Harold Henthorn was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2012 death of his second wife, Toni, who fell more than 100 feet from a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park. Prosecutors argued he pushed her. The Tenth Circuit affirmed that conviction in 2017. The separate death of his first wife, Lynn, was introduced at trial as similar prior conduct; that evidentiary ruling is not a conviction for her death.
What happened to Toni Henthorn?
In September 2012, Toni Henthorn fell more than 100 feet from a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park. The site was remote, had poor cellular service and had no nearby aid stations. Harold Henthorn called 911 at about 6:00 p.m. The first ranger arrived after 8:00 p.m., by which time Toni was dead. These details are recounted in the Tenth Circuit’s opinion in United States v. Henthorn.
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What did prosecutors allege, and what did the court establish?
The government charged Henthorn with first-degree murder and argued at trial that he pushed Toni over the cliff. That was the prosecution’s theory of how she died; it should be distinguished from the case facts the appellate opinion recounts and from the legal outcome.
A federal district court convicted Henthorn of first-degree murder for Toni’s death. On July 26, 2017, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. The conviction concerns Toni’s death, not Lynn’s.
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Why was his first wife’s death discussed at trial?
Evidence about the death of Henthorn’s first wife, Lynn, was admitted as similar prior conduct under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). The Tenth Circuit reviewed that evidentiary decision and concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion: it found the evidence relevant and that its probative value was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.
That ruling addressed whether the evidence could be considered in the trial over Toni’s death. It does not establish that Henthorn was convicted of killing Lynn. The appellate opinion’s treatment of Lynn’s death as prior-conduct evidence should not be mistaken for a separate murder conviction.
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What the appeal decided
The appeal affirmed the district court’s judgment, including its decision to admit the prior-conduct evidence. It was an appellate review of Henthorn’s Toni murder case, not a separate determination of criminal responsibility for Lynn’s death.
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