Alesia Litteral

Biography

ALESIA LITTERAL – Her ex tried to kill her and almost did

In 1999, she was tending bar part-time to augment her income, he was a local (a carpenter of sorts) who frequented this popular tavern. Though they were friends, then off-and-on lovers, they eventually became husband and wife in 2014 shortly after her son died of an overdose. Then, in August of 2019, after another binge of drinking, Ian Davidson shot Alesia Litteral seven times and stabbed her more than 30.

He then shot and killed himself.

It was one of the most violent acts ever committed in the small Ohio town of Mansfield. Alesia remained in an induced coma for a month (to stave off the pain) and her road to recovery remains an arduous journey. She continues her care with physical and mental health experts who continue to encourage her to reach her goals. Alesia Litteral has become an activist for eliminating domestic violence. During her interview, Alesia talks to Host Glass about the escalation of her husband’s abuse over the years, prompted by his long-time alcoholism (he started drinking at 8-years old, Alesia reports), and talks about the red flags she observed along the way as his alcoholism rose. It started initially, she says, with Ian’s verbal abuse and oppressive mental control over her. He forbad her from calling him by name, insisting she address him with “baby, honey, lover” and other monikers unbefitting a batterer. Then, Alesia tells Glass, his uncontrolled anger escalated from kissing other women in front of her and not only striking and punching her, a few months before the near-fatal attack, he frequently told her he was going to kill her. She began to believe him. He became exceedingly more out of control, she suspected he had “wet brain” (Wernke-Korsakoff’s Syndrome) a horrible condition associated with the late stages of severe alcoholism. In spring of 2019, Alesia told some friends she was afraid Ian was going to kill her, in fact, she was in the middle of a voice mail to one friend that night, sharing that information again, when he entered the house. She thought he would stagger to the bedroom to pass out, and instead, in the middle of Alesia’s call, he came at her. He soon began shooting and stabbing her. Months earlier, her friends urged her to move, she wouldn’t. The house she lived in was all she had, was already on disability, and she wasn’t about to relinquish whatever sense of security she had left; the house she lived in was the only thing she had left which she purchased from her mother’s inheritance. She asked him to leave many times. But he wouldn’t. Alesia talks about the uncooperative authorities from whom she sought help. She discusses alcohol and drug abuse and offers suggestions to viewers about red flags—what to look out for—if they suspect their spouse may try to kill them.

Today, Alesia Litteral speaks at vigils, before church congregations, to reporters, and those who may be, or have been, affected by domestic violence. She served as a spokesperson at a recent Ohio Health’s Trauma Convention, appeared in a public service announcement for the Ohio Health Trauma Unit, and, in 2025, was both nominated and appointed to the Ohio State Domestic Violence Survivors Panel. She also shared her story and has given advice to listeners/viewers during interviews on several other podcasts. She continues her work on her book—the one that tells her horrific story (due out in 2026), hoping that others may avoid a similar experience. “When I learned in the hospital, he had shot himself and died,” Alesia tells Glass, "I was determined to recover. I wasn’t going to let him take me with him.”

So dedicated to her mission to being of help, Alesia continues to invite domestic violence victims to stay at her home. She also urges them to fight through different kinds of therapy—both physical and mental.

Alesia remains in Mansfield, where she stays close to friends and those who continue to help with her full recovery.