Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 14 episode 18- A detailed case overview
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 14 episode 18 explores the murder of a 57-year-old woman named Denise Hallowell from Inverness, Florida. It was on January 13, 2019, when Denise's adopted son Carlos struck the back of her skull with a sharpened Axe, while she was asleep.
Investigators discovered that Carlos had a history of alcohol and drug abuse, which became the cause of strife between the mother and son. Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 14 episode 18 episode follows the murder investigation of Denise Hollowell, which revealed the fatal consequences of drug abuse at a young age.
The episode, titled Horror at the Lakemade, aired on March 12, 2025, on Oxygen. The official synopsis of the Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode reads,
"After Florida teacher Denise Hallowell is found murdered in her home, investigators examine her family's tumultuous past in their desperate search for a killer."
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered season 14 episode 18: What is the story of Denise Hallowell
As per a NBC Miami article, published on October 15, 2024, Denise Hallowell used to live in the small town of Inverness, Florida. She worked as a special education teacher and used to live with her two adopted sons, Carlos and Angel. As per a CBS 12 article, published on May 10, 2022, Carlos, the elder son, was adopted from Guatemala.
She had a younger son named Angel adopted from Honduras who ran away from the Hallowell residence in 2015. When deputies from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office went to the Hallowell household for a search, they found a disturbing scene. The authorities reported that Denise Hallowell kept the child locked in a small room, with the windows shut with nails.
Angel was found severely malnourished and was provided with a bucket as a bathroom. Denise was immediately arrested and brought to the county jail. The news of her arrest hit the headlines and she was suspended from the local school system. However, upon testing the medical history of Angel Hallowell, they discovered he was suffering from behavioral and mental problems, relating to RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder).
Children with this condition often lashed out at the people and animals around them and had to be kept in isolation to calm down their nerves. Denise Hallowell was found not guilty and was released. However, Angel was shifted to the custody of foster care, and the mother started living with her older son Carlos Hallowell.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's culprit Carlos Hallowell had a history of drug abuse
As per a Citrus County Chronicle article, Denise Hallowell's elder adopted son Carlos was adopted from Guatemala when he was 4 years old. She funded the education and saved money in his college savings account. However, in the Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode, the culprit started taking drugs and alcohol when he was 11 years of age.
Soon Denise found out that her son was consuming numerous kinds of drugs including cocaine, acid, ecstasy, pills, marijuana, and methamphetamine. This became the reason for heated debates between the mother and son. Soon, Denise installed surveillance cameras throughout the house, to keep Carlos under observation.
Carlos was expelled from school in 2019, which led her to become strict with her parenting. As per the NBC Miami article, Carlos hit his mother with an Axe at the back of her head, when she was fast asleep. He ripped out all the surveillance cameras in the house, to erase any evidence. Then Carlos threw Denise's phone in a lake behind the residence.
Carlos Hallowell confessed to killing his mother after rigorous interrogation. The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered culprit was made to stand before the jury of Citrus County Circuit Court. As per the Citrus County Chronicle article, on September 14, 2021, Judge Richard Howard sentenced Carlos to 40 years up to lifetime imprisonment. He will be eligible to review his sentence after spending 25 years in prison.
Check out our other articles to know more details about other cases on Dateline: Secrets Uncovered.
