on the christian dating site where harold and toni met there s a question for members what would you do if you inherited a fortune? harold wrote he d give a good chunk away and set up a foundation to fund various ministries. as it turned out, harold had come into a small fortune, although there s no evidence he gave any of it away. when his first wife lynn died, harold told police she had about $300,000 in life insurance. but when they re-examined the case, they found the amount was more than double that, more than $600,000. after lynn s death, he collects hundreds of thousands of dollars in life in insurance money, and as best anyone can tell, that s how he supported himself. reporter: harold wasn t living the high life on that money. he lived frugally in the years after lynn s death. but by 1999, when he met toni, he may have been trying to upgrade his lifestyle. there was evidence that he was researching a number of
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. reporter: did you have to approve? i did. reporter: after all that girl talk about boys, lynn found a
they suffered a lot of fertility issues and had miscarriages. it was a sadness to her. reporter: back in mississippi, toni s brother todd and sister-in-law rhonda were also struggling to have a baby. but then after years of disappointment for both couples, all their prayers were answered. we both ended up pregnant at the same time. reporter: that must have been a really happy time given what you went through to get there. absolutely. all of sudden, you know, good news here, good news here, and, you know, get ready because, you know, you re going to have a houseful. reporter: in june of 2005, toni and harold welcomed their baby girl, haley. by then, todd and rhonda already had anna kate. when the girls were a little over a year old, the henthorns came to mississippi and the who cousins got to meet. it was a very happy occasion. and i do remember toni just being so happy to have haley, so and so was harold.
i just said, is she okay? no, she died. and i fell to my knees. and my husband said, oh, my gosh, what s going on? and i said, dr. henthorn fell off a cliff. reporter: everyone was heartbroken for toni. harold. and, most of all, the henthorns 7-year-old daughter haley. i put myself on the mountain and at the moment that she probably knew, well, this is it, you know. i know her thoughts were of haley. reporter: about 150 people die in national parks each year. in rocky mountain national park, the leading cause of death is falling. before i wrote this book, i didn t know that the national park had investigators. reporter: journalist michael fleeman covered the death of toni henthorn. i just thought the extent of their police work was to tell you to put out a rogue campfire or something, or don t park here, don t feed the bears.
going, that this had to be incredibly stressful. and she said, her exact comments i ll never forget these words. life with harold is hard. reporter: brother todd and sister-in-law rhonda also looked back and thought how difficult it could be to get toni on the phone without harold listening in. you call their home number, you call her cell phone number, and you could call his cell phone number. reporter: and he would answer? he would answer. when we spoke to her it was never just her. it was always him and her in the background. reporter: tammi recalled how harold used to come into toni s office as if he owned the place and how in his presence, toni, the self-confident doctor, seemed to melt away somehow. she said i ve just learned long ago it s just better to let harold be right. reporter: did that make you kind of sad? that made me very sad, and that s when i really thought