The tiny hands of a 7-year-old boy weren’t enough to cover his tear-filled eyes, but somehow, he found the strength to speak. Sitting in a Florida courtroom in 2008, dressed in a white button-up shirt and knit vest, A.J. Hutto did something no child should ever have to do — he testified against his own mother, revealing that “mama got mad” and “dunked” his sister in the pool.
Seventeen years later, A.J., now 24, is finally opening up about the life-altering moment he took the stand, a moment that would send his mother to prison for the rest of her life. He still stands by his words: “She’s 100% guilty.”
At the time, A.J. didn’t fully grasp the weight of what he was saying. He was a little boy trying to tell the truth — trying to explain the unimaginable. What authorities had initially ruled an accidental drowning turned into something far more haunting, thanks to the quiet courage of a child who witnessed it all.
The incident unfolded on a scorching August day in 2007. Amanda Lewis, then 27, had just come off a night shift as a nurse’s assistant. She told investigators she’d planned a quick nap before taking her two kids, Adrianna and A.J., shopping for school supplies. As she rested, the children asked to play outside.
According to Lewis, the pool was off-limits without supervision, but minutes after the children went outside, A.J. returned with a chilling message: “Mama, Adrianna is in the pool.” At first, she assumed he meant the little girl was playing nearby, but when she looked out the window, she saw A.J. frantically reaching into the water.
She rushed out and found 7-year-old Adrianna floating face-down, lifeless and blue. Despite being airlifted to the hospital, Adrianna didn’t survive. Lewis described kissing her daughter one last time, saying, “I knew right then my baby was gone.”
Initially, authorities believed the drowning was an accident. But then A.J. started talking.
In a calm, unsettling voice, A.J. explained what he saw. He said Adrianna had misbehaved, which made his mother angry. In retaliation, Lewis “threw her in the pool.” When asked to explain further, A.J. said, “Mama dunked my sister…she put her hand over her face.”
He even drew a picture for the courtroom: one stick figure by the pool, another floating in it, and himself, far off by a tree. He labeled the drawing with the words “she did” and “too bad,” which he explained meant Adrianna had died — and it was scary.
That simple, honest testimony would shake the courtroom to its core.
Lewis was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. And A.J., the boy who spoke the truth when no one else could, quietly disappeared from public view — until now.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, A.J. revealed how little he understood the consequences at the time. “I wasn’t coached. I just told them exactly what I saw, word for word,” he said. “I was really nervous… but I was just glad it was over.”
Now a firefighter, A.J. carries with him the weight of that day. He remembers the abuse. He remembers the chaos. And he remembers the pain of losing his sister, his best friend. Life with his adopted family has been a stark contrast — loving, safe, and peaceful.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had to talk about it,” he admitted. “But I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn’t even see it coming… we were blindsided.”
He’s never seen his mother again. The court prohibits contact, and he’s chosen to keep it that way. “I’ve wanted to keep it that way, just so nothing’s getting brought back up…all the feelings and emotions and the traumas.”
Still, the decision to speak up as a child — and now again, as a man — hasn’t been easy. “It was heartbreaking. You know, she’s my mother. But there was also some relief that what we were going through was finally coming to an end.”
Now, after 17 years, he’s using his voice again — not just to revisit a painful past, but to stand up for the truth that saved him and honored his sister’s memory.
If this story moved you, please share your thoughts and help keep the conversation going.
