Boy who told court his mum drowned his sister when he was seven speaks out for the first time after 17 years
AJ Hutto's testimony in the case against Amanda E. Lewis proved to be a turning point
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
The boy who told the court that his mum drowned his half sister has broken his silence after 17 years.
Seven-year-old AJ Hutto took to the stand in February 2008 when his mother Amanda Lewis stood trial for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
On 8 August 2007, her seven-year-old daughter, Adrianna Elaine Hutto, was found unresponsive in her family's pool in Esto, Florida.
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Lewis called emergency services and reported that her little girl had been discovered not breathing. Adrianna was pronounced dead an hour after she was transported to Bay Medical Hospital.
The whole incident was deemed an accidental drowning, until AJ revealed in a videotaped interview with police what he saw.
AJ said he witnessed his mum 'dunk' Adrianna in the pool as punishment for misbehaving.
"Mama dunked my sister. She done some stuff that she ain't suppose so my mama got mad, so she throwed her in the pool," he said.
When the case went to court, the prosecutor asked him to detail why he'd drawn a picture of stick figures around the pool.
"That's my mama," he said. "Killing my sister."
The boy said Lewis was 'putting her hand over her face'.
In 2008, Lewis was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail, with an extra 30 years for child abuse, The Daily Record reports.
Lewis has always maintained her innocence, appearing in Piers Morgan's ITV series, Killer Women, in 2016 to 'prove that I’m innocent. Proving what he said I didn’t do'.
She said she 'couldn't believe they were doing this' when her son testified against her, adding (via The Independent): "I love him no matter what, I will always love him. He is in no way blame him for what happened."
Looking back on the court proceedings, however, AJ told the Daily Mail: "I don't believe I was, what they've called, coached or anything like that.
"I just told them exactly what I saw word for word."
At first, AJ said he didn't notice his mum in court after being separated from her for a number of months.
"It was heartbreaking. You know, she's my mother," he added. "But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end.
"It's court appointed that we cannot see each other, and I've wanted to keep it that way, just so nothing's getting brought back up.
"All the feelings and emotions and the traumas getting brought back into light."
The now 24-year-old said his adoptive family was a much 'happier household', and it was 'almost a 360 difference'.
"Just darkness, trauma. A lot of abuse. Physically abused, both Adrianna and I were hit," AJ continued.
"The difference between the two families was night and day.
"It's been a long time since I've had to talk about it, so I kind of remember some things about my previous life.
"And for the most part, I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn't even see it coming. It was literally sometimes we were blindsided."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Anish Vij