We can't comment on the case because the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has an open, active investigation into the first wife's death," spokeswoman Deborah Sherman tells PEOPLE, adding that the case was reopened in 2012.
But according to CBS4, two civilians raised their concerns about the manner of Sandra's Lynn's death at the time.
A Douglas County deputy’s report noted that Sandra Lynn's work supervisor found her death "suspicious," while a witness who stopped at the site of the accident asked deputies if they had "arrested the husband yet? No way that woman got under the car like that," reports CBS4.
For Toni's family, the arrest is not a surprise.
"It was a day we were looking forward to," her brother Todd Bertolet said, adding that the family had long been suspicious of Henthorn.
"I think there are four or five versions of the story he told," Bertolet said.
But what was Henthorn's motive for allegedly killing Toni? Authorities haven't disclosed any reason, but Toni, 50, was insured for $4.5 million under three policies, according to court records obtained by CNN.
A claim was made on one of those policies less than 36 hours after Toni's death, CBS4 reports. Records do not state who filed the claim, but none of the money has been paid out.
Henthorn's attorney declined to comment on the case, but gave this statement to CNN: "I'm sure when all the facts are known in this difficult and complex case, that justice will be done."
Henthorn is due in court Wednesday for a detention hearing, where prosecutors are expected to share more details of the case. But nothing can take away the pain of Toni's loss.
"We're not getting Toni back," her brother Barry told CBS4, "so there's not going to be a happy ending."
No comments:
Post a Comment