Harold Henthorn convicted of murder of his second wife — but did he also kill his first wife?

HAROLD Henthorn pushed his second wife off a cliff. Now attention has turned to the mysterious death of his first.

NOW that Harold Henthorn has been convicted of his second wife’s murder, attention has turned to the mysterious death of his first.

For years suspicions have lingered about the circumstances of Lynn Henthorn’s death in 1995. She was crushed under a Jeep after she and her husband got a flat tyre — he claims he had dropped a nut as he was changing the tyre and she crawled under to get it.

The car slipped off the jack and she was killed instantly. In the aftermath, friends and family rallied around Henthorn. No one suggested her death was anything more than an accident.

Until now.

Henthorn moved on with his life. He met another woman, eye doctor Toni Bertolet, on a Christian dating site. They dated and began to live happier ever after they married in 2000. Until she too died in a mysterious way.

Toni Henthorn fell to her death while she and her husband were hiking. She supposedly tripped while taking a photo. Her accident bore many similarities to Lynn Henthorn’s death — it occurred in the 12th year of their marriage, it was in a remote location, there were no witnesses ...

How likely was it that a man would lose two wives in such a way?

As police investigated her death they uncovered some disturbing things. Henthrorn’s map, for example, had an X marked in the exact spot where Dr Henthorn fell in The Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Was it coincidence or evidence that he had planned the perfect murder?

Toni and Harold Henthorn. Picture: Supplied

There was more. He’d taken out three life insurance policies for Toni with him named as beneficiary in each. When she died, he was guaranteed a $1.5 million payout, reported The Mirror.

He’s also taken out a similar life insurance policy on his first wife, several months before she died.

When Henthorn told devastated friends and family what happened he chose the exact same words to break the tragic news to them.

“My bride has gone,” he said to them, many of whom greeted the news with utter disbelief. The similarities didn’t end there. Both wives were cremated within days and their ashes scattered in the same place, a major 48 Hours investigation found.

His reaction at the time of Lynn’s death was odd also. Paramedics were confused at his non-emotional reaction when told she had died.

Harold Henthorn stood to gain $4.7 million in life insurance if he proved his wife Toni died in a freak accident.

Harold Henthorn and first wife Lynn.

Death scene ... Where Lynn Henthorn was crushed to death. Picture: Supplied

Last year a former girlfriend of Henthorn’s told news.com.au she believed she was going to be another victim had she stayed with him.

Grace Rishell believed he was planning to kill her and would disguise her death as some sort of accident.

“I would have never gone anywhere alone with him, but he would have told my girls that he had a surprise to tell me first for them or something like that so I would have,” she said.

“He’s a patient man.”

Even at his sentencing the 59-year-old maintained his innocence. “Toni was a remarkable woman. I loved her with all my heart.”

And then: “I did not kill Toni or anyone else.”

The jury didn’t believe him and convicted him of Dr Henthorn’s murder. And since then, attention has fallen back on the case of Lynn Henthorn, which is now being reinvestigated by police.

Harold Henthorn was found guilty last year of wife Toni’s death.

Forty people were reinterviewed last year as part of the fresh probe, but the investigation came to a standstill after Henthorn’s trial last year.

According to CBS though any developments are being hindered by Henthorn’s appeals against the conviction for Toni Henthorn’s murder.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock told CBS4 that it was “in the best interest of justice” to defer possible prosecution until those appeals had been exhausted.

Spurlock acknowledged those appeals will likely take years.

“We believe we have a case we could file. We believe there is enough evidence.” But a decision had been taken to rest the new inquiry so it wouldn’t cause legal problems throughout the appeal process.

Originally published as Harold Henthorn convicted of murder of his second wife — but did he also kill his first wife?