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Mesa domestic violence survivor shares her story
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a Mesa woman who survived a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend is sharing her story of survival. FOX 10's Ellen McNamara reports. (WARNING: Viewer discretion advised.)
MESA, Ariz. - If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. A live online chat is also available.
The free service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Every call is confidential, and you can remain anonymous.
(WARNING: Some of the images and audio from this story are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)
MESA, Ariz. - October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in an exclusive interview, a Mesa woman is sharing her story of survival after being stabbed more than 20 times.
The backstory:
On Aug. 22, 2025, a 12-year-old boy called 911.
"911. What is your emergency?" the dispatcher answered.
"This is one of her ex-boyfriends. I don’t know why they’re here," the boy said.
The boy's mom is Erin Hume. Hume's ex-boyfriend showed up late at night, and the situation escalated quickly, and screaming could be heard in the background of the call.
"What's going on?" the dispatcher can be heard saying.
"Get the [expletive] out of my house!" the boy screamed.
"Get here. Get here right now!" the boy later said to the dispatcher.
"They’re on the way. what's happening?" the dispatcher replied.
"OK. Thank you," the boy said.
"What’s happening?" the dispatcher asked.
"I don’t know," the boy replied.
Somehow, the boy remained calm with the 911 dispatcher while also screaming at the man who was trying to kill Hume with a knife.
"What’s his name?" the dispatcher asked the boy.
"Tyler," the boy replied.
Dig deeper:
Police say Tyler Riddle stabbed Hume 22 times. In never-before-seen body camera video, officers can be seen responding to the home.
"Anybody in there? Windows broken. We got a window broken. Hear screaming dude. Inside," an officer's body camera recorded as screams echoed and officers kicked in the door.
"Hands! On your stomach! On your stomach right now! Hold!" an officer later told Riddle.
As Riddle was on the ground, one officer went to check on Hume. Riddle was heard screaming profanity, and tried to fight back.
"Take a seat. Take a seat. Lay down," an officer told Hume at the scene.
Hume, a single mother of two, was stabbed in her neck and throat. Her liver, lungs and diaphragm were also hit. Responding police officers placed a tourniquet on her leg, and that helped keep her alive.
As for Riddle, he was sentenced in 2026 to 15 years in prison for the violent assault.
Mesa man sentenced to 15 years in prison after stabbing girlfriend 22 times
A 36-year-old man was sentenced to over a decade in prison after stabbing his girlfriend 22 times in Mesa. The victim survived the domestic violence attack after her children called 911.
What She's Saying:
After weeks in the hospital, Hume survived, and she said she does not remember being attacked.
"You always think, ‘oh, it can never happen to me. It’s never going to happen to me. I would never put up with that' until you’re in it too deep and can’t get out, and you don’t know what to do," Hume said.
Hume said she had never been in an abusive relationship before, but there were signs that Tyler was trouble.
"He would get really angry. He broke my phone, there were other domestic violence incidents before that incident that just weren’t as severe. There were red flags. Anger. People through this word out a lot. Very narcissistic. I could see that early on. But you think its just never going to happen to you," Hume said.
Hume was in recovery when she met him.
"You look with rose-colored glasses. You think everything is fine. Especially being in recovery. You like to give people the benefit of the doubt," Hume said.
Besides nearly killing her, Tyler also punched her two boys in the head. Hume spent weeks in the ICU. Even though Riddle was locked up for nearly killing her, he kept trying to contact her.
"Mr. Riddle continued to attempt to reach out to Aaron from the jail, so much so that Aaron complained, or was sadly forced to complain repeatedly to my office, to the sheriff's department, to the Mesa police department, to try to get it to stop," said Maricopa County Deputy County Attorney John Schneider.
Big picture view:
According to data, one in three women will experience domestic violence. Schneider said many victims have a difficult time leaving abusive relationships.
"Certainly the overwhelming majority," said Schneider. "I mean, north of three-quarters recant, and that's borne out by the data, and it may not be that the crime didn't occur, but they try to minimize, or they will, you know, add their own blame."
Hume, however, was determined to pursue justice for her and her family. She attended every court hearing, and spoke in court when Riddle was sentenced.
"I didn’t stick up for myself for so long," Hume said. "My self-worth was low. I didn’t realize what I deserved. This was a way for me to redeem myself, and show him I am worth it. I didn’t deserve this, and so it felt really empowering."
What you can do:
Hume shared a message for others experiencing abuse.
"Don’t be naïve. If you think there’s a red flag. Pay attention to it. It could get worse. I never in a million years thought this would happen. But it did. You can get out ahead of time. There are resources and people willing to help. Organizations. You just gotta find them. On the other side of fear could be a huge blessing," Hume said.
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. A live online chat is also available.
The free service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Every call is confidential, and you can remain anonymous.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Erin Hume, domestic violence survivor; John Schneider, deputy county attorney with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office; emergency 911 call audio; and from body camera video and response records from the Mesa Police Department.