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tv   Dateline  MSNBC  August 10, 2024 10:00pm-12:00am PDT

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>> thanks for watching the saturday show. mitch landrieu joins me to discuss the strategy for the next days until the election. i will also speak with pennsylvania and senator bob casey about how the race is playing out in his battleground state and his own re-election campaign tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. follow us on social media using the handle at we can capehart and catch clips of the show on youtube. you can also listen to every episode of our show is a podcast for free. scan the qr code on your screen to follow. here is this woman smiling about to take a hike for her anniversary. there is nothing you can see from those photos that we took
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that begin to suggest how it would all end. it's chilling. >> she was a beloved doctor, amazing mom, sunday school teacher. >> she had given so much love to others. finally, she had found it for herself, a handsome whatever touched by tragedy. >> my heart went out for her. >> now, she and the doctor were bound for adventure, a surprise weekend away, a romantic hike to remote mountain spot. the scenery was breathtaking. the danger was, too. an accidental fall and she was gone. >> i remember going what? >> my heart sank. i fell to my knees. >> why haddad seemed so suspicious? >> there is something going on here.
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>>'s first wife died. it just clicked. this is not an accident. >> two wives, two deaths, two mysteries. >> nobody saw him push her off that cliff. >> he wouldn't do that. why would he? once had an aunt named toni. andrng: anna kae >> my name is anna kate, and i am nine years old. i'm in fourth grade. >> anna kate once had an aunt named toni. they lived a few states apart but were never more than a phone call or a letter away. >> dram tell me, how are you? i have no homework. i finished a little homework. eight days till christmas. i'm so excited. love you, anna kate. >> she still writes her letters even though antoni cannot respond.
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love your knees, anna kate. >> anna kate was seven when her aunt died. it was sudden, scary, and heartbreaking. she took a box, decorated it and put in thoughts of ants tell me. >> now i can't see her again in and lives will never be the same again. >> the ripple effect of toni's death was huge. she was a respected doctor, an ophthalmologist who had a thriving practice first in jackson, mississippi, and later in denver, colorado. a devout christian who sang in her church choir, a mother to a little girl named haley, a wife to a man named harold and older sister to anna kate's dad, todd. this story is about toni and what happened to her one
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morning high up in the mountains. >> emergency. >> i need mountain rescue team emergence immediately. >> it's also how secrets unburied sometimes don't stay that way. >> where did toni fit into your family? >> she was the middle between two brothers. sometimes she thought that was an advantage and sometimes she thought it was a disadvantage, being the only girl with two brothers. obviously we're not going to sit down and play barbies with her. you know, we needed the extra wide receiver during the backyard football game. >> did it turn her into a little bit of a tomboy? >> i would say she was a tomboy but she was a great athlete. she could do anything she put her mind to. >> toni bertolet grew up with her two brothers around much
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is, mississippi. she was ambitious academically and athletically and get -- >> did toni embrace the hair and the makeup and the things you would think of a southern belle? >> she went to ole miss. it is coat and tie and send addresses for football games. >> no sweatpants? >> no, she would never go out in public like that. never. >> toni did have one flaw when it came to being a bell. >> when i first got to college, she felt like, you know, i was a little bit too skinny and needed to bulk up a little bit so she had said she was going to come out and cook some fried chicken. >> mississippi is the place to be for that. >> every southern lady are to be able to cook some fried chicken and little did she know that you know, when you took it out of the freezer, you're going to have to let it thaw. >> frozen fried chicken aside, toni was someone who set goals and made them happen. after college, she went to
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medical school and then in 1988, graduated in the top 10% of her class. then, she settled into a new practice and a new marriage with a young dentist, but the woman who could do it all could not save a relationship that was not working. she tried, but after seven years, the marriage ended. >> i don't think my sister took failure well, and so i think that was a disappointing time in her life. >> todd's wife, rhonda, remembers how toni continued to thrive at work, but her love life stalled. >> her career was extremely important, and so there was a timing issue there. she didn't have a lot of time to probably go places to meet guys. she went to church and she went to her job and to be honest, i really don't think there was very good pickings, possibly. >> the clock was ticking when it came to starting a family so in her late 30s, toni turned to a place many do to find a mate,
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the internet. she chose a christian dating site. finding a man who shared her faith was important to her. she did not tell her little brother or his wife, rhonda, right away about her online adventure but she did share her secret with her good friend, allison talley. did she give you updates on how it was going and if she was meeting anybody? >> i did not really ask but i did know that she had met a couple of guys. >> then, toni met the one. >> some guy older than her, charming, incredibly charming, just extended a hand immediately, well-dressed and very polished and well spoken, very professional looking. >> his name was harold henry thorne. according to his dating profile he lives in colorado and work for nonprofits. eventually harold flew out to jackson to meet toni in person and they devised a formula for
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lasting love. >> they had come up with a system for compatibility and it was five cs when i don't remember what they'll stood for. compatibility was one of them. christianity was one of them. chemistry was one of them. when they met for the first time, they would know if the chemistry was there. they confirmed four of the five before their first meeting. >> so, when they met, it was combustion. >> maybe that was one of them. >> toni ticked off her season and then she introduced harold to everyone. >> waymart outgoing, way more vocal. i thought she was quiet. i thought this was great for her, it gets her out of her shell and gives her somebody to do fun things with. >> harold was a widower and told the tran05s he waited a long time for love. >> his first wife died in a car accident. >> my heart went out to him. i was like wow, he deserves his happiness and if it is with toni, that's awesome.
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>> you know, he had said that he had been lonely. >> harold's friend had been best friends with harold's first wife, lynn. >> he didn't tell me a lot about toni, but he did tell me that he really liked her. >> after lynn died, kim and harold remained close. now, he wanted kim to meet the new woman in his life. >> i felt like i could not talk about lynn anymore, which i understood that, but i was happy that he had moved on and i felt like it was time, and that he was starting a new life. >> so now, harold, the planner, as he had said in his dating profile, was ready. on valentine's day, 2000, he set out to orchestrate the perfect proposal. harold really studied the jackson area to find out the perfect place to propose and he found a beautiful place in jackson that we all love. >> how excited was she to tell
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you her news? >> very. she was excited and she had a beautiful ring. it was a nice ring and very happy. it seemed like it was all coming together and she was going to be happy. >> on september 30th, 2000, less than one year after they had met in person, toni bertolet married harold henthorn in a church wedding in jackson. >> she looked fantastic, happy, glowing. >> it was a lovely day. it was beautiful. >> it looked like the first day of the rest of her life, it really did. >> the future was bright. toni's career had been her focus for so long, harold , something different. >> mary me, i'm wealthy. i can take you away from your career and working all the time and allow you to be a mother, which was the main thing she wanted to be. >> but, it is amazing how life has a way of intruding on our fairytales. >> coming up >> she was like, what's going on?
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he says you know, we are going away for the weekend. >> a whirlwind escape to the mountains. >> she could not say no. he had it all worked out. >> it seems toni's thoughtful husband had planned everything almost. when dateline continues. long-lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision. more people on eylea hd had no fluid in the retina, compared to those on eylea at 4 months. eylea hd is the only wet amd therapy that helped 8 out of 10 people go up to 4 months between injections, after 3 initial monthly treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eylea hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen there is an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots. the most commons side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury and eye floaters.
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fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. andrea canning: after toni and harold got married, friends and loved ones knew the couple wanted to start a family, but it turned out to be difficult. for the first two years of their marriage, after toni and harold got married, friends and loved ones know the couple wanted to start a family but it turned out to be difficult. for the first two years of their marriage, their careers kept them apart. toni and mississippi, harold in colorado and when toni was
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finally able to move west to be with harold -- >> they suffered a lot of fertility issues and had miscarriages. it was a sadness to her. >> back in mississippi, toni's brother, todd, and sister-in- law, rhonda, were also struggling to have a baby but then after years of disappointment for both couples, all their prayers were answered. >> we both ended up pregnant at the same time. >> that must've been a happy time. >> it really was. >> all of a sudden good news here, goodness here and you know, get ready because you know, you're going to have a house full. >> in june of 2005, toni and harold welcomed their baby girl, haley. by then, todd and rhonda already had anna kate. when they were a little over a year old, the headphones came to -- tran02s came to mississippi and they got to meet. >> i remember toni being so happy to have haley and so is harold. >> although toni had always wanted to be a mom, it was pretty clear harold was mr. mom. >> he was the one in charge, the diaper change. most of us
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would have to break their husbands to do that kind of stuff. he was the one he was like a manny. he was in charge of everything with that child. >> with harold such a doting father, toni was able to go back to work. she soon built a thriving practice in colorado. >> she was a beloved doctor. she had a really great bedside manner. >> tammy of her scotto manage the practice. >> she took time. she treated her patients as a whole body, not just their eyes, but she was interested in their family life. she just had the good old- fashioned you know, southern hospitality. >> tammy saw how committed toni was to her patients. sometimes it was hard to get her to leave the office, so tammy was charmed when one day in september, harold asked for her help. >> about two weeks after their anniversary, he phoned and said
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hey, tammy, i want to surprise toni for our anniversary. can you help me out? >> it was the 12th wedding anniversary. harold wanted to celebrate with a surprise trip to one of colorado's wonders, rocky mountain national park. >> so, you are being really sneaky in all of this. >> i am. we will do all love for her husband's to call and do something fun like that, so i made her schedule so that she could be done and out of the office by 3:00, but it looked like she would be there until 5:00. >> the big day was september 28th, 2012. >> he came into the office and the other girls thought it would be fun to really surprise her, so they put him in an exam room. >> a colleague shut this cell phone video. >> so, she picks up a chart and walks into the room like she normally would and then there's her husband and she's like, what's going on? and he says you know, we are going away for the weekend. happy anniversary and she's like no, i can't do that and he
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says you can. tammy fixed the schedule so you are ready to leave. >> this was well orchestrated, this anniversary plan. harold thought of everything. he hired babysitters for haley and had even packed toni's clothes. >> she couldn't say no. i mean, she just -- you know, he had it all worked out, so off they went. >> harold henthorn, the consummate planner, had pulled it off. now, the perfect anniversary weekend could begin. the couple left denver on a friday afternoon and headed north. harold booked the room at a historic beautiful hotel in estes park, famous for inspiring stephen king's the shining. they scheduled an early dinner so they could turn in early. it was a romantic weekend, after all. then, saturday afternoon they set off for rocky mountain national park to go on a hiking trail harold had scouted out a few months earlier. just about 24 hours in, the perfect weekend turned tragic.
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>> it was just before 6:00 and harold needed help urgently. >> my wife has fallen from a rock on the north summative deer mountain. on the deer mountain trail. she's in really critical condition. >> harold told the 911 operator that toni had fallen from the edge of a cliff. >> we need to be sure that you know my location first. i'm on deer mountain. >> immediately, the park launched a ranger who is also a trained emt but the only way to get there from the trailhead was on foot, and that would take hours. >> she is not conscious. she is breathing. >> harold, desperate, pleading for a rescue helicopter. >> i will play any -- pay any
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and all expenses for a rescue helicopter. >> the operator tried to explain that no aircraft could do what harold was asking, not at that altitude, over that terrain. harold knew toni's situation was grave. >> she needs to get out of here. >> harold did not stay on with the 911 operator. he hung up because he was worried his cell phone battery might die. then, at 6:16, he texted toni's older brother, barry, a cardiologist back in mississippi. urgent, toni is injured in estes park. fall from rock, critical. requested flight for life, emt ranges on way, will be dark when it arrived. pray. todd got a call from his brother, barry. >> barry said that toni had been in an accident and that he was being text the vital
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signs and it didn't look good you know he said i don't think she's going to make it. >> back on the mountain, rescuers were having trouble finding the hidden forms. -- tran02s >> is there anybody near you, sir? >> the tran02s were all alone and time was running out. the sun was setting so harold of the fire. >> i've started a small fire in a completely enclosed rock enclosure with wet moss on it, thinking you can see the smoke. >> now in the dark, the henthorns were off the grid and still waiting. just before 7:00, an hour after harold's first call to 911, and operator called back to talking through cpr. >> harold, this is juliet. they tell me you need some assistance doing cpr. is she awake?
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okay, i'm going to go through my questions really fast with you. is she breathing? >> are breathing it gone from 10 to 5 to 0. >> what i'm going to do now is count to you as you go through the breaths. >> harold said he wanted to keep the line free. >> okay, i will let you go. call 911 anytime and you get me okay? >> harold continue to text toni's brother with details. none were good. can't find pulse. he texted a friend asking if he could drive to rocky mountain national park to pick him up. he called back dispatch.
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>> you guys have an eta under ranger? >> actually he is in the area. you can start using your whistle so he can try to find you. >> he texted barry again. cpr helped 10 minutes out. finally 8:09 p.m. more than two hours after harold called 911, the ranger arrived prepared for a rescue, but there was no rescue to be made. >> coming up -- >> i just said is she okay? and i fell to my knees. >> exactly what had happened out there on the mount when dateline continues. get a free tech check. and special offers. like a free 5g phone, when you switch. don't miss out. get started today.
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andrea canning: it was supposed to be the perfect weekend in the rockies. but the tragedy struck during a hike. it was supposed to be the perfect weekend in the rockies, but the tragedy struck during the hike. toni bertolet -- toni henthorn tumbled off of a cliff. her husband texted her family two horrible words, she's gone. >> i'd never seen her dad cry, never in for the next two weeks it was constant. i can tell you it doesn't
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matter what age they are, a parent can't ever accept it. >> toni's friends at work could not believe it either. >> i got a call from kristi at her office and all she said is, tammy, toni fell. >> what did you think when she said she fell? >> i just said is she okay? no, she died, and i fell to my knees. and, my husband said oh my gosh, what's going on? and i said dr. henthorn fell off a cliff. >> everyone was heartbroken for toni, harold, and most of all, the henthorns seven-year-old daughter, haley. >> i put myself on the mountain and at the moment she probably knew this is it, you know, i know her thoughts were of haley. >> about 150 people die at national parks each year. in rocky mountain national park, the leading cause of death is falling.
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>> before i wrote this book, i did not know that the national park had investigators. >> journalist michael sleeman covered the deaths of toni henthorn . >> i just thought it was to put out a campfire or something you don't park here or don't feed the bears. >> but, there is more to it. every death in our national parks is investigated and in toni's case, the same ranger who came to rescue her now switched roles from rescuer to cop. >> he slipped out there in the middle of the night to try to both save toni's life and get harold off the mountain. the next day became an investigation. >> the ranger set out to learn everything he could about toni, harold, and what happened on that quiet mountain. harold told him the couple had set out around 1:45 on the deer mountain trail as part of their
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romantic anniversary weekend. you can see in the selfie harold took that the henthorns seem to be having fun on a track many would find challenging. >> hikers collect a moderate hike, but these are hikers who are scaling the sides of mountains. >> but, toni and harold kept at it, following the trail as it snaked up and around the mountain to a point where it flattened out. it was a beautiful fall day here in the rockies, much like this. harold said he and toni wanted to be alone. it was their anniversary, after all, so right about here they got off the trail and headed into the woods. >> most people stay on the trails and national parks. that is what the park service wants visitors to do, but harold told the ranger the trail was so crowded that they left it to be alone. although toni was a lifelong athlete , she had knee issues since her basketball playing days in high school but if the hike was tough for her, it probably seemed worth it when the trees opened up to this.
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>> around 3:30, toni and harold ate lunch right here with this amazing view as their backdrop. once they finished eating lunch, they continued further into the backcountry. >> before they set out, harold took this photo of toni. she is smiling, relaxed, does not look like she had any inkling that anything bad was to come. harold told the ranger the ridge where they had lunch was not private enough so they climbed down these loose rocks looking for another spot. at this point, they were several hours into the hike with not much daylight left, and not much time to keep the 7:00 p.m. dinner reservation. they ended up on a small, flat area with not a lot of wiggle room in steep drops all around. it's where this picture was taken at 5:00 p.m. it's one of the last pictures on toni's camera. >> ranges believe toni fell from right here, 128 feet down. this is a spot most people would be too nervous to approach without the proper safety gear but harold said toni was trying to capture the perfect picture of some wild
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turkeys and apparently just got too close to the edge. harold said by the time he scrambled down the mountain and found his wife, toni was not talking. she was barely breathing, and she was lying in an awkward position so he told the ranger he pulled her to a flatter area then made the first call to 911. >> 911. what's your emergency? >> but, there never was a rescue. toni died too soon. her friend, allison talley, says in the days after toni died, everyone 's focus was dealing with their grief or trying to help haley and harold. >> is the grieving widower with the young daughter. >> right. there was no shortage of people over there trying to help. we talked to him several times and every conversation had that element in its of how wonderful all his friends and his church family were being to him. >> within the day of toni's death, harold reached out to someone who had always been there for him , camila
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ferrier. >> i got a text at 7:30 that said toni fell, my bride is gone. i remember looking at this going, what? kim found the tragedy almost unimaginable. remember, she had known harold for decades and have been best friends with his first wife, lynn, who died 17 years earlier. >> i just felt so sad. i felt like i could not believe that toni was gone. it just felt like i wish i could've changed it. i wish i could've brought her back. >> but soon, for some people, sorrow would be coupled with another feeling. suspicion. >> my husband said, we can't let this go. we need to investigate this. >> when dateline continues. tig. >> when dateline continues.
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i'm jessica layton with a look at what is happening. in gaza, officials say at least 100 were killed by an israeli strike at a school where thousands had been sheltering. the israeli military said there was a hamas command center on site which hamas denies. the strike hit the school during prayers at dawn and ukrainian forces posted a video that shows them taking control of a town near the russian border. in response to these surprise attack, russia moved extra tanks, artillery and rocket systems to that region. now back to dateline. almost from the moment toni's friends and family heard that she had fallen off a cliff to her death, they'll realized they shared the same uneasy feeling and it centered on toni's husband, harold . charming, outgoing, a hands-on dad, harold was all of those
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things but now, toni's friend, allison, remembered what toni had said years earlier when the couple was struggling with infertility. how was harold through the bad times when she was losing the baby, was he very supportive? >> i asked her how this was going, that this had to be incredibly stressful and she said her exact comments, i will never forget these words. life with harold is hard. >> brother tom and sister-in- law rhonda also looked back and thought about how difficult it could be to get toni on the phone without harold listening in. >> you call her cell phone or you could call on his cell phone answer. he would answer. >> when we spoke to her it was never just her. it was always him and her in the background. >> tommy recalled how harold used to come into her office as if he owned the place and how
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in his presence, toni, the self- confident doctor, seemed to melt away somehow. >> she just said well, i just learned long ago it's just better to let harold be right. that made me very sad and that is when i really thought, things are not right. >> tammy says that even the toni seemed to adore her daughter, haley, she often give up mommy time staying late at the office instead. >> we would be gone. patients gone, staff gone and she would still be on her computer but it wasn't work related. it was playing games, and so we thought, that's so odd. why did she stick around the office? we started to think that maybe she just didn't want to go home, and maybe because of harold. >> if there was trouble in the marriage, toni never said so directly. not to friends or family. todd and rhonda worried maybe she was afraid to say too much. >> i think he held control over toni with haley, you know. his parents heard conversation
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that they want to hear, and he held divorce over her head. i'll divorce you. >> you won't see haley in that kind of thing. >> that's probably the one thing that would cut the deepest with her is not being able to see her daughter. >> then there was a very strange episode that occurred a year before toni's death at a mountain cabin she and harold owned. >> did she tell you it all about the accident at the cabin? >> no, but harold did. he made a joke that he almost killed toni at the cabin and laughed it off . did you hear i almost killed toni? >> it happened around 10:00 p.m. toni, despite the late hour, was under the deck. >> she said she was cleaning
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underneath the deck and harold was was keen across and as he walked across, a beam came loose and fell directly on the back of her head. >> toni had to be hospitalized. she came back to work bandaged and bruised. >> did she seem at all rattled by it? did it change her at all? >> she just seemed depressed but you know, people get depressed when they hurt. >> toni's family look back on that incident and wonder. are you starting to think that maybe the beam falling was in an accident? >> i think we were there at the time, maybe not admitting it, but enough to say, there is something going on here. >> after the cabin incident, toni's mother told her she did not think toni should be alone with harold. >> what is interesting about it is when my mother had that conversation with my sister, my sister did not try to correct my mother. she just said okay. which, i think her silence probably spoke a little bit more. >> like she knew?
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>> i think she knew it probably was not an accident. >> and now, toni had accidentally fallen off a cliff. >> it was as if the moment people within their circle heard about toni's death that they all instantly suspected something was wrong. >> my husband said we can't let this go, so he called the park rangers and basically just said, we are close with toni. we have suspicions. please investigate this. please, he begged them. >> i felt immediately upon hearing the news , that we had to find out exactly what happened and we had to be her voice because the only story we were going to get was going to be his story. >> but, they also discovered, even getting harold story was not easy. did you ask harold what happened? >> several times, and he blew me off.
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>> one harold came to mississippi for toni's memorial service, her family thought he was more interested in watching a football game then talking about toni's last day on earth. >> he announced to us that day that he wanted to sit down with us and talk and said it'll take about 10 minutes you know, i want to watch the game. at halftime will talk. >> rhonda could not believe what she was hearing. >> no, is going to be a lot longer than that. we weren't letting him off for 10 minutes. >> a lot longer. they would all have to cross many miles in many years to get the whole truth. >> coming up, revealing trip to the scene, halting steps and haunting questions. >> would you recommend somebody who is not an expert come down? >> definitely not. >> what about a woman in her 50s with bad knees? >> absolutely not. >> when dateline continues. ute. >> when dateline continues. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain,
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(marci) so, how long have you lived here? (opponent) over forty years. (marci) and how are the restaurants around here? are they good, bad, meh? what's the average household income? is there a mall? i don't know. a hair salon? where do you get your hair done? (opponent) you gonna move, or what? (marci) oh, i'm sorry. it's a lovely neighborhood. (luke) marci, we've gotta go. (marci) i'm coming! (luke) we've got seventeen thousand more parks to visit. (marci) you wanna give me a hand? (luke) we bring you the best neighborhood info. (vo) ding dong! homes-dot-com. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source. for up to 8 hours of powerful relief. new advil targeted relief.
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dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. andrea canning: three months after toni henthorn fell to her death in rocky mountain national park, her husband harold sent out a christmas card, a photo of him and daughter haley hiking in the forest. the inscription, "we appreciate your prayer for us as we walk
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>> three months after toni henthorn fell to her death in rocky mountain national park, her husband, harold, sent out a christmas card, a photo of him and daughter, haley, hiking in the forest. we appreciate your prayer for us as we walk through this difficult time. now, many people who had loved toni saw the sentiments less is heartfelt, and more as part of a cover-up. >> people see harold as the husband in morning who had just been through a horrible tragedy trying to save his wife. >> that was so odd. we never saw any emotion out of him. the only time he cried was when he got the phone call that my sister's death certificate was going to say pending, and he was more angry than anything else. >> friends and family were suspicious of harold for many reasons, including that he could not seem to get his story straight about what happened to toni.
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the night she died, harold told toni's older brother, barry, on the phone , that toni had lagged behind on the trail and he lost sight of her until he saw her at the bottom of the cliff where she fell. later, when he spoke to toni's younger brother, todd, harold added several new details. >> toni was taking a picture and he had gotten a text saying that haley was playing in a soccer game and it was a picture of haley playing soccer and then when he looked up, my sister was gone. and she had fallen off the cliff. >> harold told many people toni was taking pictures of wild turkeys , while the ranger recalled harold saying toni was trying to get a shot of him . >> harold gave several versions of what happened, and where the stories begin to diverge is really what was exactly happening at the time that she went off the cliff. was she
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taking a picture of him? was he on his cell phone looking at text messages? >> friends and family were not the only ones comparing notes and clues. because toni died in a national park, the fbi joined the investigation and the more they looked at what happened, the more reasons they found for concern, starting with the trail itself. >> this is not an easy dissent. people who knew toni can understand why a woman who had had bad knees since high school would even risk it. dateline retraced harold and toni's path with the help of joey thompson, climbing and hiking guide who often works at rocky mountain national park. >> is this path a path well- traveled? >> no, this path is way out of the way for any recreational hiker to be scouting and having fun in the mountains. >> would you recommend somebody who is not an expert hiker or
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climber come down here? >> definitely not. this is a place that is very loose, high classification of how we rate the terrain. this takes a lot of technical ability and sure footing. this is definitely out of the way. >> what about a woman in her 50s with bad knees? >> absolutely not. >> investigators looked closely at harold story of what happened after toni fell. remember, he said it took a long time to pick his way down the mountain to his bleeding wife suicide and sure enough, nearly an hour elapsed between the last photos on toni's camera and harold's call to 911. but, here is the problem. when investigators retraced harold steps, it took just a few minutes to get from where she fell to where she landed. then, there was harold statement that before calling for help, he had to move toni
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to flatter ground so he could do cpr, but the ground was not flat at all. the first ranger on the scene wondered why harold placed toni's head below her body. harold had told friends he was trained in first aid. usually when there is a head injury, one elevates the head. >> if everything else had been normal you would just say this is a guy who freaked out and made some bad decisions after his wife fell off a cliff. i mean, you have to give people a certain amount of leeway. >> but, everything else is not normal. for example, harold cut his call to 911 short because he said his phone was dying. >> my phone is -- maybe text me because my batteries really low. >> okay, harold. >> yet, when the fbi examined his phone records, they found that over the six hours following his first call to 911, harold mader received 22 calls and 98 text messages. >> is texting his brother-in- law, is texting his friends about picking them up. he's on the phone with different agencies. when was he
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actually performing different cpr on her? harold asserted standing there not doing much of anything. i think he has a fire gun, and the director shows up and suddenly harold zips over and starts performing cpr on his now dead wife. >> remember, a 911 operator had coached harold on cpr, but the ranger noticed toni's lipstick was not smeared, no signs of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. >> we are not heroes all the time. we do the best we can with what we have. but even factoring in all of that, harold's behavior was extremely suspicious. >> perhaps most suspicious of all, a clue from harold's cell phone records that he may have been on that mountain before. in the weeks just prior to
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toni's death, pings from harold's phone show him traveling north toward rocky mountain national park many times, something he never told investigators. harold said that he and toni came to this really hard to get to spot for the views, and they are remarkable , but not much better than the views where they ate lunch just up the hill from here. after the fbi found out that harold had come to rocky mountain national park at least nine times alone before the trip, they started to believe he was on a scouting mission for the perfect lonely location, lured toni to this dangerous ledge, then a deadly push. if that sounded chilling, there was something else to consider. >> after toni died within literally hours, law enforcement got tips saying you have to look into the first wife. >> yes, the first wife. there was a whole other story to tell there. when coming up, what had happened to wife number one when dateline continues? e when dateline continues? arexvy does not protect
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with so much entertainment out there wouldn't it be great... because advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. ...if you could find what you want, all in one place? show me paris. xfinity internet customers can enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience and save on some of the biggest names in streaming, all for just $15 a month. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. andrea canning: when she first heard that her old friend, harold henthorn, had lost his wife, toni, in a fall
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from a cliff, kim laferriere was stunned that tragedy had visited the same man twice. it is possible that someone could be when she first heard that her old friend, harold henthorn, had lost his wife and henthorn, had lost his wife and a fall from a cliff, kim ferrier was stunned the tragedy had visited the same man twice. it is possible that someone could be married to two women who both died from accidents. >> right. at the time, we thought how sad. >> the lesson five years before he met toni, harold had lost his first wife. her name was lynn. kim was lynn's best friend. they met at a christian youth camp. >> when i first met her, she came flying into the room bigger than life and jumped up on one of the bunks and said tell me how you like here. >> was she talking about boys? yes. we're looking at her going, who
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was this wild woman? >> lynn was funny and fiery and full of life. kim knew she liked lynn right away but it was their shared spirituality that cemented their friendship. >> we both were committed to serving god and she would just draw you in and she cared about you and she wanted to pray for you. she wanted to know what you needed. >> lynn was already out of college and working. kim was still in school but they shared prayers and secrets. lynn told kim what she wanted in a man. a christian husband, somebody who love the lord, was a leader in strong but yet gentle, and we talked about it, you know. if i started dating someone or if she did, we had a check in you know, we talked about that. >> did you have to approve? >> i did. >> after all that girl talk about boys, lynn found a man
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kim did approve of. an old friend she had first met in college. his name, harold henthorn. >> she just said there's this really neat guy. you know, we went to school together. >> was harold charming? >> very charming. he was always bigger than life, always smiling, laughing, always the center of attention. >> soon, kim heard the big news from lynn. harold proposed. harold and lynn married on september 11th 1982. kim was happy for her friend but she would see something in harold that day that gave her pause. was it just run-of-the-mill wedding jitters or something far more sinister? >> you are saying even on the wedding day he was being controlling? >> it was just everything was always planned with harold. he moved from one plant to another. >> the two gentlemen that i was with, they started cpr and i said, i got to get her some help. >> a husband in distress, wife and danger. >> i received a call from a friend who said i'm sorry to inform you, but there has been a bad accident. >> when dateline continues. acc >> when dateline continues.
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but that's not how it ended. er a it started as a romanti anniversary weekend. that is now how it ended. toni hen thorn had died after a fall from a cliff in the rocky mount national park. her husband, harold's first wife, lynn, died in a terrible accident. such an awful coincidence. or was it? lynn's good friend says looking back, there were early red flags. you are saying even on the wedding day he was being controlling? >> everything is always planned with harold. heat move from one plan to another. >> kim put her concerns aside and enjoy the festivities. lynn and harold started their new life together in colorado where he had a job as a geologist. then got a job as a social worker. kim was happy for lynn but she also felt like her friend was slipping away. maybe it was the distance. maybe it was her commitment to her marriage.
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just like it would be with toni years later, kim could never seem to get lynn on the phone without harold listening in. >> many times i didn't know he was on the phone, but i would since he was on the phone and i would say, before i said something personal, lynn, is harold on the phone? he would say, hi, kami. >> she couldn't even get alone time when she went to colorado. >> he was always with us and always involved in every conversation. he would even make comments when we would go to the bathroom. you girls, hurry up and there. he would always make those like joking comments. >> that's got to get on your nerves. >> at times it did but he always dismissed it as, i want to get to know you. lynn loves you and i want to love you like lynn does and i want to know who this crazy woman is she loves. >> one harold wouldn't let lynn
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go to kim's wedding even after she offered to help pay for the trip, kim felt like she had really lost her best friend. >> she called me and said i can't come. assad why? can you tell me why? she said i need to honor my husband. that's all she would say. >> kim thought lynn was okay doing what harold said because she believed that was her role as the perfect christian wife. >> there was some all to the fact that she really did honor her husband. she would never speak negative about him. i was looked at her and thought, man, maybe she's the better woman. >> as years went on, lynn and kim spoke less frequently. then in the fall of 1994, there was a reunion of sorts when they went back to the east coast for a visit. lynn and harold got to meet kim's children and as true friends do, the two women picked up where they left off. >> we talked and laughed and it
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was a good time. but we were always altogether. even when it was time to go to bed. harold didn't go to bed until lynn was in bed. >> in other words harold didn't change. kim thought lynn seemed happy. did you think harold was good for her? >> i did, yes. >> what kim didn't know? it was a last time she would ever see lynn alive. may 6, 1995. it was a cool spring evening in the colorado countryside. lynn left at 9:00 p.m. and patricia was with her family on highway 67, about an hour and a half south of denver. basically, in the middle of nowhere. >> came around a bend and there was a flyer in the street. a man tried to flag cars down. >> the man was harold henthorn and he was in a panic. >> harold was at the driver window asking us for help because the car was here and it
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had fallen on top of his wife. looking over to the jack, you could see her legs coming from underneath. >> lynn was under their jeep. it was a horrible scene. >> we asked what happened? he said that stop to fix the flat and his wife somehow went under the car, possibly to get a lug nut, and the jack fell from underneath the car and she got pinned. >> lynn was face down with the brake rotor resting on her back, the montoya's carefully lifted the cheap. >> a four of us got her out and we gently flipped her over and her lips were already turning colors and she was not breathing. >> it was a cold night and the montoya's piled coats on lynn. >> at that point, the two gentlemen i was with, they started cpr. i said i've got to get her
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help. >> time was taking down for lynn. no one had cell phones so patricia raced toward the nearest town, nearly two miles away. it was late. it was desolate. she drove up to one of the few houses. >> i drove up as far as i could get to the door. i flashed my lights and honked my horn until the man came out, and i asked him if he could please call 911. >> the man went inside and made the call. >> he said that help was on his way and i asked if he could bring a couple of blankets to cover her. he grabbed some blankets and he followed me back up the mountain. >> when the 911 call finally went out, accident on route 67, roxanne burns was one of the emts sent out to help. >> when we got on scene, there were two emts working lynn.
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they were doing cpr on her. i asked what they wanted me to do and if there was anything i could help them with. they said no, talk to the husband. >> she asked harold how it happened and he said he wasn't entirely sure. >> he did tell me some lugnuts had fallen under the car and she must've gone under the car to get those lug nuts and somehow jarred the car. >> or, harold thought, he might've jarred the car himself when he tossed the tire into the trunk. roxanne tried to reassure him that they could still save lynn. was she hanging by a thread or do you think they died? >> when you're doing cpr, they are actually dead at that point . you are trying to pump their heart. we called for a helicopter because sometimes when you do cpr, you can actually revive somebody. >> miraculously it seemed, they did manage to revive lynn. >> we actually had a paramedic show up on the scene. gave her a shot of epinephrine.
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her heart started beating again. we were all hopeful at that time that she was going to survive. got her on a helicopter flew her. >> but lynn did not make it. she died at the hospital. she was just 37 years old. >> i remember the day as if it was yesterday. i received a call from a friend who said that i'm sorry to inform you but there's been a bad accident and lynn died, yesterday. >> it was heartbreaking for kim that her friend was dead and she died in a way that was not quick and certainly was painful. the autopsy concluded after the 3000 pound suv fell on her, lynn hemorrhaged into her lungs and died from asphyxiation. the only marks on her body? imprints from the brake rotor. the local douglas county sheriff's department opened an investigation. a few days later, the coroner ruled the death an accident. the case was closed.
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did you have any reason to believe it was not an accident? >> no. we all believed him and took him at his word. any thoughts i might of had, i dismissed. >> he had his wife cremated and spread her ashes on a mountain he said she left and went on with his life. even kept driving the same jeep for a while. eventually, he married toni, and lynn's death became a distant memory. for some people, anyway, but not all. nearly 18 years later, after toni fell off that cliff, the sheriff's office called patricia montoya. >> i don't understand why it took so long. >> the emt roxanne got a similar call and had a similar reaction. when you got the call, was it like, was expecting this call? >> i did say that to him. i said, is this about the car accident upon 67? he said yeah, it is.
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i go, is it about the woman the car fell on her? he said yep. i said, thank god. >> coming up. was the reason to be suspicious of this accident too? >> it made the hair on my neck stand up straight. >> when dateline continues. lin some things should stand the test of time. long-lasting eylea hd could significantly improve your vision. more people on eylea hd had no fluid in the retina, compared to those on eylea at 4 months. eylea hd is the only wet amd therapy that helped 8 out of 10 people go up to 4 months between injections, after 3 initial monthly treatments. if you have an eye infection, eye pain or redness or allergies to eylea hd, don't use. eye injections like eylea hd may cause eye infection, separation of the retina, or rare but severe swelling of blood vessels in the eye. an increase in eye pressure has been seen there is an uncommon risk of heart attack or stroke associated with blood clots.
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the most commons side effects were blurred vision, cataract, corneal injury and eye floaters. and there's still so much to see. if you are on eylea or a similar type of treatment, ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today for the potential for fewer injections. (marci) so, how long have you lived here? ask your retina specialist about eylea hd today and how are the restaurants around here? are they good, bad, meh? (luke) marci, we've gotta go. (marci) i'm sorry. (luke) we've got seventeen thousand more parks to visit. [marci screams] (luke) we bring you the best neighborhood info. (marci) ding dong (luke) homes-dot-com. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source. for up to 8 hours of powerful relief. new advil targeted relief.
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may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. why do couples choose a sleep number smart bed? can it keep me warm when i'm cold? wait, no, i'm always hot. sleep number does that. during our biggest sale of the year, save 50% on the sleep number® limited edition smart bed. shop now at a sleep number store near you. andrea canning (voiceover): it was 2013, nearly 18 years since she'd arrived as an emt at the scene of lynn henthorn's it was 2013, nearly 18
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years since she arrived as an emt at the son of lynn henthorn's bizarre dread when the phone rang. a sheriffs detective on the line. roxanne burns felt a sense of relief. finally, a chance -- >> to make it right. yep. >> she had not forgotten that night in 1995. it wasn't just the horrible way lynn died. her own jeep crushing her but it was a husband, harold, roxanne remembered he wasn't acting right. you've seen a lot of these? >> oh, yeah. he was so calm about the whole thing and didn't ask any questions about how she was or anything like that. he wasn't screaming at me, grabbing at me, saying you have to do something. >> desperate. >> desperate, yeah. >> instead, harold seemed to be avoiding her. >> he kept walking around the car. he kept making me follow him.
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i would ask him a question and he would walk away from me. >> patricia montoya, the good samaritan, also remember thinking that harold was acting strangely. for one thing, even though harold flagged down her family's car, patricia said he didn't seem to want their help. >> we started to get her out from under the car, and that's when he started telling us, get away from her. don't touch her. >> reporter: she noticed even though the night was chilly, lynn was wearing jeans and a t- shirt but harold on the other hand had a nice warm coat. >> he didn't even attempt to take his coat off or cover his wife. we all covered her with our coats. >> when the emts got her heart started, roxanne said harold said something she never forgot. >> when we put her in the ambulance and she did have a heartbeat, he said, really, she has a heartbeat?
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he was more surprised than thankful. >> now that harold lost his second wife toni and a second strange incident, the douglas county coroner's office, which had originally ruled lynn's death an accident, hired a private investigator charlie mccormick to review the case file. he noticed something about harold right away. >> on face value, it was inconsistent and that's never a good sign. >> harold told multiple stories about why he and lynn were on the back road in the first place. >> this guy was all over the map from the get-go. going to dinner had been a dinner. left the house at 3:00. left the house at 6:00. >> in the police reports written hours and days after lynn died, harold is quoted as giving different reasons for why exactly they pulled over. >> he contradicted himself and with the tire problem was. was it a flat? soft? what caused this to happen?
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>> whatever shape the tire was in, they apparently tried to change it, using checks they normally used for a boat because harold told the cops the jack that came with the cheap was broken. >> he couldn't get it to work. he even said he sprayed some oil or solvent to try to get it to work, and it wouldn't work. >> no oil or solvent was ever found to cooperate his story. then, there was the biggest question of all. >> how do get under a car and have a call fall on you? it didn't make sense to me. >> once again, harold seemed to tell multiple stories. patricia montoya remembers him saying lynn under the tree to recovery lucknow. and kim said harold told her lynn was going after a flashlight, not a lucknow. roxanne burns remembered harold saying something else entirely. >> he said she was changing the tire which made the hair on my neck stand up straight because
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i was like, women don't usually change tires when a man is around. >> reporter: the investigators said the original investigation was incomplete. >> there's a lot of things that could've been looked at that would've been easier to look at >> what cause the jeep to fall? harold said he thought it happened when he tossed the tire into the trunk. this photograph shows a shoe print on the front right fender. >> i would've jumped all over that footprint. it should've been analyzed compared to the shoes that everybody had on that was at the scene whether it be harold henthorn or so i for the fire department. >> no when did endo one never check the check that harrell said to make sure it was really broken or the restaurant they were heading to were coming from. depending on which version of
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harold's story, if any, was true. >> interview restaurant employees to see if they did have dinner there that night. did they have a fight? with the getting along old right? or were they not there at all? >> whatever happened, by the time he met toni, harold was telling stories about lynn's death that were entirely different from the original. once, while addressing the sunday cool class, he said his first wife died of cancer. here is what toni's friend allison heard. >> it was one of those cars or trucks or vehicles with the back part opens up and it hit around the neck and broke her neck. she died instantly. >> what toni's family said harold had told them was much more fake. when they learn the truth, it was a complete shock. you believe was at harold's first wife died in a car accident. that's all you knew. and then, you get this bombshell that she didn't die in a car accident.
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it was a lie. >> correct. the first comment out of my mouth, and i'm talking to an investigator, and i said, that sounds worse than my sister's case. >> and, especially in light of toni's death, they wished lynn's case had been investigated more thoroughly. the douglas county sheriff's office declined to speak with us. michael, who is written a book about the case said sheriffs detectives did investigate, at least initially. >> everything was progressing as if it was suspicious and then all of a sudden the brakes were put on the investigation. it was declared an accident and forgotten for nearly 20 years. >> detective charlie mccormick thinks the reasons was a coroner click ruling was that that death was accidental. >> if your policeman and trying to investigate a crime and all of a sudden the coroner who has jurisdiction over all, says it's an accident on, your little cut off at the pass.
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two days after death like this to call it an accident was unfortunate. the facts would indicate that it was a rush to judgment. >> the former coroner said there was no rush to judgment. he did not remember the case but reread the report it dateline's request and says, quote, hindsight is a wonderful thing. at the time, everything fit. there were no suspicions raised and no reason to drag our feet. nevertheless, after toni's death and mccormick's reviewed the douglas county coroner change the manner of the debt from accidental to one determined. still, harold henthorn had not been charged with anything, not in toni's death or's first wife lynn. so sheriffs detective called on lynn's old friend, kim. what did they ask you to do? >> they asked if we were willing to be wired. >> best friend undercover. what would she find out about harold? >> you are taking a call in front of harold from the
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police? >> they said they would fix it.
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this summer in paris, [theme music] we're seeing hard work, dedication, and a whole lot of... [“joy (unspeakable)” by voices of fire ft. pharrell williams begins to play] anastasia pagonis still feeling the joy. grant holloway how about that! keep the flair, keep the emotion, keep the showman, the sport needs it. ♪ ♪
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andrea canning (voiceover): two dead wife's, two lonely places. two dead wives, two lonely places. lynn and toni never knew each other, but they shared so much. in life, they both married harold henthorn and in debt, harold had them bows cremated against the wishes of their families.
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>> we didn't find out my sister was going to be created until her service. we would like to go to a grave and see her. first said the same thing. devastated. never heard she wanted to be cremated. as soon as he got the body release, cremated. >> be added if that wasn't enough, he took those ashes and put them where he wanted them. >> toni's ashes are spread on the same mountain where he spread the first wife's ashes. >> he claims it's their favorite spot. we're talking, he did the same things from start to finish with both wives. crazy. even the same photo pose. >> the families thought what harold did with his wise remains was insensitive. the cops, federal and local, were looking for something else.
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evidence of murder. in douglas county, the detectives went down the list of who might know anything about the's case. they talk to patricia and they talk to roxanne, and they wanted to talk to harold. when he would not agree, they turned to someone he would talk to. his old friend kim, and asked her and her husband to secretly record a conversation with him. >> we said no. at the time, because we felt like he was innocent. >> kim and harold had been close friends for years. >> we prayed about it and we asked our pastor. he said, if he is innocent, then you will be able to reveal that. so then we agreed to do it. >> she and her husband were meeting harold for a meal near her home by first getting wired up by police. the cops were hoping to use harold's words against him. kim, still hoping to exonerate him. where you a little scared? >> i was very scared.
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>> at first she could only think of one thing. >> we had a huge warrior around my waist and i kept saying, he's going to hug me. they said, no, he can. i said he's going to hook me. he does that. they said, no. he can't. i tried to process what am i going to do? >> don't hug me. that looks suspicious. >> i put my hand in front of me to guard the wires. >> crisis averted, they sat down. do you think he could tell anything was up? >> we don't know. he said many times, my attorney has told me my friends would be wired. >> did that send a chill. >> i said, gilly, that's terrible. what they really do that? >> kim and her husband were told to not mention toni into drill down a what really happened when lynn died.
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this wasn't about you saying, did you do this? did you cause her death? it was more about catching him in lies. >> great. >> harold said something that didn't make sense to kim that he put his career on hold when haley was born, and he and toni decided to keep that a secret. >> he told is the reason why he didn't work and did not tell us is toni had asked him not to. he could not tell us because he was afraid that if we ever met up that we would tell them that he was a stay-at-home dad. i am like, we would never see them. he goes, well, i could not take that chance. >> there was a technical glitch. >> at one point my wire wasn't working. >> how did you know it wasn't working? >> they called me on the phone and they told me to get in the bathroom and they would fix it. >> wire fix, kim went back to the table and harold who was never shy about anything, launched into a sad story about
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life without toni. >> we didn't do much talking. he did. he cried and said how hard it was. how it was hard to be a mom and a dad. >> there was one thing harold, who loved to talk, never said. >> we never asked them, did you kill her? but he never said, i didn't kill her. he would make statements like, why would i do that? they are accusing me of this. why would i do that? but he never said, i didn't kill either one of them. >> is a longtime friend, kim couldn't bring herself to believe that harold was capable of murder. even after all of this, you still aren't convinced that he is a killer. >> not 100%. no. we have lots of questions. lots of unanswered questions and lots of concerns. lots of things my husband and i were thinking, can't believe
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this. >> kim and harold continue to talk after that night and it took him some time to process what harold had said. she considered his inconsistencies. the different stories he told her and others. in time, she grew to believe that neither of harold's wives, her friends, had died accidentally. how did that sink in? how did that field? >> sad. i felt he was such a broken person. i just felt sad that he wouldn't even come clean and tell the truth. >> said in part that a man she thought she knew seemed to be someone else entirely. do you think he is the master manipulator? >> yes. i think he totally controls every situation and tries to control everyone. i think when he can't control you, he becomes angry. i never experienced his anger until he was going on and on
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about if the fbi contacted me or anyone contacted me they would tell me lies about him. i said, no they don't. he said what are you talking about? i said, they don't tell you lies. they ask you questions. he said, how do you know this? i said, because i've talked to them. >> did he freak out? harold most of wondered if kim was talking to the fbi, who else was? and, what were they saying about him. >> coming up. yet, another woman in harold's orbit. >> and made a good living and living by myself in a three- bedroom house. he knew i was well-established. >> what about harold? michael fleeman: his wife's life was worth millions of dollars.
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and if she died, he would get all of it. >> his wife's life was worth millions of dollars. as she died, he would get all of it. i to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. billy: one second, grandma. this guy is going to buy my car. okay? arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. grandma: you need carvana... entering plate number... grandma: no accidents, right? billy: no. grandma: generating offer... carvana can pick it up tomorrow! billy: that's an amazing offer. announcer: sell your car the easy way with carvana. choose advil liqui-gels for faster, stronger and longer-lasting relief than tylenol rapid release gels. because advil targets pain at the source of inflammation.
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i'm jessica layton. rapper travis scott was released from custody with no charges following his arrest in paris. the incident involved an alleged flight with the hotel security guard and one of his own security guards. prosecutor's said it was not substantiated. the annual perseid meteor shower will peak overnight on sunday and into the early hours on monday. if conditions are clear, it may be possible to see 100 shooting stars per hour. estion for memb- what would you do if you inherited a fortune? on the christian dating
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site work harold and toni met, there's a question. what would you do if you inherited a fortune? harold rowe, he said he would give a good chunk away and set up a foundation to fund various ministries. harold had come into a small fortune although there's no evidence he gave any of it away. when his first wife, lynn, died, harold told police she had $300,000 in life insurance. and they re-examine the case, they found the amount was more than double that, over $600,000. >> after lynn's death, he collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in life insurance money. is best anyone can tell, this is how he supported himself. >> harold wasn't living the high life and that money. he lived frugally in the years after lynn's death, but by 1999, when he met toni, he may have been trying to upgrade his lifestyle. >> there was evidence that he was researching a number of
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women financial situations including toni's. it had been several years between wives. >> it was during those years he met this woman. >> when you're dating on the internet, a widower is actually, could be a good fine. >> she was on the same christian dating site that they were using. she found harold's profile appealing and reassuring. >> a guy in his late 40s might have a lot of weird tics are haven't had any relationship experience, but a widower, a widower. that's nice. you think that's safe. >> she agreed to meet harold for coffee. he knew how to care himself and he was good looking. he had a tan. and seem to present himself physically. >> she said harold was interested in her work in the film industry and how she was
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making a lot of money. >> i went into detail about what i did and i made a good living and living by myself in a three-bedroom house. he knew i was well-established. >> but she remembers he had few details to share about his work and charities. >> he seemed like he was making more of his life than what was going on. he was pretty vague in his career. >> she saw that as a red flag and decided harold was not for her. she can't remember the exact date they met, but she thinks it was the spring of 2000. if that's correct, harold was already engaged to toni who thought he was a successful consultant to charities, able to supporter's she decided to quit her medical practice and be a stay-at-home mom. that's what he told everyone including a friend making a home video shortly after haley's birth. harold and toni had even lived
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apart for two years after the wedding, supposedly due to the demands of their careers. >> harold told people he was a fundraiser for nonprofits. he had an address, post office box and he had a business card. this was his story. >> when fbi investigators dug deep into harold's financial history, they found no tax returns, no pay stubs, no evidence harold had held a job since lynn died in 1995. >> when he was investigated after toni's death, they could find no evidence at all that he ever made a dime. >> apparently, everything ever said about his job was a lie. including, nearly every thursday when he said he went on business trips. just as there was no business, there were no business trips. the fbi looked at harold's cell phone and credit card records and found out he really spent thursdays at this panera bakery
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a few miles from his house. eating and surfing the web. after the wedding, why did harold say he needed to stay in colorado for his work? why did toni have to leave mississippi? toni's family wandered of harold's real person -- purpose was to separate them so she would be easier to control and maybe to kill. do you think there's the chance that he knew his plan for toni from the very beginning, from the time the said i do? >> they got a life insurance policy as soon as they got back from their honeymoon. and so, i think he was probably going down that path. >> the life insurance policy that but after the honeymoon was just the first one. by the time toni died, there were more. >> a huge part of this investigation was untangling the life insurance policies and what he took out and what toni
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signed off on and what she may not have known about and where the documents went. at the end of the day, harold arranged it so his wife's life was worth millions of dollars, and if she died, he would get all of it. >> investigators discovered four policies totaling $4.7 million. >> on the surface he would make a sound like this life insurance policy. toni would benefit their daughter in a trust. >> one of the policies had named haley as a beneficiary, but harold had bought it. toni's parents had and harold had his daughter's name removed. his name put on instead. he did it just weeks before that beam fell on toni and their mountain cabin. then, days after toni died, he alerted the insurance company, hoping to collect all those millions. couldn't get the money because the case was being investigated.
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they found the insurance policies and the cell phone pings to the park and they know about the near miss at the cabin. they dissected all the lies. finally, they decided, it was enough. november 6, 2014, a little over two years after toni henthorn died, harold dropped haley off at school then headed for home. he never got there. law enforcement stopped him near his house. they arrested harold and charged him with toni's murder. a good day amongst all the bad? >> yeah. >> this won't have a happy ending because we can't bring my sister back. from here out there will be good moments for us, and that was a good moment. it happened to be on my parents 55th wedding anniversary. >> there was a trial to come and another battle.
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with even more at stake. >> coming up. harold henthorn goes to court. >> i'm thinking, this will be hard to prove. no witnesses. no evidence. >> would a jury find a case against him? lester holt: when "dateline" continues. protect against rsv with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy.
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what's the average household income? is there a mall? i don't know. a hair salon? where do you get your hair done? (opponent) you gonna move, or what? (marci) oh, i'm sorry. it's a lovely neighborhood. (luke) marci, we've gotta go. (marci) i'm coming! (luke) we've got seventeen thousand more parks to visit. (marci) you wanna give me a hand? (luke) we bring you the best neighborhood info. (vo) ding dong! homes-dot-com. introducing new advil targeted relief. the only topical pain reliever with 4 powerful pain-fighting ingredients that start working on contact to target tough pain at the source. for up to 8 hours of powerful relief. new advil targeted relief. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this.
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dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. without talking to your doctor. thank you. andrea canning (voiceover): by 2015, the bertolets had been waiting for justice for three years.
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they miss toni, but felt an incredible connection 2015, the bertolets had been waiting for justice for three years. they missed toni but felt a connection through haley. do you see your sister and haley? >> i mean, tremendously smart girl. they are just alike. i think she will grow up to be like her mother. >> when the bertolets went to the media about their suspicion soon after toni's death, he cut off their contact with haley completely. it was agony for toni's family. then, immediately after his arrest, lawyer assigned to represent haley's interest in court made sure she got to see the bertolets. it had been a year since they were even allowed to talk to her. >> she finally got to be a 9- year-old girl. she needs to be able to grow up without a lot of adult issues around her. >> the bertolets went to court.
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harold was still her father and even from jail made it clear he was not going to let his in- laws take his daughter. >> he's in prison for the rest of his life. he deserves to be there and he does not deserve to be a parent to this beautiful child. >> haley stay in colorado and lived with her godparents. the bertolets only chance to gain custody would be of harold was convicted of her mother's murder. harold pleaded not guilty and that meant the steaks were doubly high when on september 8, 2015, 10 months after his arrest, harold went on trial and it would be a battle for spritam and his daughter. the burden of proof is always on the prosecution which, in this case, had no forensic evidence. no physical evidence.
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no fingerprints or dna and no witnesses who saw harold push toni off the cliff. john johnson, juror, was skeptical. >> right at the start, i'm thinking, this is going to be hard to prove. no witnesses. no evidence at that point. so, what do you have? >> there was all that life insurance. there were the cell phone pings that showed harold's goading out toni's last hike. prosecution even showed the jury a map found in harold's car with an x marking the spot where toni fell. there were all those versions of what harold said happened on that mountain. >> this was a case in which the evidence was not so much the physical evidence. the evidence for the lies. it was lie after lie after lie. >> the defense said none of the so called evidence added up to murder. they said the pings in harold's phone didn't show trips to the
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park but him taking about route to his weekend cabin. as for the life insurance, toni knew all about it. besides, they argued, toni would be alive if the park service had sent a helicopter to rescue her as harold begs them to do and even offered to pay for. >> the crux of the defense was harold's an.doc. he says more than a should. that may make him a blowhard and annoying person to be around at a cocktail party but doesn't make him a killer. look past his character and focus on the evidence. nobody saw harold henthorn push toni off that cliff. there's no video of it happening. there's very little physical evidence to prove anything other than it was a fall. >> the prosecution had another powerful card to play although the defense objected, the judge allowed in testimony about his first wife, lynn, her death, life insurance, and about
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harold's many versions of what happened. >> the question was, is this man horribly unlucky? i see a double murder? >> date lie returns after the break. break. is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy. this is carvana. and this is how you can sell us your car. visit carvana, answer a few questions... we'll give you a real offer. then set a time for us to pick it up and pay you on the spot. sell your car the easy way with carvana. (vo) you've had thyroid eye disease for a long time. and you've lived with the damage it caused. but even after all these years, restoration is still possible.
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andrea canning (voiceover): harold henthorn was on trial for the murder of his wife, toni. prosecutors believed he pushed her off a cliff. harold henthorn's was on trial for the murder of his wife toni. prosecutors believed he pushed her off a cliff.
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with no physical evidence or eyewitnesses, the case against him was largely circumstantial. after 10 days, the case went to the jury. john johnson along with fellow jurors peter and jerry told us over the course of the trial, they came to believe toni was a victim from the time she first met harold online. close toni just really unlucky when she chose harold henthorn on that website, or he chose her? >> i think he chose her. i think she was a target. >> because of her age for one thing. >> they thought harold had condor when they met on a dating site, controlled her while they were married, and when they looked at this last photo toni took before she died. they thought they saw harold duping toni one last time. >> in my mind, she was doing the same pose he did. the last photo of him is he's on the edge of the cliff holding onto
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a tree looking over. she gets there at the same time and it's like -- >> while harold was not on trial for killing lynn, they believed he was responsible for her death also. did everyone believe that they were somehow, that there was a pattern? >> there was certainly a pattern. absolutely. >> the similarities were too much to push aside. nighttime incidents. i mean, desolate areas. it was like a domino effect falling into place. >> in the end, they had no dealt. >> guilty. >> absolutely guilty. >> kim cried when she heard the verdict. she cried because she knew what was right and because she thought of her two friends and their last moments on earth. >> i feel sad because lynn was afraid. and i know toni was afraid.
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and that saddens me. but, i have to believe god met them right where they were. held their hand. loved them and told them it was going to be okay. >> harold has never been charged with killing his wife lynn. three months after the verdict in toni's case, harold was back in court for sentencing. toni's family asked that harold be spared the death penalty so haley wouldn't lose both parents forever. harold was sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of release. harold told the court that day that he never killed anyone. he also said he loved his daughter haley. toni's family focus turned to the custody of haley. you hope to resolve that issue that she can be with the bertolets forever? >> i think that's what we are hoping for. >> you fought hard for that
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little girl. >> oh, yeah. her mother was a great person. worked hard. we are doing that because haley needs to inherit all the good things that her mother did, and she needs a secure life going forward. we are doing all that for haley. no one else. >> december 23, 2015, a court in colorado granted toni's oldest brother and his wife guardianship of haley. we will not show her face as she looks now, but it was the best gift the bertolets could've hoped for. haley was with them in mississippi in time for christmas. now, this little girl who is gone through so much is starting to heal. she has her cousin to help. >> people are saying therapeutically helping her through this. i don't really understand, but i don't know how i'm doing this
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but i guess i'm keeping her entertained and happy. >> although what the money harold was after was in a trust for haley, it won't bring her mom back. everyone who knew toni wants to make sure haley never forgets her. >> she came into the office and her mom's lab coat was hanging behind the door. and i said, haley, would you like your mama's work coke? she said, miss tammy, i would like that a lot. so i put it on her and she went , it smells like my mommy. stephanie roller bruner: i'm here, asking for help. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." hello. i'm craig melvin. this is dateline.

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