Tonya Hunter,42, An Ohio Marriage Counselor, Ironically Is Killed By Her Estranged Husband…
Tonya Hunter opened her own counseling firm in 2007 after earning a Master’s degree in the subject and working in the field. The name of her company she founded was called Success 1 Services, which offers marriage and family counseling.
Her goal was to ...”help individuals, couples and families restore to peace, happiness and harmony,” she stated in advertising for her services.
Murdered marriage counselor Tonya Hunter,42. A victim of domestic violence.
She also ran a Wednesday night domestic violence group session at her Bedford Heights office,for violent offenders convicted of abuse, which is where she met, and fell in love with her husband of seven months Maurice Lyons, 38,who killed her .(SOURCE)
Maurice was a student in her anger management class…hmmm….
Cleveland police spokeswoman Nancy Dominik says 38-year-old Maurice Lyons was charged Wednesday. Lyons was arrested by police on Monday, a day after his wife, 42-year-old Tonya Hunter, was found stabbed to death in her garage. Hunter’s 4-year-old son, who was found abandoned on a street corner, led police to her body.
Dominik says Lyons was also charged with domestic violence on an outstanding warrant. Court records show Hunter had filed two restraining orders against her husband in the past four months.(SOURCE)
The couple’s seven month marriage was marred by financial problems, on July 16, her bank filed for foreclosure on her Walden Avenue home on Cleveland’s east side. A second home she owns is also facing foreclosure.
There were also two cases of domestic violence that required police intervention,the latest one occurring only two-weeks ago.
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Tonya called police and took precautions to protect herself and her 4-year-old son from Maurice Lyon’s assaults, but it wasn’t enough.
Tonya planned on filing for divorce on Monday, but did not live to do that.
“The reality is that some offenders out there will harm the victim even when things are put in place,” said Tim Boehnlein, Associate Director of Domestic Violence Center.(SOURCE)
In many cases of domestic violence, a court issued restraining order often escalates the violence involved in a domestic abuse case. In this case, it can be attributed to her death.(Click Here if you need help with your personal domestic violence issue)
There is a lot of skepticism in society concerning the effectiveness of orders of protection, and restraining orders, many believe they lead to death.(Source)
Police say a motorist left the boy in the inner-city about 8 miles from his home just after 10 p.m. Sunday. A witness alerted police, and the boy told investigators while in the care of social workers that his mother had been stabbed at the home.
Officers went to the house and found the woman early Monday in a garage with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
I don’t understand the motorist dropping a small child off in the middle of the street, late at night!?!?…if that motorist was not the killer Maurice, then charges need to be filed against that motorist as well!
A candlelight vigil for 42-year-old Tonya Hunter-Lyons was held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, near her home at East 175th Street and Walden Avenue.(Source)
Tonya Hunter,42, loved to counsel families and individuals on relationships...
This is a sad story of unnecessary domestic violence.I believe that men who abuse women once, will continue to commit that same crime, as long as they have access to harm their wives or girl friends.(TMZ)
I strongly believe that it is not a good idea to date, or marry people you meet in a domestic violence anger management counseling program, especially if you are teaching it, because you already know that the students taking your class have documented violent behavior when dealing in an intimate relationship.
…they are there in a counseling session for a reason…they are violently crazy!!!
Maurice Lyon's Killed His Wife, Tonya Hunter...A Marriage Counselor!
It should be noted that the child, who was turned over to child welfare services, is safely in the hands of his close relatives. let’s wish him all the best in his life, now that his mother has been taken away from him.
Jerrybrice's Blog 
Unfortunately, this is another case of intimate partner homicide that, even with her knowledge and precautions, she did not live to get to safety. There has been little in the past 20 years that proactively intervenes in these situations. Education and awareness campaigns, along with resources, are out there for victims to use, but usually are sought too late.
Susan Murphy-Milano is a violence expert who has handled hundreds of high risk cases such as this. Usually victims seek her at the 11th hour when there is no time left. Her latest book, “Time’s Up: How to Leave an Abusive and Stalking Relationship” is the most comprehensive and practical information available which guides a victim, step by step through many scenarios.
If any of your readers are in a similar situation, I urge them to go to her website http://www.susanmurphymilano.com and order the book, either at Amazon or the Ebook copy for faster delivery.
The information in Chapter 4, the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, is the very first thing a victim should do. Her voice and her testimony will never be silenced and even if the situation ends the way this one did, the abuser will be arrested and her testimony will stand to help convict.
Administrator - July 29, 2010 at 5:28 pm |
Thanks, that is such a helpful comment!I really appreciate your contribution to this important discussion!
jerrybrice - July 29, 2010 at 5:55 pm |
Yes, I do think that it’s unwise to date or marry a student in an anger management course like the one that Ms. Hunter taught. However, Ms. Hunter was a “flesh and blood” human, subject to feelings like love. I’m glad that the writer of this article did not wax flippant or engage in the “blame the victim” stance like some other writers about this issue.
Ms. Hunter probably thought she saw a positive change in Lyons. He might have even acted very different at the onset of their intimate relationship–gentlemanly, charming, helpful, loving, etc. I’ll wager, however, that Lyons showed his true colors shortly after the marriage vows were exchanged. After marriage, Lyons probably thought Hunter was now his property and he would “rule” as he saw fit. At that time, I wonder if Ms. Hunter realized her mistake. Another writer stated that Ms. Hunter offered help to others “but was unable to help herself.” That sounds very catchy, but, in my opinion, that was a stupid statement. Why was Ms. Hunter expected to be her only savior in this situation?! Women all over the world in the same situation ought to be able to depend upon friends, family, neighbors and law enforcement to assist them in their time of need.
Funny, that our culture, society, religious institutions, families and even the government encourage marriage, scorning unmarried woman as unworthy and unlovable spinsters and/or lesbians. Yet, these same institutions seem woefully ready to abandon women, men and children when something goes horribly wrong in a marriage. Something tells me that these types of situations are nurtured and allowed to continue because of the general attitude of society-at-large. Granted, counselors–religious and secular–exist to help married couples in pain. However, I’ve noticed another attitude, one that appears to prevail: People think, “Let these battered women get themselves out of their own messes!” While that might sound logical to a point, that attitude takes society/culture back several millennium. That’s a Stone Age attitude.
Lucy - May 13, 2012 at 5:54 pm |