The daughter of Toni Henthorn, who was pushed off a cliff and killed by her husband, had her new guardians — her uncle and aunt — finalized Wednesday by a Denver court.
Haley Henthorn, 10, is now under permanent guardianship by Toni’s brother, Barry Bertolet and his wife Paula.
“It’s probably the best Christmas present that anybody can get,” Barry said.
Barry, a physician in Mississippi, hopes that Haley’s arrival will allow the girl a fresh start after a period of tragedy.
“Her comment was that she just wanted to be a normal girl with a mom and dad,” Barry said. “I think she’s sensing that she’s going to be able to get a little closure now, too.”
During Harold Henthorn’s sentencing hearing in which he was sentenced to life in prison for shoving Toni over a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012, Haley’s guardian ad litem, Barbara Cashman, testified about what she called “acts of betrayal” to the girl.
From the day she met Haley in April 2014, Cashman saw signs of manipulation, including that the girl tried to convince her that her mother was clumsy.
“I knew she was at risk of serious emotional harm,” Cashman said.
But when Henthorn was arrested months later, his daughter started changing.
“Free from Harold Henthorn’s insistence that everything is just fine, Haley has been allowed to mourn for her mother,” Cashman said. “She went trick-or-treating for the first time on this Halloween. … Haley does not wish to refer to Harold anymore as her father, but only as Mr. Henthorn.”
Harold Henthorn was opposed to the change, which he was fighting “right up to the very end,” Barry said.
“There were no objections from Harold or his attorneys when it was all said and done in today’s hearing,” Barry said.
In addition to a change of scenery and a home dedicated to keeping Toni’s memory alive, Barry said he also plans to keep contact with some of the Henthorn family that Haley is close to.
“We clearly don’t want to be vindictive against people that had nothing to do with what went on,” Barry said.
Haley and Paula are headed back to Mississippi to start their new lives together.
“From day one, we wanted two things,” Barry said. “We wanted justice for Toni, and we felt like we got that when Harold was sentenced. We also wanted to make sure Haley had a good home to live in and grow up. We’re very, very grateful.”
Elizabeth Hernandez: 303-954-1223, ehernandez@denverpost.com or @ehernandez
