Hope Hooton, a mother from Surprise, has taken her grief and anger straight to the Arizona Capitol after her two young children were killed by their father during court-granted unsupervised parenting time. Seven-year-old Alec and six-year-old Lydia were found dead alongside their father in his Surprise apartment on May 20, 2024. Hooton says she repeatedly warned the court that her ex-husband was in the middle of a severe mental-health crisis, yet judges still ordered shared custody.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, court records show that Brock Mater was held for psychiatric treatment in October 2023. Hooton filed an order of protection asking the court to bar him from having firearms and in-person contact with the children. FOX 10 reports that after a November 2023 hearing, a judge ordered equal parenting time and joint legal decision-making, along with a psychological evaluation and monitoring of Mater’s compliance with prescribed medication. Six months later, in May 2024, Alec and Lydia were dead.
Red flags in court records
Arizona's Family reported that on Oct. 16, 2023, Mater allegedly showed up at Hooton’s home in violation of a protective order, then removed the children from school and took them to a hotel. He later told police he was having suicidal and homicidal ideations. Local coverage also describes a brief psychiatric hospitalization and a bipolar disorder diagnosis that led to inpatient treatment. Hooton says those episodes were the obvious “red flags” the court should have treated as serious threats when it set parenting time.
What the Alec and Lydia Act would change
House Bill 2995, nicknamed the “Alec and Lydia Act,” is Hooton’s answer to what she sees as a deadly gap in family court. The proposal would require judges to make written findings about patterns of domestic violence and to treat police reports and medical records as primary evidence when deciding parenting time. Sponsored by Rep. Lisa Fink, the bill is written to put child safety at the center of custody decisions instead of leaning on any presumption of equal time. The bill text and official overview are posted on the Arizona Legislature’s bill page.
Advocates and experts say courts need clearer standards
Supporters of HB 2995 argue that too many cases hinge on whether a parent appears to be following treatment plans, rather than on patterns of documented abuse or instability. They say that approach can leave children exposed to serious danger. Rep. Fink has said the bill “acknowledges real world abuse patterns,” rather than assuming both parents are starting on equal footing.
Family-court scholar Dale Margolin Cecka told FOX 10 Phoenix that research shows fathers accused of domestic violence still receive joint or sole custody in roughly 70 percent of cases. Advocates say HB 2995 would force judges to create clearer, on-the-record findings about risk, which could then support limiting or denying unsupervised parenting time.
Where the bill stands
LegiScan shows HB 2995 has already passed the Arizona House and moved through several Senate committees. On March 23, 2026, it cleared the Senate Federalism Committee on a 4–3 “Do Pass Amended” vote. The bill is now listed as pending before the Senate Rules Committee and could head to the full Senate if it passes that stage. Sponsors and survivors say a floor vote will be a major test of whether Arizona law, judicial practice or both will shift toward prioritizing documented safety concerns.
Legal questions for judges and courts
The Maricopa County court notes that it held an evidentiary hearing in November 2023, ordered a psychological evaluation for Mater and required him to comply with prescribed medication, with noncompliance identified as a possible reason to restrict parenting time. The judge who was assigned to the family division at that time has a public biography on the Maricopa County Superior Court site that outlines his background and assignments. Those procedural steps and the judge’s role in weighing evidence are now at the center of a larger fight over whether current law is sufficient or whether the entire approach to risk in custody cases needs an overhaul.
Hooton, who spoke at the state Capitol in February 2026, says she wants laws that give judges clearer authority to act when mental-health crises and domestic-violence patterns collide. The bill’s text and supplemental documents are available on the Arizona Legislature’s site and in legislative trackers for anyone watching the measure move through the process. For families and lawyers across the state, the battle over HB 2995 has become a test of how Arizona balances treatment, due process and the immediate safety of children.
