INVERNESS, Florida — What began as an ordinary day for Denise Hallowell, 57, and her adopted son, Carlos Hallowell, 17, ended in an unthinkable tragedy. On July 9, 2019, Carlos brutally murdered his mother with an ax in their Inverness home, a crime that would later result in a life sentence for the teenager.
According to Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, Carlos called 911 after the attack, claiming he had found his mother in her bed, covered in blood. Dispatchers immediately sent police to the scene, where they discovered Denise Hallowell barely alive, with an ax lodged in her head. Despite life-saving efforts, she succumbed to her injuries.
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Carlos initially told investigators that he and his mother had fallen asleep that afternoon and that he discovered her body after letting the dogs out. “I don’t know anybody that would have done that,” he reportedly told police, as noted by Oxygen True Crime. However, his story quickly unraveled under scrutiny.
Years before her death, Denise Hallowell had faced false accusations of child abuse, leading to the temporary removal of Carlos and another adopted son, Angel. While Carlos eventually returned home, Angel remained in state custody. Police initially considered Angel a suspect but later confirmed he was incarcerated at the time of the murder.
After more than two months of investigation, authorities gathered enough evidence to charge Carlos with the crime. During questioning, he confessed to the murder, recounting how he had grabbed an ax from the shed. “And that’s it. That’s all I remember,” he told detectives.
Carlos revealed that tensions between him and his mother had escalated over his future plans. Denise wanted him to attend a university, but he preferred a vocational school. “I started thinking about, you know, everything my mom and I talked about in the car,” he told Dateline. “‘You’re not worth anything,’ ‘You’re a disappointment,’ you know, these words that she has told me over time that are all accumulating that are just kinda, kinda built up one day.”
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Despite his remorse, Carlos acknowledged the gravity of his actions. “I am very deeply and truly sorry for what I did. I did something very heinous and very unimaginable,” he said. “I miss her. I love her and I wish I could take things back, but I can’t ’cause I did that. I made that choice.”
In September 2021, a judge sentenced Carlos Hallowell to life in prison, as reported by Fox 13. The case remains a haunting reminder of a family tragedy that shocked the community.
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