Left: Tyler Riddle (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Erin Hume (KPNX/YouTube).
An Arizona mother stood up in court and described how her boyfriend stabbed her 22 times, saying he showed “absolutely no mercy to me that night” after becoming “abusive over time,” according to prosecutors.
“He may have thought that stabbing me 22 times would be the end of my story, instead I am standing here today, alive, speaking for myself, speaking for my children, and refusing to let what he did become the definition of who I am,” Erin Hume told the court about the August 2025 attack.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced in a press release Tuesday that Tyler Riddle, 34, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault and two counts of child abuse.
Hume’s two children were home at the time of the stabbing and were injured trying to protect her from Riddle. Her 12-year-old son called 911 and told a dispatcher “that his mother was bleeding and that her boyfriend … was in their home,” according to the attorney’s office.
“I would be dead if he didn’t call the police, like 100%,” Hume told local NBC affiliate KPNX. She said Riddle was using drugs, including psychedelics, the night he attacked her.
“He Ubered to my house, and I knew he was coming,” Hume recalled. “And I told him, ‘Hey, be quiet. My kids are going to sleep. You know, don’t cause any issues.'”
When police arrived, they found Hume “covered in blood” with multiple stab wounds, including a laceration “across her throat,” according to the attorney’s office. Her two children told police they were “woken up by screaming” and saw Riddle punching their mother.
“They attempted to help their mother during the attack but were struck in the face by the defendant,” the attorney’s office said.
“Thanks to the bravery of her kids and the quick response by the Mesa police officers who arrived at the scene, this victim survived her attack and can find a measure of peace knowing this defendant has been held accountable,” concluded County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a statement.
