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. reporter: and especially in light of toni s death, they wished lynn s case had been investigated more thoroughly. the douglas county sheriff s office declined to speak with us. but michael fleeman who has written a book about the
911, what s the address of the emergency? i need an alpine mountain rescue team immediately. reporter: but there never was a rescue. toni died too soon. her friend allison talley says in the days after toni died, everyone s focus was dealing with their grief while trying to help haley and harold. he s the grieving widower with the young daughter. right. there was no shortage of people over there trying to help and be in the home. we talked to him several times and every conversation had that element in it of how wonderful all his friends and his church family were being to him. reporter: within a day of toni s death, harold reached out to someone who had always been there for him, kim laferriere. i got a text at 10:30 on sunday night. toni fell. my bride is gone. and i remember looking at this going what? and i ran upstairs. my husband was asleep. and i said, toni s gone.
an accidental fall, and she was gone. i remember going, what? my heart sank. i fell to my knees. so why did it seem so suspicious? there s something going on here. his first wife died. it just clicked. this was not an accident. two wives, two deaths, two mysteries. nobody saw him push toni off that cliff. he wouldn t do that. why would he? tragic. horrible. cruel. i was broken. my name s anna kate, and i m 9 years ode. i m in fourth grade. reporter: anna kate once had an aunt named toni. they lived a few states apart but were never more than a phone call or a letter away. dear aunt toni, how are you? i have no homework.
body released, boom, cremated. reporter: and the bertolets added, if that wasn t enough, he then took those ashes and put them where he wanted them. toni s ashes are spread on the same mountain that he spread the first wife s ashes. same spot. did the exact same thing. and he always claims that it s their favorite spot. i mean, we re talking he did the exact same things from start to finish with both wives. crazy. i mean, even the same photo pose. reporter: the families thought what harold did with his wives remains was insensitive. but the cops, federal and local, were looking for something else. evidence of murder. in douglas county, the detectives went down the list of who might know anything about lynn s case. they talked to patricia. they talked to rockies been, and they wanted to talk to harold. when he wouldn t agree, they turned to someone he would talk to his old friend kim laferriere, and asked her and her husband to secretly record a
mississippi. and every southern lady ought to be able to cook some fried chicken. and little did she know that, you know, when you took it out of the freezer you d have to let it thaw. reporter: frozen fried chicken aside, toni was someone who set goals and made them happen. after college she went to medical school, and in 1988 graduated in the top 10% of her class. then she settled into a new practice and a new marriage with a young dentist. but the woman who could do it all couldn t save a relationship that wasn t working. she tried. but after seven years the marriage ended. i don t think my sister took failure well. and so i think that was a disappointing time in her life. reporter: todd s wife rhonda remembers how toni continued to thrive at work, but her love life stalled. her career was extremely important, and so there was a time issue there. she didn t have a lot of time to probably go places to meet guys. she went to church, and she went to her job. and to be honest,