A seven-year-old boy had to take the stand to answer heartbreaking questions after he watched his mother murder his sister.
On August 8, 2007, seven-year-old Adrianna Elaine Hutto was found unresponsive in the family’s backyard pool in rural Esto, Florida, near the Alabama border, per CourtTV.
Her mother, Amanda Lewis, told authorities she had discovered Adrianna face-down in the water after the little girl tried to clean bugs from the pool’s surface. Adrianna was rushed to a nearby hospital but tragically died an hour later.
Initially, investigators ruled Adrianna’s death as an accidental drowning. But the case took a shocking turn when her older brother, AJ Hutto, came forward with a different version of events that would change everything.
AJ, who was just seven at the time, told police in a video-recorded interview: “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.”
The statement led prosecutors to charge Amanda Lewis with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, and in February 2008, AJ took the stand to testify against his mother in court.
Wearing a collared shirt and vest, AJ struggled through emotional testimony, at one point breaking into tears while explaining to the court what he had seen.
The prosecution began by asking AJ simple questions about his age and school before moving to the heart of the matter, per Yahoo!
“I told them today, that Adrianna was dead. Is she dead?” the lawyer asked. AJ nodded but was urged to respond verbally, answering: “Yes, sir.”
The lawyer pressed on, saying: “They want to know how Adrianna died, now I wasn't there AJ was I?”
AJ responded: “No, sir,” before confirming that he was there when his sister died.
“Can you tell them how she died?” the lawyer asked.
AJ told the court that his “momma killed his sister” and even drew a stick-figure illustration showing a person pushing another’s head underwater.
“That's my mama,” he said, “killing my sister.” AJ added that his mother was “putting her hand over her face.”
The testimony proved decisive. Amanda Lewis was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, with an additional 30 years for child abuse, per the Daily Record.
Following the trial, AJ was adopted by another family and given a new name and identity for protection.
Now, at 24, AJ has spoken publicly for the first time since the trial, reaffirming that he told the truth all those years ago.
Speaking to MailOnline under the condition that his current identity remains private, AJ rejected claims that he had been manipulated by prosecutors or other adults during the investigation.
“I don't believe I was, what they've called, coached or anything like that,” he said. “I just told them exactly what I saw, word for word.”
AJ described the experience of testifying against his mother as “heartbreaking,” explaining: “She's my mother. But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end.”
While Amanda Lewis has continued to maintain her innocence, telling Piers Morgan in 2016 that she wanted to prove “what he said I didn’t do,” AJ has made it clear he stands by his testimony.
He explained that he has had no contact with his mother since her conviction, saying: “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, emotions, and traumas coming back into light.”
AJ also reflected on the abuse he and Adrianna experienced growing up, revealing, “For the most part, I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn't even see it coming. It was literally sometimes we were blindsided.”
Today, AJ describes his adoptive family as a “happier” place, acknowledging that while the tragedy changed his life forever, he is certain he did the right thing by speaking up.