An Ohio woman who helped counsel countless couples experiencing marital discord was found stabbed to death on Monday. The suspect is her husband.


Tonya Hunter(pictured below), owner of the marriage counseling service Success 1 Services in Bedford Heights, Ohio, met her husband, Maurice Lyons (pictured above), last year, when he attended a class that she taught on anger management. The 42-year-old woman married Lyons last December, but almost immediately, the marriage grew sour because it was fraught with financial problems: Hunter owned two homes, which are both facing foreclosure; had college loans; credit cards; and a car loan debt that totaled to nearly $500,000.

There were two police reports filed by Hunter against her husband for domestic violence. The last complaint was filed two weeks ago. According to police investigators, this report stated that Lyons appeared to be high on drugs and was demanding money from Hunter. "The defendant then pushed Hunter/spouse against the kitchen sink." Hunter's 4-year-old son witnessed the beating.

Hunter, who was pursuing a doctoral degree in marriage and family counseling at the University of Akron in addition to teaching at the University of Phoenix, ran a domestic violence group session every Wednesday at her office. Ironically, her website states that her company's services will "provide you with the knowledge and understanding of how relationships works and how problems can be resolved in even the most challenging situations."

When Lyons met his wife, he had been recently released from prison. He had served time in Illinois for aggravated battery, intimidation and vehicular invasion. The repeat offender also has a criminal record in Missouri and Ohio. People thought that the pairing of both Hunter and Lyons was very odd. Hunter was viewed as being outgoing and friendly, while Lyons was quiet and reserved.

Two weeks ago, with her young son in tow, Hunter had visited various building personnel where she worked, , to tell them to call the police immediately if they saw Lyons anywhere near the building. Many people in the office building had known about Lyon's prison record, and some even changed the locks on their doors when warned by Hunter.

Hunter called police to complain that she had been inundated with threatening phone calls from Lyons, where he allegedly said he wanted to punch her in the face and kill her. On July 20th, police issued a warrant for Lyon's arrest.

A week before she was found dead, Lyons could not be found. When Hunter was discovered stabbed to death in her garage, her son was dropped off on a street corner. Investigators did not state who abandoned the boy on the street. The little boy was taken to county social workers and interviewed, where he said that his mother was killed and lying in a garage.

Lyons was arrested last Monday and charged two days later with aggravated murder in his wife's stabbing death and domestic violence.

Here's the thing, most past convicts are usually attempting to readjust to society's values, norms and relationships outside prison walls.

Why this educated woman would marry a man who was convicted of aggravated assault is beyond me.

I'm not saying people don't change, but what I am saying is that this man couldn't have had that much to offer her. Lyons was enrolled in Hunter's anger management classes, for goodness sake. Clearly he needed some time to become stable both mentally and physically. Hunter was getting her doctorate in marriage and family counseling. As a professional, she should have left this one alone.

And what of the poor 4-year-old? How will he become anything different from his "father," when he has witnessed battery and possibly murder. With no Mother, and a "Father" who has abandoned him, who will love and nurture this child? As Mothers, we have to do better with our choices in men. If we can't at least do it for ourselves, we should at least do it for our children.