Harold Henthorn, 59, had claimed that his wife fell 130 feet to her death while pausing to take a picture on September 29, 2012.
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His dishonesty was so firmly cemented that Truman, his attorney, nearly apologized that his client “can’t tell the same story twice”, but he added that none of that proves Henthorn killed either of his wives.
But a jury in Colorado didn’t buy that claim, finding him guilty of first-degree murder. Investigators said he was at a loss for words when they questioned him about it. “Henthorn, who has been in custody since his arrest, will not again experience life outside a prison cell”, said U.S. Attorney John Walsh in a statement.
In a largely circumstantial case, federal prosecutors said in court filings that Henthorn gave “wildly varying accounts” about how Toni Henthorn, a Denver-area ophthalmologist, died. Family and friends of his second wife described Harold Henthorn as controlling and creepy. He told another witness both he and Toni were checking text messages and Toni had wandered too close to the edge.
Prosecutor Valeria Spencer portrayed Henthorn during closing arguments Friday as a man who has killed twice, though he was on trial for just one death. The first wife’s death was an accident, he said, as was a 2011 incident in which a 20-foot beam fell on Toni Henthorn while the couple was working at their mountain cabin. She was crushed by a vehicle when it fell off its jack as he was changing a tire.
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Prosecutors argued during a two-week trial that Henthorn staged his wife’s death to look like an accident because he stood to benefit from her $4.7 million in life insurance policies. Police reopened an investigation into her death after Henthorn was indicted for Toni’s death.
