In Colorado, a 59-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his wife by pushing her off a cliff in order to collect millions in life insurance money. The incident occurred on Sep. 29, 2012 at the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Before the death of his wife Toni, the accused, Harold Henthorn, had taken out three life insurance policies in her name worth $4.5 million in total. He was arrested in November 2014.
The couple had gone to the park to celebrate their wedding anniversary and Toni Henthorn fell around 130 feet to her death from a ledge near a popular hiking trail. But, her friends questioned why the couple was in such rugged terrain since Toni wasn’t an avid hiker.
Toni’s friends and family described Harold as both controlling and creepy.
Prosecutors alleged that, before his wife’s murder, Harold had visited the park nine times in order to find a location “perfect for murder.” A map was also recovered in which the place where Toni fell was marked with an X.
The trial and subsequent conviction also raised questions about the mysterious death of his first wife, Sandra Lynn, in 1995.
She was crushed to death after the car Harold was changing a tire on fell off its jack. Even though it was ruled an accident, a local sheriff claimed, back in February, that Sandra had been murdered. Before her death, a life insurance policy had been taken out in her name as well.
"Today's conviction means Harold Henthorn will never hurt or kill another woman," said Bob Troyer, Federal Prosecutor.
After the verdict was delivered on Monday, defense attorneys refused to comment. The sentencing is set for December when Harold Henthorn could be awarded a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole.
