Denise Hallowell’s murder: A complete timeline of events
Denise Hallowell was a special education teacher from the town of Inverness, Florida, who was murdered by her adopted son, Carlos Hallowell, on January 13, 2019. The teenager waited for his mother to sleep and then shoved her skull with a sharpened axe.
The culprit broke all the security cameras at the residence and cleaned any crucial traces of evidence. Carlos then called 911 about his mother's death. Upon interrogation, the adopted son claimed that Denise Hallowell was abusive to him and his sibling Angel.
Deadline: Secrets Uncovered season 14, episode 18, covers the complete investigation behind the murder of Denise Hallowell. The episode, titled Horror at the Lake, will be released on March 12, 2025, at 8 pm EST on Oxygen. The official synopsis of the 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."
What is the story of Denise Hallowell?
As per a CBS 12 article published on May 10, 2022, Denise Hallowell was a special education teacher who adopted two boys from Central America. Carlos was adopted from Guatemala, while Angel was adopted from Honduras. However, in 2015, the mother was interrogated by law enforcement when she was convicted.
According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, they became aware of the Hallowell household when Carlos's younger brother, Angel, ran away from the residence. When the authorities returned Angel to the household, they saw a disturbing scene.
As per the authorities, Denise Hallowell kept Angel in a small room with its door locked from the outside and the windows nailed shut. Investigators reported that the children were severely malnourished and provided with only a bucket for a bathroom.
Denise Hallowell was soon arrested, and when the news broke, she was suspended from her teaching position. However, upon closer investigation, authorities discovered that Angel was suffering from Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), which causes behavioral changes in the patient, making them unemotional and prone to attacking people or animals around them.
Angel's experiences in other foster homes were very similar to those with Denise, and as a result, she was found not guilty. Angel was removed from the home, and Denise was left to care for only Carlos when her life came to an end.
The murder of Denise Hallowell
Carlos Hallowell was involved in drug abuse from a young age. According to a Chronicle Online article published on September 14, 2021, Carlos began drinking alcohol and using drugs when he was just 11 years old. Denise quickly discovered that her son was using cocaine, marijuana, acid, ecstasy, pills, and methamphetamine. His increasing use of alcohol and drugs began to take a toll on his mental health.
As per an NBC Miami article published on October 15, 2024, Carlos killed his mother while she was asleep by hitting the back of her skull with a sharpened Axe. Carlos disabled all the security cameras at the residence. Afterward, he took Denise's phone and threw it in a lake behind the house.
According to NBC Miami, Carlos confessed to killing his mother during interrogation. He revealed that Denise Hallowell had abused both children. According to Carlos's account, Denise would beat Angel, force him to clean the bathroom while naked, and lock his room from the outside. Carlos mentioned that he had suicidal thoughts multiple times.
“Just thinking about everything that was going on in my life, I've tried three times to kill myself. I guess this time I snapped and decided something else,” Carlos reported.
A state medical doctor thoroughly examined Carlos Hallowell's mental condition and revealed that he had been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. The doctor stated that he exhibited 16 out of 20 indicators of being a psychopath.
Carlos Hallowell was soon arrested for murdering his mother and was presented before the jury. According to a Chronicle Online article, his trial took place at the Citrus County Circuit Court in Florida.
Carlos was not eligible for the death penalty since he was a 17-year-old minor when he killed his mother. On September 14, 2021, Judge Richard Howard sentenced him to a prison term of between 40 years and up to life. Carlos will be eligible for a review of his sentence after serving 25 years behind bars.
Check out our other articles for more details about other cases on Deadline: Secrets Uncovered.
