Man Found Guilty of Murder for Pushing Wife Off Cliff on Anniversary Hike
A Colorado man was convicted of first-degree murder on Monday after prosecutors say he fatally shoved his wife off a 128-foot cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park in order to collect millions of dollars in insurance money, Buzzfeed reports.
According to prosecutors, 59-year-old Harold Henthorn secretly insured the life of his second wife, Dr. Toni Henthorn, for $4.7 million before she fell to her death during a hike celebrating their wedding anniversary in 2012. From KMGH:
Prosecutors also asserted that Henthorn scouted the park nine times before the day he allegedly shoved his wife off the cliff. He had marked a map with an “X” on the location where she fell, prosecutors said.
When questioned about the “X,” an affidavit stated Henthorn “appeared at a loss for words” and “could not explain why there was an ‘X’ on the map.’”
Federal prosecutor Valeria Spencer noted that the death of Henthorn’s second wife was “eerily, creepily” similar to that of his first wife, who was crushed by a car while changing a tire in 1995.
In both cases, Spencer said, the women died in remote locations with Henthorn as the only witness, their bodies were quickly cremated and Henthorn subsequently collected enormous life insurance policies, sending relatives messages saying, “My bride is gone.”
The death of Henthorn’s first wife was eventually ruled to be an accident, but that case has now been reopened, KDVR reports.
According to NBC News, it took the jury only 10 hours to find Henthorn guilty of murder. He now faces a mandatory term of life prison when he is sentenced in December.
“Believe it or not I forgive him for doing it,” said Toni Henthorn’s mother, Yvonne Bertolet. “I feel for him and his family.”