A 19-year-old Louisiana man, Connor Lyons, has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing his mother, a respected local teacher, while she was asleep. The indictment was handed down by a grand jury in Caddo Parish on Wednesday. In addition to the murder charge, Lyons was also indicted for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, according to the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office.
The case came to the attention of law enforcement in May following a distressing phone call. A sibling of Connor Lyons reportedly dialed 911 to report a crime, stating, “My brother killed my mother.” Upon arrival at the family’s residence on Double A Drive in Shreveport, Louisiana, deputies from the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office found Connor Lyons on the back steps of the house.
Inside the home, deputies discovered the lifeless body of 55-year-old Lara Lyons in her bed. Connor Lyons was subsequently arrested and taken to the Caddo Correctional Center. He later allegedly confessed to investigators that he had stabbed his mother three times in the side of her neck while she was asleep, claiming that he had been hearing voices.
Since his arrest on May 23, Connor Lyons has remained in custody at the Caddo Correctional Center, held on a $2 million bond. His mother, Lara Lyons, was a highly regarded teacher at Mansfield High School in the DeSoto Parish public school district.
In the days following her death, the district released a statement describing Lara Lyons as a “dedicated educator, a compassionate colleague, and a cherished member of the DeSoto Parish Schools family.” The statement went on to say, “Her commitment to her students and passion for teaching touched countless lives, and her absence will be deeply felt across our school community.”
Shreveport, where the tragic incident occurred, is located in northwestern Louisiana, approximately 200 miles east of Dallas, Texas.