Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence
Woman Pleads Guilty to Malicious Wounding After Cutting Boyfriend’s Neck in Domestic Assault
NORFOLK, Va. — Allyson Renee Lyons, 38, pleaded guilty in November to malicious wounding and domestic assault for attacking her boyfriend earlier this year, resulting in a serious cut to his neck.
On Jan. 9, 2025, Ms. Lyons was walking down a sidewalk on 21st Street near Monticello Avenue with the victim — with whom she was residing and whom she mistakenly believed to be the father of her children — when she struck him on his shoulder and slashed his neck, cutting his carotid artery. The assault was captured by security cameras at nearby businesses and showed that the victim had not physically provoked Ms. Lyons before she attacked him and that he kept walking after he noticed he was bleeding from the wound to his neck. Ms. Lyons called 911, provided the victim with a compress to his neck, and waited until police and medics arrived. The victim suffered a life-threatening injury, lost a large amount of blood, required surgery to repair his artery, but has since recovered.
After his treatment, both the victim and Ms. Lyons were interviewed by police investigators. They confirmed their domestic relationship and initially fabricated a story in which another individual had harmed the victim, but this was refuted by the video evidence. After determining that Ms. Lyons was the aggressor, and due to the severity of the victim’s wound, Ms. Lyons was charged with felony aggravated malicious wounding and misdemeanor domestic assault.
Ms. Lyons has a prior conviction for unlawful wounding from an incident in which she cut a previous boyfriend’s neck with a box cutter. The victim in the January 2025 case has a history of domestic assault against Ms. Lyons, and he was not cooperative in Ms. Lyons’s prosecution. Thanks to the presence of high-quality video footage, medical records, and Ms. Lyons’s statements, the Commonwealth was able to move forward with prosecuting Ms. Lyons in this case without the victim’s assistance, a practice known as “evidence-based prosecution” in the context of intimate-partner violence cases.
On Nov. 21, Ms. Lyons entered an agreement to plead guilty to malicious wounding and domestic assault. There is no agreement as to her sentence, which will be left to the discretion of the judge. Judge Jennifer L. Fuschetti accepted Ms. Lyons’s plea agreement, found her guilty, and set her sentencing hearing on March 20, 2026.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Keith M. Proctor is prosecuting Ms. Lyons’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Cody R. Pessig led the investigation.
“I am grateful to the Norfolk Police, to Norfolk Emergency Services, and to the staff at Norfolk General Hospital for saving the life of this victim,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “I am also proud of my colleague Keith Proctor for proceeding with an evidence-based prosecution that will enable us to hold Ms. Lyons accountable. It has been my longstanding policy that we will not force victims — especially victims of intimate-partner violence — to testify in court against their will. Doing so damages victims’ future credibility, alienates them from people who are offering them services to escape abuse, deprives them of agency, and increases their risk of future victimization. While it is a priority for us to secure appropriate convictions, our absolute top priorities are to respect victims and to keep them safe and alive.”
If you and/or someone you love are a victim of a crime — including but not limited to domestic violence — resources are available at the Norfolk Family Justice Center. For more information, please visit norfolkfjc.org, call 757-330-0376, or stop by the NFJC located at 835 Glenrock Road, Suite 100, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. If you are in crisis, call the 24/7 hotline by dialing 757-251-0144. In an emergency, please call 911.
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