Her Seven-Year-Old Son is the Key Witness to her Murder Trial
The Murder of Adrianna Hutto
[August 8, 2007 | Florida]
It’s over a hundred degrees in the small town of Esto, Florida. Single mother Amanda Lewis had the day planned out for the children; to stock up on her children’s school supplies.
Her 6-year-old son, A.J, and her 7-year-old daughter, Adrianna, wanted to go for a swim in their backyard pool. Understandably so with the weather, but Amanda was busy preparing for them to head out, so she forbade them from it. Instead, she let the two children play in the backyard, knowing at the back of her mind the above-ground swimming pool is locked.
A.J came into the house and said,
“Mama, Adrianna is in the pool.”
Amanda thought that she was just next to the pool, shrugged,
“OK, well, tell her to come in.”
Only when Amanda looked out of their backdoor, did she realize something went wrong. Adrianna was not next to the pool, and A.J was raking the water. Amanda shot out of the house, but it was too late. Adrianna was pale and blue.
Amanda performed CPR and desperately pleaded for help in her 911 call. Adrianna was airlifted to a nearby hospital and regained a pulse, but they couldn’t sustain it.
Investigators presumed it was a tragic accident. The swimming pool was over 4ft in height, and the children wouldn’t be able to access it without a ladder that was locked. Adrianna must have climbed on a red toy wagon next to the pool and fallen over.
Until A.J stepped out and said,
“Mama dunked my sister.”
While Amanda was in the hospital, A.J’s stepfather cared for A.J. It was then A.J started claiming disturbing accounts of the event. A.J told the police officer that Amanda was furious with Adrianna. She covered Adrianna’s face with her palm and repeatedly dunked her into the pool. But, the officer was inexperienced without any special training when it came to interviewing children.
Young A.J’s account was inconsistent, including having a park trip to even not seeing the incident. It was enough to cast doubt to launch an investigation.
Adrianna Hutto was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). She needed more care than other children her age as she’s hyperactive to the point she’s sent to a behavioral center. Even though she’s seven, she still wet her bed.
Amanda admitted that the mother-daughter relationship was never the smoothest, but Amanda grew to love her. When investigators combed through Adrianna’s home, they found that the room was a mess, devoid of toys and the unmistakable stench of urine lingering in the room.
When asked about the absence of toys, Amanda said that they were taken away for a bit as she was trying to discipline her children for not cleaning up their room. It would have been returned later on. When police checked for the so-called toys in the shed, they found nothing.
Despite Amanda’s frantic call to 911, Adrianna’s doctor found the mother’s reaction to what was happening to be odd. When she was given the opportunity to ask about anything prior to Adrianna’s death, Amanda chose to ask about the vending machine’s location. When she was told her daughter had passed, Amanda was void of emotion. Many people came to Amanda’s defense, saying that she was not an emotional person. Different people do have different coping mechanisms.
Amanda refused a plea deal and pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of Adrianna. She even took a polygraph lie detector test and passed. Notably, the result is not admissible in court as the polygraph results are deemed unreliable. It’s based on the human biological system reacting to a situation where just being nervous could affect the test result.
Amanda and A.J were separated for half a year until the day of the trial when A.J testified against his mother. A.J broke down, but the young boy eventually pulled through. With great care, the prosecutor asked A.J to describe what happened with a drawing drawn by A.J himself. It was similar to his first account. Amanda got mad with Adrianna, presumable for using a window cleaner over a TV in the living room. Frustrated and angry, Amanda covered Adrianna’s face with her palm and repeatedly dunked her in the pool.
However, when the defense attorney stepped up, again, A.J was inconsistent with his account. At some point, he recalled Adrianna drowning outside of the pool and later taking it back and stating he was not sure how her sister drowned.
Dr. Stephen Ceci, an expert in children's testimony, stated that A.J’s testimony was “highly insufficient.” as the interview should have been done by an experienced professional with care. He believed that A.J was developmentally delayed as A.J behaved younger than he actually is. It brought up the possibility that A.J was coached on what to say by his step-grandfather. Allegedly, the step-grandfather, Charles Burns, disliked and disagreed with Amanda’s parenting style.
Post mortem on Adrianna showed a bruise shaped like a handprint on Adrianna’s face, similar to what A.J described. Amanda’s ex-coworkers, too, took a stand, revealing the time when Amanda was furious and said she wanted to kill Adrianna as the child drew on her car with a permanent marker.
Amanda admitted that she did voice it out of frustration but never meant it. In just 2 hours of deliberation, the jury found Amanda Lewis guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. She’s sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2010, Amanda filed for an appeal, but it was unsuccessful.
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