A 33-year-old Mesa man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend 22 times and assaulting her children when they attempted to stop the attack, officials said.
Tyler Riddle was sentenced to jail after pleading guilty in Maricopa County Superior Court to one count of aggravated assault (a serious felony and domestic violence violation) and two felony charges of child abuse, according to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
The event took place in August 2025, when Mesa police officers responded to an emergency call from a 12-year-old child who said that his mother was bleeding heavily and that her boyfriend was inside their home.
When cops arrived, they discovered the victim covered in blood with many stab wounds, including a major laceration across her neck. The victim’s two children informed detectives that shouting woke them up at nite. When they went to investigate the ruckus, they discovered Riddle punching their mother. The children tried to intercede to defend her, but Riddle punched them both in the face.
Authorities indicated that the pair had been in an abusive relationship that deteriorated over time. The victim survived the attack and spoke to the court at Riddle’s sentencing hearing.
“The defendant showed absolutely no mercy to me that night,” the victim claimed in her statement. “He may have thought that stabbing me twenty-two 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.”
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell commended the youngsters and emergency responders with preventing a fatality.
“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,” Mitchell stated.
Mesa Police Chief Dan Butler also highlighted the larger pattern of such attacks after the sentencing.
“Domestic violence is rarely an isolated incident; abusers routinely escalate their behavior from emotional manipulation to near lethal physical violence,” Butler stated. “This is a just sentence for a dangerous defendant and thanks to our officers’ quick and decisive action that nite, the victim survived and is safe from further violence.”
Riddle will serve his time with the Arizona Department of Corrections.
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