Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A seven-year-old boy who testified against his mother in court was posed with a tough question on the stand.
Back in February 2008, AJ Hutto was called up during his mother's trial, where she was accused of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
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Amanda Lewis' seven-year-old daughter, Adrianna Elaine Hutto, was found unresponsive in the family's home pool on 8 August 2007, with AJ later stating that his mum had drowned her.
Lewis called 911 and explained that she had found her daughter not breathing, and the young girl was tragically pronounced dead an hour after being taken to a hospital in Florida, USA.
17 years on from the harrowing trial, AJ looked back on proceedings, highlighting that he told the court what he saw, 'word for word'.
The cause of death was drawn down to an accidental drowning, before the boy revealed what really happened in a recorded interview with police.
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AJ claimed that he saw his sister get 'dunked' into the pool by their mother as a punishment for misbehaving.
As a result, the boy was brought to the stand during her trial as a witness, where he was asked to answer a tough question.
Firstly, AJ was asked about his age and the school that he went to, before the lawyer moved on to the topic at hand.
He asked: "I told them today, that Adrianna was dead. Is she dead?"
While AJ nodded, he was pushed to give a verbal answer, saying: "Yes, sir."
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The lawyer went on: "They want to know how Adrianna died, now I wasn't there AJ was I?"
He responded, saying 'no, sir', before confirming that he was there when she did die.
The lawyer then asked: "Can you tell them how she died?"
AJ went on to explain that his 'momma killed his sister', and even drew up an illustration featuring stickmen standing around a pool, with one sticking the other's head into the water.
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"That's my mama," he said. "Killing my sister."
He added that Lewis was 'putting her hand over her face'.
The seven-year-old barely recognised his mother as she sat in front of him, and even broke into tears while testifying.
Speaking in a recorded interview, he recalled: "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."
As reported by the Daily Record, Lewis would be convicted of murder and sentenced to life behind bars, in addition to 30 years for child abuse.
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Despite this, Lewis has continued to maintain her innocence, explaining in Piers Morgan's 2016 series Killer Women that she wanted to prove 'what he said I didn’t do'.
While Lewis couldn't believe that her son was testifying against him, other family members believed he was 'coached' to speak out against his mother before the trial, a claim he has since refuted.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, AJ, who lives under a different name, insisted: "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."
Calling the experience 'heartbreaking', the now-24-year-old pointed out that she was still his mother, adding: "But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end."
AJ said that all the 'traumas' were coming back, though he has upheld the court's decision for the two to never see each other again.
Describing his adoptive family as a 'happier' place to be, he further admitted that both he and Adrianna were physically abused by their mother.
AJ explained: "For the most part, I remember the abuse. Sometimes we wouldn't even see it coming. It was literally sometimes we were blindsided."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7
Topics: True Crime, US News, Crime
Joshua Nair