True Crime

WARNING: this article contains descriptions of violence, viewer discretion is advised

On March 14, 2008, Police got a call from a man named Robert Lyons saying that he had killed his mother.

Before the attack, Robert was living with his mother at the age of 39. It was known that Robert was already diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Although his mom allowed him to stay, their relationship was rough. Neighbors say that they would normally hear the two arguing in the night. One day Robert’s mother was sick and decided to stay home from work. Robert the same day wanted to go shopping. The only problem was that he couldn’t drive so he would need his mother to drive him around for the day. The two fought because Robert’s mother wanted to stay home and rest. At the end though, the mother agreed to drive Robert around. Onear the end of the day, Robert asked his mother if he could buy Avril Lavigne tickets. His mother was already fed up with his shopping addiction and said no. Of course they started fighting and it got really loud. At one point the mother had a knife in her hand (it is unclear why) and Robert reported that that was the point where he snapped. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and hit his mother over the head with them. She then fell unconscious to the ground. He felt that his anger wasn’t let out yet so he decided to repeatedly stab his mother with the broken bottles. To end it off, he dosed her body with some household chemicals he had found in the house. Some say that he did this to humiliate her. Robert then took off to a bookstore after having a bath with some tea.

The way Robert was caught was definitely a strange one. Police were called to his house after people had reported a noise complaint. When arriving they found Robert’s mothers body. Hours later, police had gotten a call from Robert himself saying that something bad had happened between him and his mother and to come and get him. You might be asking, what was he doing during those hours? Well after leaving the bookstore and buying a book, Robert decided to go to Hooters, a restaurant. He decided to call a few people before calling the police. The first person he called was Stan, his mother’s boyfriend. According to Stan, Robert said that he and his mother had a struggle after she had attacked him with a kitchen knife. He then reportedly called his friends and family telling them that something bad had happened. The Police immediately went to get him and arrest him.

1. Robert Lyons was guilty of first degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Some thought that the murder was planned but Robert says that it wasn’t and that it was only a result of a intense argument.