Transcripts for MSNBC Dateline 20190826 06:26:45 archive.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from archive.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
and died from asphyxiation. the only marks on her body, imprints from the brake rotor. the local douglas county sheriff s department opened an investigation, but a few days later the coroner ruled lynn s death an accident. the case was closed. did you have any reason to believe this wasn t an accident? no. we all believed him and took him at his word. any thoughts that i might have had i just dismissed. reporter: harold had his wife cremated, spread her ashes on a mountain he said she loved, and then went on with his life. he even kept driving the same jeep for a while. eventually he married toni, and lynn s death became a distant memory. for some people, anyway, but not all. nearly 18 years later after toni fell off that cliff, the sheriff s office called patricia montoya. i don t understand why it took so long.
came flying into the room bigger than life and she jumped up on one of the bunks and said, tell me who you like here. reporter: was she talking about boys then? yeah, she was. i m like looking at her going, who is this wild woman? reporter: lynn was funny and fiery and full of life. kim knew she liked lynn right away, but it was their shared spirituality that cemented their friendship. we both were committed to serving god, and she would just draw you in. and she cared about you. and she wanted to pray for you. she wanted to know what you needed. reporter: lynn was already out of college and working. kim was still in school. but they shared prayers and secrets. lynn told kim what she wanted in a man. a christian husband, somebody who loved the lord, was a leader and strong but yet general. and we talked about it. you know, if i started dating someone or if she did and we had a check and, you know, we talked about that. i don t know if that s the best person for you. rep
reporter: it was a cold night. the montoyas piled coats on lynn. and so at that point, the two gentlemen that i was with, they started cpr. and i said, i got to get her some help. reporter: time was ticking down for lynn henthorn. no one had cell phones, so patricia raced toward the nearest town, nearly two miles away. it was late. it was desolate. she drove up to one of the few houses. i drove directly up to as far as i could get to the door. and i flashed my lights and i honked the horn until the man came out. and i asked him if he could please call 911. reporter: the man quickly went inside and made the call. then he came back out. he said that help was on its way. i asked him if he could bring a couple of blankets to cover her. and he grabbed some blankets and he followed me back up the mountain.
reporter: whatever happened that night, by the time he met toni, harold was telling stories about lynn s death that were entirely different from the original. once, while addressing a sunday school class, he said his first wife had died of cancer. and here s what toni s friend allison heard it was one of those cars or trucks or vehicles where the back part opens up. it hit her on the neck and it broke her neck. and she died instantly. reporter: what toni s family said harold had told them was much more vague. when they learned the truth, it was a complete shock. your belief was that harold s first wife had died in a car accident. that s all you knew. yeah. reporter: and then you get this bombshell that she didn t die in a car accident. correct. reporter: it was a lie. and the first comment out of my mouth and i m talking to an investigator i said, that sounds worse than my sister s case.