Seventeen years after witnessing his mother drown his sister, AJ Hutto is speaking out about the trauma that shaped his life.
In 2008, at just seven years old, AJ testified in a Florida courtroom that his mother, Amanda Lewis, drowned his half-sister, Adrianna, as punishment for misbehaving. Initially ruled an accident, Adrianna’s death was reclassified after AJ’s testimony. He recalled his mother holding Adrianna’s face underwater, later explaining in court drawings that depicted, in his words, “Mama killing my sister.”
Despite Lewis’s insistence on her innocence, AJ’s account helped secure her 2008 conviction for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, resulting in a life sentence plus 30 years.
Now 24, AJ says he was never coached and only described what he saw. Though testifying against his mother was painful, he believes it brought closure. He has chosen not to reconnect with Lewis, preferring to leave the trauma in the past.
AJ, who is now 24 years old, claims that his life with his adoptive family has drastically changed 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.”
