The U.S justice system has seen controversial cases from the beginning of time. Some have been left off at dead ends, while some have been closed under the pretext of believing what one has to believe. Here is one such case that hit Esto, Florida in 2007. A seven-year-old boy, the son of Amanda Lewis, was found weeping as he testifies to a packed courtroom how he was forced to watch his mother drown his sister, Adrianna Hutto in their backyard pool.
Backstory
In a small town of Esto, Florida holding less than 400 people at that time was a family of three. Adrianna Hutto lived with her mom, Amanda Lewis, and her brother A.J Hutto. Amanda had these two kids from different fathers, making them half-siblings. Amanda had an occupation as a nursing partner and she frequently worked late-night shifts.
Amanda depicted Adrianna as an exceptionally social, active, and amicable little youngster. Notwithstanding, what she emphasized was that she was an outrageous instance of ADHD. Then again, A.J was the opposite being quiet, calm, and had no issue playing without anyone else. She also states that she had trouble bonding with her daughter and never really connected with her as much as she did with A.J.
The Dark Day
On the eighth of August, Amanda Lewis completed her nightshift, worn out as she returned home toward the beginning of the day to have a nap before she began the day. Amanda went to sleep while the youngsters were watching cartoons. The kids wanted to play outside yet keeping in mind that there was a pool in the backyard, Amanda made it clear that they couldn’t go near the pool without her supervision. She consistently held the stepping stool to the pool secured away in the shed so that regardless of whether the children attempted to get within the pool, they wouldn’t be able to.
Before Amanda could sleep, A.J ran back within the house and revealed to Amanda that Adrianna was within the pool. From the outset, Amanda felt that A.J implied that Adrianna was by the pool, thus Adrianna didn’t think it through and asked A.J to advise her to return inside. When A.J left, Amanda started to ask why it was taking A.J such a long time to get Adrianna back inside the house. Amanda proceeded to look outside and saw that A.J was trying to pull Adrianna out of the water.
The 911 Call
Amanda rushed to the pool and saw that Adrianna was face down, turning purple. She promptly called 911 in the wake of endeavoring CPR on her little girl. The recorded call was clearly berserk and frantic. As the police showed up, they rushed Adrianna to the nearby hospital.
Dr. Renne Fox who was the one working on Adrianna still had a little hope left for her revival. When she tried telling her mother, Amanda this, Dr. Fox saw the first red flag. As per her reports, she claims that Amanda showed no remorse, instead asked, “Where is the vending machine?” Sadly, at 5:05 pm, Adrianna Hutto was declared dead. Even after this news broke out, Amanda demonstrated zero emotion.
A.J’s Story Flipped The Case
It was expected that Adrianna had attempted to get within the pool by inclining toward one of the sides, however, without the stepping stool, she had slipped and fallen into the pool inadvertently. Notwithstanding, only hours after the fact, A.J Hutto, 6 years of age around then was with his grandparents. He kept revealing to them stirred up things that were suspicious enough for them to call the police, to stop for a moment to chat with A.J in private.
A.J said that his sister had sprayed a glass cleaner within the house which was something that she wasn’t permitted to do, so Amanda got annoyed. A.J claims to witness the whole event of his mother dunking Adrianna’s face into the water as a punishment, while Adrianna shouted for help.
Instantly changing the dynamics of the case, the child specialists were called in. A.J had to repeat his story to the specialists. A.J kept changing his story. But he was taken seriously because a 6-year-old when under trauma as big as the death of his sister is bound to act all over the place.
The Investigation
An investigation was propelled into Amanda Lewis. It was discovered that Amanda didn’t have a decent connection with her little girl because of the way that Adrianna wet her bed at any rate once per week and this drove Amanda exceptionally crazy. Conversing with neighbors and assembling observers, the police affirmed that the children were potentially abused, if not they were most likely neglected.
At the point when examiners looked through Amanda’s home, things promptly didn’t appear to be correct. The entire house was flighty, and smelled of urine, confirming the neglection. There was not a single toy, and this gave them an understanding of how Amanda had been treating her kids.
To add to these warnings, Amanda Lewis had been a mother previously, with a child named Alex while being 17. At the point when he was only 1 and a half years old, Amanda found him on the floor, not breathing, and not moving. Alex’s passing was administered as a startling seizure. Be that as it may, after Amanda lost her second daughter, people find it difficult to conclude Alex’s death as well.
The Only Witness In The Trial- 6-Year-Old A.J
After a month, Amanda Lewis was arrested for first-degree murder. Half a year later, a trial was held to see whether Amanda could be released or not. A.J being the only witness and the one holding this case together, changed his statements multiple times, 27 to be precise. At the courtroom, he was shown the drawing of the crime scene he drew and while being asked who the stick figure was and what was it doing, he replied, “My momma” “Killing my sister.”
Despite A.J not having clarity, there was more proof to support the case. For one, everybody near the family expressed that Adrianna had a major dread of water. She was spookily terrified of suffocating and could never go anyplace close to the water on her own. Moreover, Amanda’s co-workers expressed that Amanda had revealed to them that she wanted to kill Adrianna out of distress.
The primary proof, nonetheless, originated from the wounds that were found on Adrianna’s temple. These wounds were reliable with A.J’s announcements about how Amanda continued putting her hand all over and dunking her within the water. Specialists confirmed that it was a bruise from a hand.
Verdict
Larry Basford, who in the long run prosecuted the case, claims Adrianna’s drowning was actually a punishment that went excessively far. As he brought up, the pool was 32 – 35 inches tall, and Adrianna was 47 inches tall. On the off chance that she fell into the pool coincidentally, all she needed to do was stand up.
Members of the jury took two hours, after a 4-day trial, to render a decision – Amanda Lewis was called guilty. After a month, Lewis was condemned to life in jail. A.J has since been adopted.
Read Also: The Unsolved Murder of Jon Benet Ramsey.
