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Damning Testimony: Boy Witness in Mother’s Murder Trial Speaks Out
Seventeen years after his impactful testimony as a child witness in a Florida courtroom, AJ Hutto, now 24, recounts the harrowing events he witnessed as a seven-year-old. His sometimes faltering, yet ultimately condemning, testimony played a pivotal role in the conviction of his mother, Amanda Lewis, for the murder of his sister, Adrianna Hutto. The murder trial captivated the nation in 2008, focusing on the tragic drowning of seven-year-old Adrianna and the compelling, albeit debated, testimony of her younger brother.
Recalling the Courtroom Ordeal
The image of young AJ, impeccably dressed as he recounted witnessing his sister’s drowning death, remains a potent symbol of the emotionally charged proceedings. His evidence led to Amanda Lewis receiving a life sentence without parole for first-degree murder. Despite persistent appeals, her conviction has stood, and she continues to assert her innocence from behind bars.
Following the trial, AJ was adopted, given a new name, and deliberately removed from public view to rebuild his life away from the public eye. He remained silent about the traumatic events – until now.
In an exclusive interview, DailyMail.com unveils the remarkable transformation of the boy whose eyewitness account from rural Esto, Florida, secured a murder conviction. Now a young man, AJ shares his definitive verdict on his mother’s case, years after their last encounter in that tense courtroom.
“One Hundred Percent Guilty”
“One hundred percent guilty,” AJ states unequivocally. “I stand by every word I declared.” This resolute statement comes 17 years after his crucial witness testimony in the Bonifay, Florida, courtroom. The trial revealed glimpses into AJ’s childhood, including his cherished red and white toy fire truck. Today, he has channeled that childhood fascination into adulthood.
Remarkably, AJ has become a firefighter. He is also married and has a close circle of friends. His wife is aware of his deeply painful past. However, reflecting the sensitivity surrounding his history, his wife’s parents and his firefighting colleagues remain unaware, a confidence he maintains.
AJ agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, seeking to protect his current life. He has deliberately avoided contact with Lewis, now 45, and prefers to refer to her as Amanda, not “mother.”
The Decisive Testimony and Drawing
The prosecution’s case heavily relied on AJ’s account of witnessing Adrianna’s deliberate drowning, although his courtroom narrative experienced some fluctuations during cross-examination. The turning point in his testimony occurred when prosecutor Larry Basford prompted him to elaborate on a stick-figure drawing of figures surrounding the pool.
“That’s my momma,” he explained, “killing my sister.” When asked to describe how, he responded, “Putting her hand over her face.”
The drawing depicted Lewis outside the pool with a bold line extending over the edge to Adrianna inside. AJ clarified this line represented his mother’s arm. He drew himself observing from a tree. He had also written “She Did” meaning “she died,” and “To Bad” indicating “it was scary.”
Judge Allen Register deemed AJ a competent witness despite his young age and the gravity of the situation. However, Lewis’s advocates argue that the prosecution unduly influenced the child and that his accounts were inconsistent.
Reflecting on this, AJ stated, “I don’t believe I was, what they’ve called, coached or anything like that. I just recounted exactly what I witnessed, word for word.” He recalls answering questions carefully and thoughtfully, pausing to select the precise words.
Courtroom Recognition and Lasting Trauma
The trial commenced six months after Adrianna’s hospital death. Initially, AJ did not recognize his mother in court. Despite repeated questioning, he only broke down in tears when the prosecutor pointed her out. He recounts, “It was heartbreaking. You know, she’s my mother. But there was also a sense of closure, that this ordeal was ending.”
“It’s court-ordered that we cannot have contact, and I’ve maintained that, to prevent re-surfacing those feelings, emotions, and traumas.”
He has, however, kept informed of developments regarding Lewis’s attempts to gain freedom.
Life After Testimony: Adoption and New Beginnings
AJ speaks warmly of his childhood with his adoptive family. “It was good, much better. A loving Christian family, a happier home,” he says. Contrasting this with his past, “My childhood with Amanda was a complete 180, entirely different.”
He elaborates, “Just darkness, trauma, significant abuse. Both Adrianna and I were physically abused. The contrast between the two families was stark.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had to discuss this, so my memories of my previous life are somewhat fragmented. But I primarily recall the abuse. It was often unexpected, we were often caught off guard.”
When asked about his relationship with Adrianna, he pauses and says simply, “We were best friends.”
Of the trial, he recalls being “very, very nervous… I just told them what happened.” “Having all those people watching was intense. But I was just relieved when it concluded.”
Contrary to some reports, AJ says he did not fully grasp the implications of his testimony for his mother at the time, only realizing “later in my teenage years” that it meant life imprisonment.
Amanda Lewis’s Ongoing Legal Battle
DailyMail.com can also disclose that National Guard veteran Lewis has recently engaged a new attorney and additional legal support for a final attempt to reopen her case. She is currently incarcerated at Homestead Correctional Institution for Women, identified as Florida inmate number Q21185.
Sources intimate with Lewis have informed DailyMail.com that her legal team is reinvestigating potential weaknesses in the case to potentially launch a fresh appeal.
For the most part, I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn’t even see it coming. It was literally sometimes we were blindsided.
Lewis Maintains Innocence: Accident or Murder?
Lewis’s version of the events on that August day, when temperatures exceeded 100°F, is that Adrianna’s drowning was accidental. She claims Adrianna slipped and fell into the pool while attempting to remove bugs.
She stated she had returned home from a night shift and was napping while AJ, then six, and her other daughter Arianna were watching television. The children reportedly asked to swim, but she declined, planning to go out for school supplies.
Subsequently, she says AJ came inside stating Adrianna was in the pool. Looking out, she saw AJ “raking in the water with his hand, as if trying to grab her,” she told ABC News in 2010.
“When I got to the pool, she was face down… very purple, very blue.” Lewis recounts initiating CPR and calling 911, telling the operator, “Send an ambulance please. My daughter fell in the pool, and she’s not breathing. Her lips are purple, what do I do? Water’s just coming out of her nose. Please hurry.”
Adrianna was airlifted to a hospital, where medical personnel briefly regained a pulse. Sadly, she passed away at 5:05 PM.
Initially, authorities considered the death accidental.
Local fire chief Charles Corcoran suggested, “She went over the side of that pool, leaned too far, fell into the water, and hit her head.”
Holmes County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Michael Raley stated there were “no indicators of foul play… nothing like that. It was just a child playing in the pool who drowned.”
The Turning Point: AJ’s Police Interview
However, within hours, AJ revealed a different story to police in a recorded interview: “Mama dunked my sister.” He recounted that Lewis was angered by Adrianna, who had ADHD, for spraying glass cleaner inside the house.
“She did some stuff she wasn’t supposed to, so my mama got mad and threw her in the pool,” he stated. AJ claimed Lewis repeatedly submerged his sister, leading to her drowning.
AJ had previously mentioned this possibility to his step-grandfather Charles Burns and Amanda’s mother, Brenda Burns, who were caring for him after the tragedy. They took AJ to the police, where he provided his graphic account.
Evidence and Conviction
Investigators examined the family home, finding squalid conditions in the bedroom, with a strong odor of urine and a lack of toys. Lewis, who claimed Adrianna was bedwetting, was charged with murder a month later.
An autopsy report detailed a handprint-shaped bruise on Adrianna’s face. This autopsy was performed by Dr. Charles Seibert, who had previously faced disciplinary action for negligence in numerous prior autopsies.
The emergency room physician who attempted to save Adrianna’s life noted that Lewis showed no emotion upon hearing of her daughter’s death, only inquiring about the vending machine’s location.
Lewis’s colleagues testified that she had spoken about “killing” Adrianna after the child had damaged her car by writing “loser” inside with a permanent marker.
Despite passing a lie detector test, the accused mother declined a plea deal of 10 years for manslaughter. After a four-day trial, a six-person jury convicted her, rejecting the death penalty. Lewis received a life sentence without parole, plus an additional 30 years for child abuse, a sentence she continues to challenge.