Dateline: 5 harrowing details about Toni Henthorn's murder on NBC's Over The Edge, explored

The murder of Dr. Toni Henthorn is one of the most chilling cases explored on Dateline. The NBC series’ episode Over The Edge delves into the eye surgeon’s tragic fate, explaining how she became a victim at the hands of her own husband, Harold Henthorn.

Toni died after falling off a cliff in 2012. Her husband was convicted of murder three years later. However, the case was not as simple. The investigators found out how Harold played a game of lies, deception, and control with his wife for 12 years.

His ultimate motive was to earn insurance money, and he did not shy away from taking his wife’s life for monetary benefits. Here are 5 gruesome details that Dateline showcased about Toni Henthorn's murder.

5 shocking details about Toni Henthorn’s murder revealed on Dateline

1) Toni’s death was a 'planned' accident

Toni and Harold came across each other online in 1999 and decided to get married immediately, as both wanted to have children and start a family. However, Toni was unaware of Harold’s ulterior motives. The man was previously married to Lynn, who died in 1995 in a mysterious accident.

Following their marriage, Toni and Harold became parents to a daughter named Haley. In 2012, they decided to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary with a hiking trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.

However, the trip ended in a tragic event as Toni fell off a 130-foot-high cliff and passed away. Harold said she slipped and fell to her death while taking pictures. When the death was investigated, the authorities discovered Harold had planned the whole thing.

He had chosen a quiet and hard-to-reach trail for the hike so that nobody could help Toni. His phone had a detailed map of the area, which hinted he might have been planning the accident for a long time.

2) Harold wanted to benefit from Toni’s life insurance policy

Toni was not aware that Harold had taken out two life insurance policies in her name worth $4.7 million. She had not signed off on them. As seen on Dateline, the policies became an important part of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Harold had a history of insurance payouts. He had made a similar move following the death of his first wife, Lynn, and received $600,000. Hence, it became clear that Harold saw Toni not as a wife, but as a way to make money.

3) Toni’s injuries told a different story

Harold’s story about Toni slipping and falling did not match the evidence. Dateline's Over The Edge shows that experts found Toni’s injuries could not be attributed to a simple fall. Instead, it seemed like she had been pushed off a cliff with force. Hence, her death was ruled as murder and not an accident.

4) Toni’s marriage was built on lies

Toni had been manipulated by her husband for years. Her family later explained how Harold tried to cut her off from them and controlled her. He also lied about who he was.

Harold claimed to be a successful businessman, but in reality, he had not worked since 1992. Instead, he lived off money from insurance payouts and relied on Toni for income.

Dateline also explores how further investigation revealed Harold had been fooling Toni for years for his personal gain. He even controlled the life of their young daughter by keeping a camera in her room, even when she had stopped being a baby.

5) The parallels between Toni and Lynn’s death

Though it was never confirmed, prosecutors believed Harold was responsible for Lynn’s death as well. Lynn died in an accident in 1995 when she was changing a flat tire on an empty road and the car fell on her. At the time, Harold was the only person around her.

Toni’s death was eerily similar to Lynn’s, as both incidents happened at remote locations with no witnesses. Further, Harold benefited from the life insurance policies of both his wives. Though Harold was never convicted for Lynn’s death, some people still deem him responsible and call it a murder.

On the other hand, he was convicted of Toni’s murder in 2015 and received a life sentence. Haley has since cut ties with her father and only addresses him as Mr. Henthorn. Meanwhile, the pain of Toni’s death continues to torment her loved ones.