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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.
Comments: (108)
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By: Zoe Moon on 8/02/2010 12:51PM
To Clark
I do not have any kinds of inner struggles. I love being a black woman and I have a lot to be proud of. Even with the mistakes I have made with the losers I dated a lifetime ago. I thought I couldn't do any better. Now that I know better. I picked myself up, learned my lessons, and moved forward to better things. I have a great spirit and brought someone into my life who also has a great spirit, educated, has his own interests, has his own stuff, and wants me to be better me. In other words, I did not settle. That is the reason why I mentioned he is a doctor.
Hey, I love hippy names!!!
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By: clarke on 8/02/2010 2:43PM
WELL GOOD FOR YOU MS HIPPYCHICK. ALL WHO ARE TRULY ENLIGHTENED KNOW LOVE HAS NO COLOR. I WAS JUST COMMENTING ON WHAT ONE COULD PRECIEVE AS BITTERNESS TOWARDS BLACK MEN. AND ALSO THIS SO-CALLED POST RACIAL SOCIETY IS ALMOST GETTING AS BAD AS IT WAS BACK IN THE 50's SO JUST BE AWARE. THERE IS GOOD AND BAD IN ALL PEOPLE.
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By: clarke on 8/05/2010 1:36PM
AND THEIR ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN DOCTORS. MALE AND FEMALE.(I HAD TO ADD FOR THE ONES WHO HAVE CROSSED OVER)
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By: rdw on 8/05/2010 2:54AM
Zoe Moon, as a black man, at one time I had the same ignorant reasons years ago (over that, I have a great black woman in my life now) you stated in one of your earlier comments, on why I would never deal with or sworn off black women. You know? Loud mouth, no class ghetto/gangsta b*tches, gold diggers, hoe hoppers, control freak, bitter black woman mad at the world, because she foolishly thinks other races of women are taking black men from her, blah blah, yeah all that good stuff.
But, I had to realize and stop with the generalizing that this is, I repeat: THIS IS NOT EVERY BLACK WOMAN!
I'm always amaze, if not offended, how some black women such as yourself Zoe, who was once in a very bad relationship with a few black men, always seem hell on bent indicting every damn black man on the planet because of those bad relationships you were in.
So as a black man, if I can change back into liking, loving, caring and trusting black women again, I challenge you to do the same Zoe for us black men (brothas). In other words stop having selective negative attention towards black men you don't know, I mean don't you think that is very ignorant? Not only that, but it's a form of self hatred and that's not healthy for none of us as a people.
FYI: I know this might be hard for you to believe Zoe, but there are good, honest, caring black men who do take care of their business such as going to college, have degrees, jobs, careers, who are "DOCTORS," Lawyers, business men, have good credit, love their families, who are good fathers, upstanding citzens in the community, serve their country with honor, contribute to society you know.
Again Zoe, some of us who happen to be black males are NOT the negative or sterotypes you see (or hear) projected in the corperate media or the mindless sh*t tube you see 24/7 such as: Thugs, don't want to work or leaving off our women, have four baby mama dramas out of wedlock, in prison, on parole, drug dealers, gangbangers and most importantly: DON'T PHYSICALLY ABUSE OR KILL OUR LOVE ONES!
Peace.
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By: FLOATING BY on 8/04/2010 8:08AM
THIS IS CLEARLY A POORLY WRITTEN ARTICLE MY RUTH MANUEL-LOGAN, IT IS BIASED AND OPINIONATED. Your job is to report the News based on facts, no one needs to know your personal views on the matter. WE AS THE PEOPLE DRAW OUR OWN OPINIONS, we dont need you to draw a prejudiced picture. This is not a BLACK/WHITE situation. It is about how a woman lost her life because of her murdering husband. COMPASSION FOR THIS WOMAN AND HER CHILD IS NORMAL, the BASHING OF A DEAD WOMAN AND WHY SHE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN is totally AN INHUMANE response by you all. YOU PEOPLE ARE NO BETTER THAN HER MURDERING HUSBAND.
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By: clarke on 8/04/2010 11:17AM
YOU NEED TO SLOW YO ROLL WITH THAT YOU PEOPLE AINT NO BETTER CRAP FLO. I KNOW I HAVEN'T MURDERED ANYBODY AND I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ON THIS SITE HAVEN'T EITHER. I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THIS IS NOT A BLACK ISSUE, BECAUSE WHITE FOLKS AND OTHERS MURDER THERI SPOUSES TOO. IT IS A HUMAN ISSUE. SO TAKE A CHILL PILL BRO/SIS.
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By: winston taylor on 8/05/2010 5:06AM
His a educated woman pursing her doctorate who conducted an anger management class that this man attened, He is an ex-convict recently released from jail for domestic vilolence. Yet,she gets involved with him and marry him. This tells me this was either a desperate,lonely woman with low self-esteem or she thought she had the ability to change him.wrong call.
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By: Ann on 10/09/2010 7:46PM
No matter how many reasons,we can think of why this woman should have not entered a marriage with a former inmate with his history does not changed the outcome of this daily occurrence of women in general making the wrong choice.We can not measure our physical/emotional attractions to a man that is saying what we need to hear to feel like we are appreciated.I now understands its up to us to feel good and have high standards for our selves but in a stressful day,the boogeybear appears and we are in a whirlwind of nonsense.With his background,he was a certified predator and his skills highly rank and he made sure he came in her contact.Remember the inmates have computers now and without thinking its human nature to share some of your personal life without ever thinking it will be use against you in the future.Majority of indidviduals in the business of caring or nurturing anoter human being must use caution because they are vulnerable and sensitive to many sad stories and it has really messed up the judicial system when a murderer kills,its his parents poor parenting skills or drugs at an early age and society weakness after the fact of two years less not give him the death penalty and base it on the Bible.The Bible says eye for an eye ,so if he murder then he goes to the table and dies and stop this 30 years on death row and all these appeals wasting tax money.Lets all believe that a loving family will provide all the love and nurturing this child needs to become a healthy minded individual with degrees to become a greater leader in his state.This was a tradgedy and the universities can't teach warning signs of your emotional needs and only we can control our choices and know when its not a good choice.Lets be true to ourselves that ,we made a bad choice and remove ourselves from the person and affliations.Marrying a doctor is like you have entered the whirlpool of how many women you are competing against on his rounds.I have seen many doctors,have an appetite for many nurses ,aides ,x-ray techs etc and even lab techs like a banquet table has been set.Try making rounds and check the ones that are playing with him walks up and his deeemeanor changes with you standidng by.The entire staff will give him away by saying why he is so quiet today and concern about him.Each day be grateful you made the right choice today.
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