‘Hidden Truth’: Lifetime Movie Thriller Reminds Of True Story Murders In Belanglo Forest, Starring Shawn Christian, Heidi Fielek, Diana Hopper

Hidden Truth is an original new movie that will air on Lifetime Television this weekend, according to Lifetime’s website. Hidden Truth is directed by Steven R. Monroe and written by Richard O. Lowry. The movie thriller follows a teen girl who is murdered years after her own mother was found dead in a forest, leaving her biological father as the prime suspect. Now, her aunt must prove that her brother didn’t kill his wife and his daughter years apart. According to the Internet Movie Database, the Lifetime movie Hidden Truth stars Shawn Christian, Heidi Fielek, and Diana Hopper.

Sixteen-year-old Zoe has had a hard time in life. Her mother was found dead in a forest when she was just a child. Her father was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder but was never convicted since the police didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. Years later, Zoe is all grown up and is ready to leave the dead-end small town. After all, she has money. She’s been making some cash on the side due to her relationship with Michael, a married older man who owns the Pines Motor Lodge in town. With the money she has earned, Zoe tells her friends that she is headed to California to travel and to make her dreams come true.

Zoe’s Aunt Jamie, her dead mother’s sister, is worried sick about her. She has raised Zoe all of her life, even when her biological father didn’t take an interest in her. Trying to convince Zoe not to leave town, Zoe is hellbent on starting a new life and making it on her own. However, when her affair with Michael turns deadly, and Zoe is killed just like her mother, her father once again becomes the focus of the investigation.

Now, Aunt Jamie needs to find out what happened to Zoe and to prove her brother’s innocence. During her sleuthing, she finds out that the town has a hidden secret, one that connects the murder of the mother and daughter together.

Forest Murders: True Story About A Mother And A Daughter

In August 2010, the body of a woman was found by bike riders in the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales. At the time, police had no idea who she was and dubbed her “Angel” due to the T-shirt she was wearing at the time of her death. It was estimated that she had died years before the body was found.

Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter were violently killed by the same man, say police. https://t.co/1osgnITr45 pic.twitter.com/B7VtKSq71f

— The Australian (@australian) December 15, 2015

Five years later, the body of a child was found stuffed in a suitcase in Australia. She was later identified as Khandalyce Stevenson, the daughter of 20-year-old Karlie Pearce Stevenson, the same woman who was found in the forest five years prior. Authorities were convinced that the mother and daughter were killed by the same person around 2008.

Daniel Holdom: Man accused of murdering Khandalyce and Karlie Pearce-Stevenson due to return to court https://t.co/kIqMVnK8CM

— Brian Cherrie (@briansy123) March 31, 2016

Family members told police that between 2006 and 2008, the young mother hopped in her red or maroon station wagon and left her small town of Alice Springs to travel and find work.

• The mother-and-daughter pair were said to be living out of various motels.
• Her killer, Daniel Holdom, was a 41-year-old sex offender who lived in a caravan park and had a girlfriend with children.
• Police believe that Daniel Holdom and Karlie Pearce-Stevenson began a romantic relationship while his girlfriend was recovering from a car accident in which two of her children died, according to the Daily Mail.

Daniel Holdom turned out to be a bad influence on Karlie Pearce-Stevenson from the start. Another young woman who was involved in a sexual relationship with the older man while she was a teenager stated that she was glad that she broke up with Holdom when she did. Authorities say that Karlie Pearce-Stevenson was making money illegally as a drug runner. People who knew Karlie said that she was a troubled woman who had problems as a teenager.

The Back Pack Killer, Ivan Milat, inspired cult film Wolf Creek https://t.co/rHHgQ4txC8 pic.twitter.com/6mPaCQc0Fl

— Brutal Ends (@BrutalEnds) May 4, 2016

Belanglo State Forest has a dark history, stemming from the case of the infamous backpack serial killer Ivan Milat, who used the forest as a dumping ground. Milat’s relative, Matthew Milat, committed a copycat murder in the same forest, where he and a friend killed a 17-year-old teen with an ax.

Hidden Truth was filmed in Mammoth Lakes, California. It is produced by Cartel Pictures and The Cartel with distribution provided by Lifetime Television and MarVista Entertainment. The executive producer is listed as Carla Woods.

Hidden Truth premieres this Saturday at 8/7 p.m. Central on Lifetime. Coming up soon, look out for the movie Deadly Trust.

[Image via MarVista Entertainment]