Though his small hands couldn’t cover his tear-streaked face, a young boy found the strength to testify against his own mother, revealing that “mama got mad” and pushed his 7-year-old sister into the pool. Now 24, A.J. Hutto is breaking his silence after 17 years, standing by his childhood testimony and asserting that his mother, Amanda Lewis, is “100% guilty.”
Back in 2008, a quiet courtroom in Florida was shaken by the voice of a child revealing a harrowing truth.
A.J., whose current name is protected for privacy, didn’t understand the full weight of his words at the time. He was just trying to explain something no child should ever witness—the drowning of his sister, Adrianna Hutto.
Clad in a neat outfit of a white button-down shirt, black vest, and light-colored pants, A.J. described in painful detail how his sister died in the family’s backyard pool.
Initially believed to be an accident, the drowning took a darker turn when A.J. told investigators that their mother was responsible.
Amanda Lewis’ Story
On August 8, 2007, Lewis, a 27-year-old nursing assistant, said she returned home from a night shift to take a nap while her children watched cartoons. She planned to rest briefly, then take the kids shopping for school supplies.
Despite warnings to stay out of the pool, the children went outside to play in the intense Florida heat. Lewis claimed that shortly after, A.J. came inside and said, “Mama, Adrianna is in the pool.”
Thinking her daughter was merely nearby, Lewis told him to bring her inside. But when she looked outside, she saw A.J. trying to reach into the pool. Rushing outside, she found Adrianna floating face down, her body blue and purple.
The girl was airlifted to a hospital but did not survive.
“I kissed her. I hugged her. I touched her,” Lewis recalled. “I knew it was the last time I’d see her.”
At first, authorities ruled the incident an accidental drowning.
A.J.’s Testimony
Six months later, A.J., then 7, testified in court. He told jurors, “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.”
In court, A.J. drew a picture showing his mother by the pool, Adrianna in the water, and himself standing by a tree. Asked to explain, he said he was playing in the tree, and when asked about his mother’s actions, he replied: “Killing my sister.”
“How is she doing that?” a prosecutor asked.
“Putting her hand over her face,” A.J. said simply.
He also wrote “She did” and “too bad” on his drawing, explaining that it meant his sister had died and that it was scary.
The jury found Amanda Lewis guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Life After the Trial
After the trial, A.J. was adopted by a loving couple, given a new name, and stepped away from the public eye. He remained silent about the tragedy—until now.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the now-grown A.J., who works as a firefighter, said he hadn’t been coached and only realized years later how significant his testimony had been.
“I just told them exactly what I saw, word for word,” he said. “I was really nervous… but glad when it was over.”
He reflected on his childhood as one filled with “darkness and trauma,” saying both he and Adrianna suffered physical abuse. Life with his adoptive family, he says, was a complete turnaround—“a 360 difference.”
He recalled moments of abuse as sudden and unpredictable, and he called Adrianna his “best friend.”
A.J. hasn’t seen his mother since the trial and says he has no desire to. Legally, they are barred from contact, and he prefers to leave the past in the past.
“It was heartbreaking. She’s my mother,” he said. “But there was also relief—relief that everything we went through was finally over.”