Henthorn Prosecutors Propose Unusual Field Trip
DENVER (CBS4) - Federal prosecutors in the Harold Henthorn case are asking a Judge to allow jurors in the upcoming trial to go on a field trip to the 17th floor of the federal courthouse and peer out the windows to see the height from which Harold Henthorn's second wife, Toni, fell to her death.
Prosecutors filed the motion last week which was immediately opposed by Henthorns attorneys.
Harold Henthorn is charged with murder, accused of shoving Toni Henthorn off a cliff in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012 during an anniversary hike. He is scheduled to go on trial in September.
In their motion, prosecutors sought permission to take jurors in the case to the 17th floor of the Alfred Arraj courthouse in Denver "to show his wife was unlikely to survive if pushed from the cliff," according to the prosecution motion.
Prosecutors "ask the court to send the jury to the 17th floor of the courthouse during a trial break to look out and down from the windows on that floor," reads the motion.
Prosecutors say Toni Henthorn fell 128 feet to her death, roughly the same height as the 17th floor of the federal courthouse.
According to prosecutors, "A demonstration of the cliff's height is relevant to establish Henthorn's intent. It shows that he knew his wife was unlikely to survive the fall if he pushed her. The demonstration does not unfairly prejudice Henthorn as it accurately portrays the cliff's height in a way that photographs and videos cannot. Speaking colloquially, you just have to see it."
Arguing against the field trip, Henthorn's lawyers wrote that "Mr. Henthorn's defense is that his wife accidentally fell from the high cliff on her own, without him pushing her ... the factual question is whether she died from an accidental fall or instead by an intentional push with a long drop."
Henthorn's lawyers also argue against the vertical field trip saying prosecutors can make the same point about the drop via photos.
"The effect of the demonstration would be to ensure that a 'weak knee' feeling is experienced by any juror naturally susceptible to that feeling, while directly correlating that unpleasant feeling to Toni Henthorn's death," says the defense team.
The judge presiding over the case has not issued a ruling on the prosecution's request.
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.
