EP 97: When Family Court Fails: Hope Hooton's Fight to Protect Children

In this episode of *That's Where I'm At*, host Laura interviews Hope Hooton, an author, advocate, podcast host, and public speaker dedicated to protecting children and supporting survivors of domestic violence. Hope shares her devastating experience with domestic violence and coercive control and recounts how the family court system failed to protect her children, Alec and Lydia, ultimately leading to their tragic deaths at the hands of their father in May 2024. Despite unimaginable grief, Hope transformed her pain into advocacy, helping champion the Alec and Lydia Act, which was signed into law in Arizona in June 2026 to strengthen protections for children and domestic violence survivors in family court. Through her memoir, *There's Still Hope: A Journey of Adversity, Tragedy, and Unshakable Faith*, and her podcast *Voices Against Filicide*, Hope raises awareness about coercive control, filicide prevention, and the need for stronger child safety protections. She also shares her message of faith, hope, and resilience through speaking engagements across the country, using her experience to inspire others and help prevent future tragedies.   **Key Topics & Timestamps** **Defining Filicide (00:00:00)** Hope defines filicide, the intentional act of a parent killing their child, and shares statistics on this silent epidemic. **Podcast Introduction (00:01:01)** Host Laura introduces the "That's Where I'm At" podcast, its mission, and provides a content warning for listeners. **Guest Introduction: Hope Hooten (00:01:58)** Laura introduces her guest, Hope Hooten, an author and advocate, and reads her biography, highlighting her mission for change. **Meeting Her Estranged Husband (00:04:27)** Hope shares her background, how she met her estranged husband through a Christian organization, and the first red flags. **Early Red Flags (00:08:37)** Hope discusses early red flags in the relationship, including subtle manipulation, coercive control, and his explosive bursts of anger. **Moving to Arizona and Marriage (00:09:50)** Hope recounts moving to Arizona for a teaching job, getting married, and the subtle control her husband exerted during wedding planning. **The Birth of Alec (00:18:16)** Hope describes her first child, Alec, his personality, his severe allergies, and how the parenting responsibilities were primarily hers. **The Birth of Lydia (00:20:59)** Hope talks about the birth of her daughter, Lydia, her personality, and the close bond she shared with her brother, Alec. **Escalation of Abuse (00:21:58)** After Lydia's birth, the physical violence began, including being punched in the car in front of the children. **Losing Both Parents (00:24:21)** Hope discusses the immense grief of losing both her parents within months and the subsequent increase in financial and emotional abuse. **The Decision to Separate (00:32:33)** Hope explains why she decided to separate, realizing she and her children deserved better than a life filled with abuse. **The Suicide Threat (00:39:04)** When Hope told her husband she wanted a divorce, he threatened to kill himself in front of their children. **Police Intervention and Separation (00:41:47)** Hope calls 911. Police intervene, her husband is taken for evaluation, and she gets an order of protection. **The Psychiatric Break (00:47:43)** Her husband has a psychiatric break, tries to enter the home, and leaves disturbing voicemails, violating the protection order. **The Hotel Incident (00:52:35)** Her husband calls 911 on himself from a hotel, admitting to suicidal and homicidal ideations, leading to his hospitalization. **The Court's Failure (00:55:16)** Despite evidence of abuse and severe mental instability, a judge grants 50/50 unsupervised parenting time, failing to protect the children. **The Day of the Tragedy (01:01:24)** Hope recounts the day she discovered her children were absent from school and the subsequent welfare check that revealed the tragedy. **Advocacy and Mission (01:03:54)** Hope explains her mission to educate the public on lethality risk markers and the importance of using the term "filicide." **The Alec and Lydia Act (01:06:47)** Hope details the creation of the Alec and Lydia Act, a law strengthening protections for children in family court. **Hope's Book and Resources (01:14:02)** Hope discusses her memoir, "There's Still Hope," and shares where listeners can find her podcast and social media platforms.   **Powerful Quotes from the Episode** ***Hope,*** *"I lost my autonomy as a person. I had no sense of who Hope was or what Hope liked."* ***Hope,*** *"I knew that the kids deserved better. I knew that he deserved better. I knew that I deserved better."* ***Hope,*** *"I had a gut feeling, and I knew that if I went inside, he would have killed us all."* ***Hope,*** *"This is why we have two dead children, and we didn't have to have two murdered, dead children."* ***Hope,*** *"All of these things that failed me will not fail another family."*   ## **RESOURCES:** FOLLOW THE PODCAST: https://www.instagram.com/thatswhereimatpodcast/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thatswhereimatpodcast/ COACH WITH LAURA: https://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com/coachwithlaura MARRIED TO A "NICE" GUY: GETTING OVER NARCISSISTIC ABUSE: https://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com/book-store JOIN THE NICE GUY RECOVERY COMMUNITY: https://www.skool.com/nice-guy-recovery-community-1517   **FOLLOW HOPE:** WEBSITE: linktr.ee/hopeinthepain BOOK: There's Still Hope https://a.co/d/0ggtCrtt INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/hope\in\the\_pain FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61570891678957 TIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@hope.in.the.pain YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@Hopeinthepain   *"All of these things that failed me will not fail another family."*   ***This podcast and its contents may not be used for training or developing AI systems without permission.***   Podcast Produced and edited by the team at ResilientVoiceMedia.com Contact us for expert podcast production and support.