The Accidental Husband | Full Episode

Two wives die in freak accidents 17 years apart. One man was married to both women. Is he just unlucky or does he know more than he’s telling? “48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant investigates. Watch more full episodes of “48 Hours” on Pluto TV.

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Crime. Social justice. Impact. “48 Hours” investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. “48 Hours,” which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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foreign [Music] and I have a series of texts from my brother-in-law Harold henthorne regarding my sister Tony hinthorne this is Barry urgent Tony is injured to fall from Rock she has been in a critical accident falls off of a ledge 140 feet and she does die there on the mountain that night being the big brother and supposed to take care of your sister you can’t do it it’s a bad feeling I need to be there for my sister and I couldn’t Tony henthorne died in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012 in a fall it’s not that unusual at all that people die in falls in the Rocky Mountains I’m now at 9 354 feet and Counting take a look at this talk about rugged terrain this is crazy since we first brought you this story new evidence some right here on the mountain and that’s just the beginning what’s unusual is that in this case it happened with a guy whose first wife died in such a freak accident 17 years earlier her name is Lynn hanthorne [Music] I thought Harold was a great guy well very Charming I thought this is good my sister needs a good man like this [Music] Lynn and Harold they’ve been on a drive late at night they had stopped to fix a soft tire not even a flat tire and what were you told how had your sister died you had she’d been crushed under a car changing a tire we all were shocked at the bizarreness but the police ruled it an accident there are so many similarities in these two deaths both occurred in very remote locations in Colorado in both cases Harold henthorne is the only Witness this is either the unluckiest guy in the world whose two wives have died under freakish unusual circumstances or it could be murder [Music] 48 Hours The Accidental husband continues in 90 seconds [Music] Rocky Mountain National Park is a place known for its soaring Beauty Majestic wildlife inspiring serenity but in September of 2012 it was a site of heartbreak we’ve hiked up to the 10 000 foot level in the Rocky Mountain National Park to a place where either a tragic accident occurred or did Harold henthorne push his wife to her death [Music] of how love might have gone murderously wrong begins with a joyful time I was extraordinarily happy for my sister it appeared that she found her true love and if she was happy I was happy Tony a sophisticated southern belle met Harold in 1999. Tony’s brother Barry was pleased his 37 year old sister had found the kind of man she was looking for she experimented with Christian matchmakers and she met this guy named Harold hinthorne her comments were that he was very kind he was very romantic he was very smart both had lost their first spouse under dramatically different circumstances Tony’s marriage had ended in divorce while Harold’s first wife died in a tragic incident what did you know about Harold’s first wife Lynn when we had asked Harold about that the only response that we had was that she died in a car accident Barry’s wife Paula not wanting to upset Harold didn’t want to pry I thought it was just a bad car wreck when she died also we you know didn’t want to ask him to elaborate we just took it for face value he seemed like a good match for Tony Tony’s parents Bob and Yvonne had a good feeling when they first met Harold you said I was just smitten by Tony it was easy to be taken with Tony she was attractive and successful a prominent eye doctor and surgeon in Jackson Mississippi that looks very pretty on you oh thank you mostly though Tony was known for her caring nature she loved people and if she could make somebody feel better she would and this started early in her life the middle child with two brothers Tony was a standout in school did you compete academically oh yeah and she smoked me she’s probably the smartest lady I’ve ever met no small praise coming from Barry himself a prominent cardiologist and Harold seemed accomplished as well really nice describing himself as a fundraising consultant with his own company I work with nonprofits let me churches schools or hospitals I thought that was a interesting but an odd business at that time too a year after meeting the couple got married in Mississippi they soon moved to the Denver Colorado area where Harold previously lived and said he had business contacts Tony joined a local Ophthalmology practice but Tony’s strong family ties there’s Tony and Harold would often bring the loving couple back to Mississippi for holidays [Music] come out visit in Denver one thing was missing from their life a child and in 2005 Tony and Harold celebrated the birth of their daughter Haley I have Daddy Mommy trainer he had his daughter he had his wife he had his nice life Daniel Jarvis was a long time family friend of Heralds he seemed like a good husband it seemed like he provided he’s a very good father when Daniel decided to move to Colorado Harold and Tony let him stay with them for several months and what was it like inside the henthorne household Tony went to work in the you know most mornings Harold he worked down in his basement he would say that he was meeting with a client going to lunch or he was traveling Christmas newsletters painted a picture of a happy family with successful careers for both Tony and Harold but in 2006 their lives took a terrifying turn while Barry was demonstrating his new cat scan machine he discovered that Harold’s arteries were dangerously clogged Harold is in the throes of the beginnings of a heart attack Harold was rushed into surgery do you believe that you saved Harold’s life I know that I did and Harold would confirm that Tony had her own brush with death in 2011. she was injured in an unusual accident at their mountain cabin when a heavy wooden beam fell on her she said I saw something on the floor and if I had not picked it up it would have killed me instantly but it hit the back of my neck and fractured a vertebra and with that she did lose some sensation in her hands when I would call Harold it was like oh it’s no big deal I didn’t learn about this until much later and I said why didn’t somebody call me and she said Harold didn’t call you and I said No by this time Tony’s Family says Harold had become a demanding and controlling husband even talking with Tony on the phone seemed impossible Harold would always answer see he had the house phone hooked to his cell phone the only one-on-one conversation I ever had was with Harold if I tried to talk to Tony or a Haley it was always on speakerphone why do you think he did this I think that he likes to control everything that was also the impression of workers in Tony’s eye practice Drewes noticed Harold wanted to be involved in everything when our doctors would have meetings Harold had to be part of it he had to know everything she was doing while the staff adored Tony office manager Tammy abruscado says their feelings for Harold were quite different he made us uncomfortable he was kind of um kind of there was something creepy about him she was not able to schedule anything outside of her normal schedule without first Consulting with Harold so it was a pleasant surprise when in September of 2012 Harold asked Tammy to help plan a 12th wedding anniversary surprise trip to Rocky Mountain National Park she gladly obliged secretly clearing Tony’s schedule so she could leave early the to him and if he was going to it was good it’s kind of exciting you know maybe for just a moment I thought oh it’s kind of cool maybe he’s not so bad the entire office got involved Christy took out her cell phone to record the surprise it’s the last image it’s the last time anybody who was close to her saw her alive on September 29th 2012 on a beautiful day like this Harold and Tony set out on this Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park on their anniversary hike about two miles up Harold LED them off Trail into rough Terrain she had bad knees so she was not a well person to go hiking particularly in a rugged terrain these photos were taken on that anniversary hike a hike that went terribly wrong as Barry learned through those text messages from Harold this is Barry urgent Tony is injured critical requested flight for life and then he texts me back saying that she’s gone nearly 140 feet toward death Barry had to break the news to his parents that his 50-year-old sister had died and Barry said she’s gone it’s the worst two words I’ve ever heard in my life it was like no this didn’t happen and for Tony’s Family what happened here wasn’t adding up from Tony with her bad knees taking a strenuous hike to Harold texting Barry during the accident to the multiple explanations Harold gave about how Tony died the story is is that he notices that she was lagging behind and he can’t find her so he starts looking over edges and and then he sees that she’s down at the bottom then says Barry that story quickly changed he tells me then that he got a text message and so he has his head down looking at that phone text and he sees it there’s like a little Flash and then Tony’s not there and does that story change that story changes by the next day Tony now is taking a picture of Harold and Tony has presumably while setting up a shot of him falling backwards off of a cliff and so here are three stories and basically less than 48 hours and what are you thinking morning buzzers are gone off what about the notion that maybe he was suffering post-traumatic stress and those crazy versions of stories was all a result of shock I think that you’re going to take all of that in context if he does have this rational emotional Behavior how does he have it together so well to plan her funeral not even 48 hours after his wife has died he’s got a video made he’s got the songs picked out he’s already contacted the people that are going to sing the songs it’s too well planned five days after Tony’s death hundreds gathered at a memorial service our purpose today is to honor and to remember Tony hinthorne by then Harold had already cremated Tony a decision which added to the list of red flags for the Birdo lays we did not want Tony cremated and Harold insisted we wanted to bring her home and bury her I think he was trying to hide evidence I think that Harold henthorne pushed my sister off the mountain here you are grieving her death which you now believed may have been a murder and if that’s the case the murderer is sitting right next to you right that’s correct law enforcement as it does with all deadly Falls was immediately investigating and discovered something that raised suspicions they found this map inside Harold’s Jeep with a hand-drawn X on the spot where Tony fell after the service he came up to me and his first thing was they found a map they found a map he didn’t come up and give you a hug and say what a tragedy I’m so glad you’re here no first words out of his mouth is they found a map yeah did you have any idea what he was talking about no clue no idea but a few weeks later Harold brought it up again explaining to Daniel the map was meant for him to highlight a nice Trail Harold also told Daniel he could never hurt Tony he’s saying you lived with us you know that there was nothing wrong in our marriage you know that I could never do this and what did you say I said yes I agree I don’t believe you could ever do this The Herald that you knew is HE capable of murder not the herald I knew I knew he did it co-workers and close friends kind of privately were talking and saying you know I really feel bad to say this but I think that Harold did this in fact many tips were coming into law enforcement 16 calls and letters all requesting Tony’s death be further investigated with fingers pointing at Harold and then there was a tip received by Brian Moss Denver’s cbs4 investigative reporter and 48 Hours consultant it changed everything and it just said his first wife died in a freak accident as well so it was right up about up here Brian began investigating both deaths and was shocked by what he found in both cases the accidents are freakish or bizarre extremely unusual he tells lots of different stories both wives had a lot of insurance money on them he was the one who was going to benefit from that real Harold henthorne find out now on Facebook at 48 hours [Music] Tony you say something Tony henthorne had a lot of friends she had a lot of people who loved her and right from the start wanted to see Justice they didn’t feel good about what happened with questions being raised about how Tony henthorne fell to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park investigators seen here were retracing her last steps now focusing on the only witness her husband Harold remember his first wife Lynn had also died in unusual circumstances in 1995 crushed under their Jeep she was a great woman she was awesome in heart and soul it’s so hard to convey the beauty of anyone’s Spirit but Lynn was truly she was the real thing Lynn’s siblings Kevin Lee son and Eric were delighted when their loving sister a social worker found Harold to share her life with he was Charming he was a a fun guy to be around she adored him Grace Rochelle Lynn’s sister-in-law remembers how happy Lynn seemed during her 12-year marriage to Harold she looked at him with very loving adoring eyes it was a feeling Grace could understand he began to be like this wonderful big brother to me would you say a loving personality oh incredibly there are a lot of times as my family began to grow of watching Harold relate to my girls and how engaging he was with them he and Lynn never forgot a birthday Christmas it just you couldn’t ask for you know more loving family but on May 6 1995 tragedy struck [Music] we got a call from a paramedic letting us know that there had been an accident and she was gone and it is horrible pain it was like we all came as quick as we could to be there and a comfort Harold and what did you know about the circumstances of Lynn’s death what were you told oh it was just a freak accident Harold told law enforcement he and Lynn had gone out for dinner and a drive in this remote area called Sedalia while driving Harold thought he was getting a flat tire he pulled off the highway here onto the shoulder you see right behind me in the dark to change the tire Lenny said was helping out holding the tires lug nuts as he removed them Harold says she dropped one and it went under the vehicle and at the same time that Lynn went under to retrieve it Harold says he threw the flat tire in the back knocking the Jeep off of its Jack and onto Lynn the Lynn that you knew so well was she the kind of woman who would crawl under a car was that her nature no that wasn’t at all that’s why it did seem odd Lynn’s siblings also thought the accident bizarre but they too couldn’t imagine Harold was involved there’s a man that we vacationed with and spent hundreds of hours with and um we just didn’t allow ourselves to go there [Music] the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department responded to the accident and started investigating and just like in Tony henthorne’s case 17 years later Harold told a number of conflicting stories Reports say Harold told one Deputy they were driving back from dinner told another they were going to dinner according to one report Harold said Lynn called out his name after the Jeep fell on her but he told another investigator that Lynn said I think something’s on me Harold told one Deputy he pulled Lynn out from underneath that jeep he later said that people who stopped to help pulled her out the Sheriff’s Office investigated Lynn’s death for six days then closed the case calling it an accident as did the coroner at the time in the following years investigators say Harold continued telling various versions of what happened the day Lynn died one bewildering contradiction after another CPR people or the people the EMTs didn’t know what they were doing and they actually crushed her that she was killed in an automobile accident a head-on automobile accident not under the car no no there were lots of conflicts Laura Thomas became the Douglas County coroner in 2011. 16 years after Lynn’s death a Colorado State Trooper for decades she hadn’t known about Lynn’s accident until she heard about Tony’s tragic fall and learned both women had been married to the same man and you hear this story what are you thinking well I’m thinking that I need to go into investigator mode there were lots of things in this story that don’t make any sense to me at all if Lynn henthorne’s accident had been properly investigated Tony henthorne you alive today you know Peter you you question that I have asked myself for over two years Can’t Get Enough NCIS walk the streets with real agents it’s a Race Against Time and you know you’re running out of it missing or murdered in a harsh expansive desert it’s like finding a needle in a thousand Haystacks there was some information about Abandoned mines being involved in the search she has to be in that Canyon this is not a number this is a human being Tuesday [Music] so if I let the air out what really happened in 1995 the night Lynn henthorne Herald’s first wife was crushed under their Jeep asked Arnold wheat a nationally recognized accident reconstruction specialist to review Lynn’s case that’s right uh 15 to 16 pounds right there [Music] using a seller make and model as the henththorne’s Jeep Cherokee wheat of 48 Hours consultant deflated the tire to the pressure that Harold claimed forced him to pull over on that remote darkened Highway this doesn’t look flat no is this undrivable in your opinion no in most people’s mind a flat tire is flat with the rim on the ground I’ve driven on a rim this is anywhere close to being on the rim no it’s not then there’s an unusual kind of Jack that wheat thinks was similar to this that Herald in one report told investigators he used to change the tire is this a bit precarious to be putting up a 4 000 pound Jeep Cherokee absolutely Harold told investigators he had to use an unconventional Jack because the one that came with the Jeep didn’t work acclaimed wheat finds suspicious how often have you heard a jack like this failing never never what’s worse says coroner Laura Thomas is it seems investigators just took Harold’s word that the Jack was defective there’s no indication that the sheriff’s department tested that Jack they never tested it not in the information that I’ve read another issue one of the tires lug nuts this is a lug nut it has flat surfaces Harold says Lynn dropped a lug nut that somehow rolled all the way under the Jeep causing Lynn to go retrieve it they’re on a gravel surface lug nuts don’t move very far when you drop them on a gravel surface how that lug nut got underneath there just doesn’t make sense that certainly is suspicious to me do you believe as you sit across from me right now that Harold henthorne has gotten away with murder in Lynn’s case I think there is a very good chance that he has in December 2014 shortly before her term as coroner ended Laura’s suspicions led her to make a dramatic decision I don’t believe that Lynn henthorne got Justice she changed the manner of death in Lynn henthorne’s case from accident to undetermined [Music] the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department also reopened Lynn’s case but has not charged Harold henthorne with any crime you say something into the camera meanwhile Federal investigators looking into the 2012 fatal fall of Harold’s second wife Tony we’re zeroing in on him they interviewed Daniel Jarvis the friend who briefly lived in the henthorne house she asked me what Harold had told me about his job and I gave her the details of he said he was a fundraising consultant for non-profits the investigator listened to Daniel’s story and then presented some jaw-dropping news she said let me go ahead and tell you something Harold has not worked in 20 years and it’s kind of like a bomb exploded Federal investigators have come out and proven he had no income at all that he wasn’t raising any money but he was telling everybody that he was this incredibly successful entrepreneur and businessman who is Raising all this money for various organizations Harold reportedly told others that Tony knew he wasn’t working Acclaim Tony’s Family says is untrue as Harold controlled the finances law enforcement also thinks the time when Tony was accidentally struck in the head at the family’s cabin may have actually been the first time Harold tried to kill her everyone wanted answers from Harold Mr henthorne here is he here and he wasn’t talking is there a time when we could get together with you I want to give you another opportunity to explain what’s going on I just want to give you a chance to it’s my turning I really don’t appreciate being my property like this Federal authorities do not believe that Harold henthorne is any kind of a hard luck husband who’s just a victim of circumstance they think he is a killer a killer they believe with a motive and a bizarre business model collecting life insurance proceeds worth millions nearly 645 thousand dollars on Lynn and potentially Millions on Tony do authorities believe that Harold had basically started up a cottage industry here marry someone get life insurance and off the wife they’ve connected the dots that way [Music] and Grace Rochelle Harold’s ex-s sister-in-law thinks she could have been part of that industry something she learned when the FBI told her about a secret four hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy Harold had taken out on her Grace says Harold forged her signature making himself the sole beneficiary that was his doing I did not authorize that policy you die he profits he profits what do you think he was up to I think it’s logical to conclude that he was planning on taking my life at some point you potentially were going to be victim number three he’s a dangerous man he needs to be behind bars did you kill both of your wives finally in November of 2014 how did Tony die Harold henthorne was arrested and charged by federal authorities with the first degree murder of Tony and justice for Tony could bring Justice for Lynn henthorne she didn’t deserve to be crushed under a Jeep out here as a judge ruled the circumstances surrounding Lynn’s death can be presented at his trial for Tony’s murder it will strengthen the case enormously for Tony to have Lynn’s case added in and in September 2015 three years after Tony’s death Harold hemphorn’s trial for her murder began going into this trial I’m really thinking this is a toss-up you have no eyewitnesses there’s no confession so you’re wondering if there’s one hold out juror if one person doesn’t buy circumstantial evidence can the government really sell this case I’m going to step off here show you the scene in front of the federal courthouse right now national and local media Gathering they’re waiting for the families there’s a lot of interest in Denver and frankly around the world in this trial because the circumstances are so unusual a husband whose two wives die in these freak accidents the federal judge in the case told prospective jurors this trial quote will be a doozy did you kill both of your wives the murder trial of Harold henthorne where cameras were not allowed begins with the prosecution laying out its circumstantial case they portray Harold henthorne as an abject liar who’s lied about everything in his life they say that he stood to make about 4.7 million dollars in life insurance if Tony henthorne died so your mom’s doing okay henthorne’s defense attorney stands up and says my client’s a very unusual quirky guy and he has lied but that doesn’t necessarily make him a killer I just remember the defense attorney Roberts the proof the prosecution set out to do just that using Drone footage video and photographs documenting the couple’s Ascent along the mountain trail they believe became a murder scene they were able to establish a pattern of him visiting that same area because his phone when he would text or call was hitting the same exact Tower juror Mark CC Miller Zahn says the FBI presented evidence using henthorne’s cell phone records to show he made repeated scouting trips and how many times did he visit that area nine times what does that tell you it tells me he’s planning also compelling to jurors was that 9-1-1 call [Music] evidence didn’t seem to support the efforts Harold claims he made after climbing down the mountain to revive Tony including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and her lipstick was still on so you’d know that would be impossible and there was the testimony of Barry bertile Tony’s brother who is a doctor about the text he received from Harold at one point she’s slow heart rate at another point she’s fast heart rate well which is it there was also this powerful piece of evidence that map taken from Harold’s Jeep where he had drawn an X at the very spot where Tony had fallen to her death long time friend Daniel Jarvis testified how Harold told him at Tony’s funeral that the map had been made for him it wasn’t made for me I believe it was made for that time and he put an x on there so so what do you think this all adds up to I think he planned to go out there and have nobody around and do what and push Tony off a cliff it was like okay he’s trying to hide something juror Jerry tabota and trying to get Mr Jarvis to be on his side of the story another point of drama came when the prosecution presented evidence that Harold may have stolen a precious item from his dead wife’s body after Tony henthorne’s fall they find her wedding ring on her finger her hand not severely damaged but the diamond is missing from the wedding ring and it’s worth about thirty thousand dollars according to Harold and that area was scoured scoured investigators combed through that area and so it was a real mystery where did the diamond go but eight months later an investigator returning to the scene suddenly found the diamond suspiciously sitting on the ground in plain sight during the investigation Harold henthorne got a lot of pressure from the FBI about that diamond and it got to him the prosecution believes Harold henthorne put the diamond back and there was that information allowed about the unusual way Harold’s first wife Lynn died crushed under that jeep once we learn more about Lynn’s death and the circumstances of her death then it started coming together for me that there were very many similarities in the two cases pattern of behavior pattern of behavior there was only one person these jurors now wanted to hear from someone they felt had some explaining to do I wanted to hear from Harold I would have loved to see him get on the stand and give another account to the jury of what happened that night and it didn’t happen in fact Harold’s defense attorney rested his case without calling a single witness confident jurors would see Tony’s death as an accident Tony’s brother Barry looked over at Harold what did you see on his face it was a defiant look it is like it was one of these come and get me and I hope we did the jury began its deliberation we’re all somewhat anxious and waiting the decision if there’s a hung jury gather together for the weight is not just Tony’s family but Lynn’s as well we hope to be able to have a celebratory dinner tonight together so we’re just praying that the jury will come back and get a quick verdict after 10 hours of deliberation the jury took a vote our four-person said who’s for guilty and every hand in the room went up every half every hand quickly Harold henthorne was convicted of first-degree murder after the trial officially ended in all the years I’ve been doing this I’ve never seen that before what happens I went and hugged Yvonne the mother of Tony and just whispered into ear and no Mom should ever go through what you’ve gone through she just said as one mom to another feel your pain while the verdict means Justice for the fertilized Barry’s mind still wanders back to that time he saved Harold from a certain heart attack the man he now knows went on to kill his sister you know I think as a physician you know you have this oath and this obligation to do that but I’d like to add my sister back Barry is not alone in regrets Lin’s family has its own we grieve for the bird lays because had we come forward at that time with uh with more suspicions then maybe Tony would be alive today one tragic connection they share is the fact that Harold spread Tony and Lynn’s ashes 17 years apart at this same spot yeah I’m glad that we’re here with you little girl no now young Haley henthorne is the focus of attention she is slowly learning details about her mother’s death your mama was about my height what she yeah she was about 5’4 people in Mississippi don’t get to see mountains that much Barry and Paulo worked through the courts to bring Haley as their award to Mississippi the place her mother considered home where might she end up hopefully right there I’ll say right there you’d like to adopt her absolutely we’re excited about you coming in that she can be in a place where she’s loved by family and grow up in an environment where everybody knew her mom as intelligent smart is a hero I want her to know who her mom really was [Music] wow that’s awesome [Music] stole my heart the minute I saw her 1978 Barbara nante and Jamal decided to go on a camping trip to the beach and it was some time after they had fallen asleep that they were attacked I was knocked unconscious I couldn’t protect her dad looked at me and said your sister has been murdered who would want to kill her and why six years later another young woman was found murdered nearly The Identical location there really was no big break until 2012 there are multiple suspects a variety of motives yeah my husband didn’t do it I knew they were wrong as a murder mystery this has everything you would want CBS News originally [Music]