Dateline: Deadly Valentine – 5 harrowing details about Denise Leuthold’s murder, explored

Dateline dives into the chilling murder of Denise Leuthold, a 39-year-old mom shot dead in her Peoria, Illinois, home on Valentine's Day 2013. What twisted a day of love into a nightmare of betrayal?

This NBC true crime show case unravels a web of secrets, missionary dreams, and a deadly plot.

Here are five harrowing details that make this Dateline story unforgettable, explored with a fresh lens.

Dateline: Deadly Valentine – 5 harrowing details about Denise Leuthold’s murder, explored

1] A bullet on Valentine’s Day

Dateline paints a grim picture: Denise Leuthold stepped into her family's home, still bundled in her coat, when a single shot from a Glock handgun ended her life. Detective Shawn Curry told Dateline:

"She didn't even have time to take her coat off, gloves, anything..."

The bullet that was fired point-blank turned a day of love into a cold-blooded tragedy. The accuracy of the shot stunned investigators, hinting at a killer who already knew of her routine.

Nathan and Denise Leuthold (Image via Facebook/@DatelineNBC)

Denise, a mom of 2, had just dropped her youngest at daycare. Her Peoria neighborhood, usually a noiseless community, became a crime scene, as covered by Dateline.

A Glock 40, similar to the one Nathan Leuthold owned, now conveniently missing... Dateline's Andrea Canning noted the cruelty of the timing of the murder by stating:

"Valentine's Day will forever be associated with cold-blooded murder."

This wasn't a random kill; it was personal.

2] A staged burglary unraveled

The investigation, according to NBC's true crime show, revealed a burglary angle that did not add up. Nathan Leuthold called 911, claiming that the house had a break-in.

Broken glass, a missing laptop, a missing camera, and missing jewelry sure did point to theft, but along with this, some odd clues also raised a few major red flags.

Surprisingly, Denise's body was found next to her car keys. However, her car was found abandoned in a nearby park, driven there with a spare key later found in a trash can.

Curry told Dateline that he dismissed the angle of theft:

“A burglar is not going to take a busted lock box with them...”

Kitchen cabinets were all tossed open, but all of the valuable electronic items were somehow eerily untouched. Diane Newton, Denise's mom, told the NBC show:

“I only had probably three rings that were of any value, but those three rings were taken...”

This raised questions about how a thief would know exactly which rings to grab out of all of the rings (of no value) lying somewhere nearby.

This is how the show then exposed a staged, made-up crime scene, pointing to someone extremely close to home.

3] A Missionary’s Dark Secrets

Dateline delves into Nathan Leuthold's...double life. Denise and he, childhood sweethearts, built a life rooted in Christian faith, and Denise moved with Nathan to Lithuania due to his missionary work.

It is there that the couple came across Aina Doblilaite, a teenager who became friends with Denise over similar musical taste, and someone who also babysat their kids. Nathan told NBC:

“We just trusted her 100 percent with them...”

By 2010, the couple started to sponsor Aina's U.S college education. Then, slow and tiny whispers of an inappropriate relationship started to surface, and there began an increase in hotel stays. Nathan's spa visits with Aina also raised eyebrows.

Detective Shawn Curry told NBC:

“My stuff would be in the front yard if my wife found out that I was waxing up a 20-year-old...”

Dateline's spotlight on Nathan's growing relationship with Aina hinted at a motive that was far from missionary zeal.

4] Denise’s heartbreaking words

Dateline uncovers a gut-punch: Denise's own words foretold her fate. In her day diary, she wrote:

"I have tried to please you for seventeen years and never succeeded. I've never been good enough. Never done enough. I know that you want me dead. I'm not stupid."

She further went on to write:

"Why do you want to humiliate me by running around with a 20-year-old."

These lines, found after her death, painted a marriage crumbling under betrayal. Denise, who followed Nathan's missionary dreams despite her doubts, felt trapped. Diane Newton says;

"It was a traumatic experience for her..."

The note wasn't just a cry for help; it was evidence that Denise sensed danger. Dateline's focus on her words adds a haunting layer, showing a woman who saw the storm coming, but she just couldn't find a way to escape it.

5] A chilling Valentine’s motive

The NBC True Crime show then dropped the bombshell: Nathan's alleged motive was a twisted Valentine's gift to his wife and his then-girlfriend.

Prosecutors argued that Nathan shot Denise to be with Aina, his rumored teenage mistress. An inmate claimed that Nathan confessed to him, saying;

“This was his Valentine’s Day present to Aina...”

Nathan was the one who parked his now dead wife's car at a park and walked back home, shot her, and went back to a nearby Starbucks, covering himself and his tracks for almost an entire hour.

His internet searches like "how to muffle a gun", "hitting someone over the head to knock them out", or "lethal injection" were all of the clues that in the end sealed his fate.

Regardless of the denial about the affair with Aina, the jury took about 90 minutes to sentence Nathan to an 80-year prison sentence.

Dateline's "Deadly Valentine" episode unraveled a love triangle that went wrong. From a staged burglary to Denise's diary note, this case is a grim reminder that even the sweetest holidays can hide the darkest of secrets.