17 years after the loss of life of his sister and his testimony of his mom being the offender behind the tragedy, A.J. Hutto, now 24, broke his silence on addressing the court docket as a 7-year-old baby.
When he took the witness stand practically twenty years in the past, all eyes have been on him as his sister’s loss of life was a case that had gained the nation’s consideration.
That day in 2008, he testified that “mama obtained mad” and “dunked” his sister, 7, within the pool — immediately, he nonetheless stands behind his phrases, claiming his mom, Amanda Lewis, is “100% responsible.”
On 8 August 2007, A.J.’s sister, Adrianna Elaine Hutto, was discovered unresponsive in her household’s pool in Esto, Florida.
Lewis was the one who referred to as emergency companies, telling them her daughter wasn’t respiratory. They transported her to Bay Medical Hospital the place they pronounced her useless an hour later.
In keeping with Lewis’ testimony, she completed her evening shift on the nursing dwelling the place she labored as a nurse and took a fast nap whereas the children watched cartoons.
They have been about to go looking for college provides later, however because the temperature exceeded 100 levels, A.J. and Adrianna wished to go within the pool, which was a 4-foot deep, above-ground pool and off limits to the children with out grownup supervision.
Lewis claimed A.J. entered the home and instructed her Adrianna was within the pool, however Lewis believed she meant someplace round it because the pool ladder was stored locked within the shed and instructed him to inform her to get inside the home.
A.J. obtained out and when Lewis appeared out the again door, she noticed her son “raking within the water together with his hand, like he was attempting to seize her.”
“After I obtained to the pool … she was face down… She was very purple, very blue,” Lewis mentioned of her daughter. It was then that she referred to as the emergency companies.
At first, authorities believed the woman’s drowning was an accident.
Nevertheless, six months later, 7-year-old A.J. entered a courtroom stuffed with strangers and defined what had actually occurred on that devoted day and testified towards his personal mom.
Beforehand, in an interview with the police, he mentioned, “Mama dunked my sister. She achieved some stuff that she ain’t suppose so my mama obtained mad, so she throwed her within the pool,” and now his mom’s destiny rested in his tiny fingers.
A.J. made a drawing of the day his sister died. When requested to determine the figures he had drawn, he pointed to at least one and mentioned it was his mother killing his sister.
“How is she doing that?” he was requested. “Placing her hand over her face,” A.J. instructed the courtroom.
On his drawing, he included the phrases “she did,” and “too dangerous.” He then defined that his sister died and it was too scary.
The jury discovered Lewis responsible of first-degree homicide and aggravated baby abuse. She was sentenced to life in jail with out the potential for parole.
Following the incident, A.J. went into a brand new dwelling. Nobody actually knew the place he was or what he was doing.
Till now.
Chatting with the Day by day Mail, A.J., who’s now working as a firefighter, mentioned he wasn’t “coached or something like that” for the trial and solely realized that his testimony decided his mom’s destiny when he reached his teenage years.
“I simply instructed them precisely what I noticed phrase for phrase,” he mentioned and added that as a toddler, he was “actually, actually nervous…Having all these folks you and all that. However I used to be simply glad it was over.”
He additionally spoke of his childhood and described it as “darkness, trauma, and loads of abuse.”
He claimed he and his late sister suffered bodily abuse.
I went viral for telling a court docket aged 7 that my mother drowned my sister. I’m ending my silence 17 years later https://t.co/3ki6AN2GeD pic.twitter.com/eSz0RJ3qju
— Day by day Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) April 6, 2025
For him, all of it modified when a loving household adopted him.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve needed to speak about it, so I type of bear in mind some issues about my earlier life.
“And for essentially the most half, I bear in mind the abuse. Generally we wouldn’t even see it coming. It was actually generally we have been blindsided,” he mentioned of him and Adrianna, who was his “greatest good friend.”
Ever since he testified towards his mom, when he was simply 7, he hasn’t seen her.
“It’s court docket appointed that we can not see one another, and I’ve wished to maintain it that method, simply so nothing’s getting introduced again up… all the emotions and feelings and the traumas getting introduced again into gentle,” he mentioned.
A.J. added, “It was heartbreaking. You realize, she’s my mom. However there was additionally some aid that what we have been going by way of on the time was lastly coming to an finish.”
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