In 2008, seven-year-old AJ Hutto took the stand in a Florida courtroom and told a jury that he saw his mother, Amanda Lewis, drown his half-sister Adrianna Elaine Hutto as punishment for misbehaving.
Now 24 years old, AJ is finally speaking out about the traumatic experience and what life has been like since.
The horrifying case unfolded in Esto, Florida, on August 8, 2007. Lewis called 911 after finding her daughter unresponsive in their family’s backyard pool.
Adrianna, also seven, was rushed to Bay Medical Hospital but was tragically pronounced dead an hour later.
Initially ruled an accidental drowning, everything changed when AJ sat down for a videotaped police interview and revealed what he saw.
“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,” AJ said.
The child’s testimony stunned investigators.
When asked in court why he had drawn stick figures around the pool, AJ told the prosecutor: “That’s my mama. Killing my sister.”
He said his mother was “putting her hand over her face.”
Despite Amanda Lewis maintaining her innocence, AJ’s powerful testimony helped secure a conviction. In 2008, she was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, plus an additional 30 years for aggravated child abuse, according to The Daily Record.
In a 2016 interview with Piers Morgan for his Killer Women series on ITV, Lewis insisted she was wrongly convicted.
“Proving that I’m innocent. Proving what he said I didn’t do,” she said.
She also spoke about her son’s testimony, telling The Independent: “I couldn’t believe they were doing this… I love him no matter what, I will always love him. He is in no way blame him for what happened.”
But AJ stands by what he told the court all those years ago. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “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.”
Reflecting on the moment he saw his mother in court, AJ admitted it was painful – but also brought closure.
“It was heartbreaking. You know, she’s my mother,” he said. “But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end.”
He also revealed why he’s chosen not to reconnect with Lewis: “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.”
Now 24, AJ says life with his adoptive family has been a dramatic change – for the better.
“A much happier household,” he said. “Almost a 360 difference.”
He opened up about the abuse he and Adrianna endured growing up: “Just darkness, trauma. A lot of abuse. Physically abused, both Adrianna and I were hit.”
He 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.”
