A man has been charged with murder after his second wife fell from a cliff in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park.
The same man’s first wife died in an accident involving a car and jack more than two decades ago.
Harold Henthorn, 59, says both deaths were accidental. He was the only witness both times, and police charged him after discovering that his hiking map was marked with an X drawn exactly where his second wife fell.
AP reports that park ranger Mark Faherty told the court that Harold seemed calm has he explained how his second wife, Toni Henthorn, 50, had plummeted off a cliff in a remote, rocky area.
Investigators later found the map in Herold’s Jeep Grand Cherokee.
.jpg?resize=380%2C285)
“He seemed at a loss for words,” Faherty said.
“He hemmed and hawed before he finally gave me an explanation.”
Harold later said he was not sure why the map was marked with an X.
Harold told police that Toni paused to take a photo before tumbling face-first over the ledge.
Harold’s first wife, Sandra, was crushed when a car slipped off a jack while they changed a flat tire in 1995. Her death was ruled an accident although police have now re-opened the file.
Toni was a wealthy ophthalmologist who life insurance policies totalled $4.7 million.
Henthorn purported to be a successful fundraiser, but prosecutors found no evidence he earned income.
VIDEO: Timor-Leste: Tropical haven free from tourist crowds.
