Niccole Halpin's murder: 4 key details to know about the case

Niccole Halpin, a divorced mother-of-two, resided in Safety Harbor, Florida, with her two young sons, Max, 9, and seven-year-old Drew. In the same house, right in front of her sons, she was viciously beaten by a masked intruder on January 8, 2004. Her boyfriend heard her screams over a call and immediately called 911.

The 32-year-old suffered blunt-force injuries to her face and head and was taken off life support four days later. Detectives working on the case suspected her ex-boyfriend Daniel Welch's involvement and later found clues linking him to the incident. In May 2007, Daniel eventually pleaded guilty and was handed a 25-year prison term.

Oxygen's Killer Relationship With Faith Jenkins will chronicle Niccole Halpin's case in an upcoming episode titled Fatal Attraction. Here's an official synopsis for the same:

"Single mother Niccole Halpin is murdered in her home and her two children witness the attack, but justice will prevail when detectives sift through a list of Niccole's admirers to find her killer."

The all-new episode airs on the channel at 7:00 pm ET on July 16, 2023.

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Niccole Halpin's murder: Four key details about the beating death of the divorced mother in Safety Harbor

1) Niccole had returned home from dinner when she was attacked

On the night of January 8, 2004, Niccole Halpin and her two sons, Max and Drew, had just returned to their Safety Harbor, Florida, home after dinner with her new boyfriend when she realized someone else was inside the house.

The 32-year-old called her boyfriend, Christopher Catuogno, who heard her screams on the call. Not disconnecting from the line, he used his phone to call 911 and immediately reported the incident.

In the meantime, at the house, the intruder chased Niccole to her bedroom, where her younger son, seven-year-old Drew, was playing video games. He struck the first blow with a blunt instrument, which, according to her son, appeared like a bat.

Drew then took his elder brother, nine-year-old Max, to the bathroom, where they hid in the bathtub while the man, dressed in all black and his face covered with a ski mask, continued to beat Niccole unconscious.

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2) There were no signs of a break-in found at the crime scene

First responders found Niccole Halpin badly beaten and unconscious in the bedroom and her sons hiding in the bathtub. The mother-of-two had suffered severe blunt force injuries to the face and head and was rushed to the hospital, where she was kept on life support for four days. On January 11, she was ultimately taken off life support.

At the crime scene, authorities failed to discover any signs of a break-in. Her sons, who had witnessed the fateful event and the attacker, failed to identify the man, given that he was donning a ski mask at the time.

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3) Niccole Halpin's ex-boyfriend was linked to the crime using multiple clues

Niccole Halpin [left] and Daniel Welch [right] (Image via Find a Grave, Bonnie's Blog of Crime)

According to reports, authorities learned about Niccole's ex-boyfriend, Daniel Welch, whom she dated for about two years before breaking up with just three months before her death.

The victim's family and friends revealed that Daniel had grown obsessed with her to the point where he started harassing and pestering the mother-of-two, pushing her to even consider filing a restraining order against him.

The case's major breakthrough came a month after the incident when authorities detected a man's voice in the background of the 911 call made by Christopher Catuogno, who had kept Niccole's line open by making the emergency call. The voice, asking Niccole to "calm down," was confirmed to be Daniel's by his sister.

Moreover, Daniel failed to produce an alibi or account for his whereabouts on the night of the attack or any new specific details about the case that were not made public at the time. The murder suspect's girlfriend also claimed that he had a ski mask with him at the time, as per The Cinemaholic.

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4) Daniel Welch was serving prison time on drug-related charges when he indicted of murder

According to the Tamba Bay Times, authorities were investigating Daniel on allegations that he was selling prescription drugs, which resulted in his arrest in January 2005.

Later that year, in October, he was convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to three and a-half years in prison. The following January, he was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in Niccole Halpin's beating death.

Daniel then pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in May 2007 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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Niccole Halpin's case airs on Oxygen's Killer Relationship With Faith Jenkins this Sunday at 7 pm ET.