ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Alec and Lydia’s story changed everything. Hope Hooten shares the heartbreaking truth behind filicide, the warning signs families and courts miss, and how she turned unimaginable loss into a nationwide fight to protect children.
Hope and host Dave Roberts go far beyond grief. They break down what filicide actually is, why coercive control and domestic violence are often fatal warning signs, and how a single system failure can cost lives. Hope also reveals the personal and policy work behind the Alec and Lydia Act, the Arizona law named for her children that now requires courts to take abuse allegations seriously and puts child safety at the center of family court decisions.
You’ll discover:
- Why filicide is more common than most people realize
- The lethality risk markers that can signal danger before tragedy strikes
- How coercive control shows up in real relationships and why it is so often ignored
- What changed with the Alec and Lydia Act and why it matters beyond Arizona
- How Hope’s bestselling memoir, There’s Still Hope, turns pain into purpose
- Why her podcast, Voices Against Filicide, is giving families, advocates, and legislators a place to be heard
Hope also opens up about Alec and Lydia as children, the devastating day she lost them, and the layered grief of losing both her kids and her parents within a few years. Through it all, she stays rooted in faith, community, and the belief that healing is possible without erasing the truth.
Essential listening if you care about child safety, domestic violence prevention, family court reform, or the kind of resilience that becomes action.
Hope’s Bio and Contact Information
Hope Hooton is a Podcast Host, Child Safety Advocate, Author, and Public Speaker dedicated to protecting children and reforming family court systems across the United States. She is the founder and host of the Voices Against Filicide podcast, where she amplifies the voices of families impacted by filicide and raises national awareness to prevent these devastating crimes.
After the tragic loss of her two children, Alec and Lydia Mater, in an act of filicide in May 2024 in Arizona, Hope turned her grief into purpose. She has become a leading advocate for child safety, working to expose critical failures within family court systems and push for meaningful legislative reform.
Hope is the driving force behind The Alec and Lydia Act (HB2995). Signed into law in Arizona by Governor Katie Hobbs on June 22, 2026, this landmark Arizona legislation fundamentally overhauls child custody standards by prioritizing child safety, explicitly defining coercive control as domestic violence, and restricting unsupervised visitation for abusive parents.
She is also the author of the #1 bestselling memoir, There’s Still Hope: A Journey of Adversity, Tragedy, and Unshakable Faith, which has reached #1 bestseller status in multiple categories across the United States and over five countries internationally.
Official Websites & Resources:
Website: Voices Against Filicide
Linktree: Hope in the Pain Linktree
Podcast: Voices Against Filicide is available on your favorite platforms.
Connect on Social (Hope in The Pain):
Instagram: @hope_in_the_pain
TikTok: @hope.in.the.pain
YouTube: @Hopeinthepain
There's Still Hope by Hope Hooten - https://amazon.com/hope-hooten-theres-still-hope
Music licensed through Soundstripe.
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