Heartbreaking court testimony of boy, 7, who saw his killer mum drown his sister

A LITTLE boy’s heartbreaking evidence was crucial in locking up his mother for the murder of his sister, but now she could walk free.

Brave seven-year-old AJ Hutto moved the public when he broke down in court giving harrowing evidence about how he saw his mother drowning his sister, Adrianna, in the backyard pool of their family home.

In a stunning move, a court has reopened the case as a judge was assigned to consider a motion of “post-conviction relief”, based on alleged rights violations.

Amanda Lewis was found guilty of murder and aggravated child abuse after drowning her seven-year-old daughter Adrianna in a four-foot pool at their home in Esto, Florida.

Prosecutors in the 2008 trial built their case around the evidence given by AJ, despite his story wavering through questioning.

The pivotal moment of AJ’s testimony came as prosecutor Larry Basford asked him to explain a drawing the child had made of stick figures around the pool.

“That’s my momma…killing my sister,” AJ said.

Basford followed up, asking what Lewis was doing as AJ replied: “Putting her hand over her face.”

Neatly dressed in a white button-up shirt, black knit vest and light-coloured pants, the vision of the little boy being led through questions sent shockwaves of sympathy and controversy through the public.

Lewis was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a trial in Bonifay, however, after years of campaigning from her supporters and legal experts, she could now be released.

Supporters of Lewis have claimed her daughter drowned by accident, meaning the mother was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

If the motion is successful, Lewis’ murder conviction will be quashed.

Lewis has maintained her innocence since the tragedy.

She claimed Adrianna accidentally drowned after slipping and falling into the pool while attempting to remove bugs from the water.

The mother said she returned home from night shift and had been napping while the children watched cartoons.

She told police the children had later “pestered her” for a swim, but she refused because she wanted to go out to get school supplies.

Lewis claims a short time later, AJ told her Adrianna was in the pool.

In an interview with ABC News in 2010, she said she looked out the back door and AJ “was raking in the water with his hand, like he was trying to grab her”.

“When I got to the pool.. she was face down… she was very purple, very blue,” Lewis said.

She said she began CPR and called 911.

Adrianna was airlifted to the nearest hospital where an emergency team worked to regain a pulse; however, she sadly died later that day.

An adjunct professor in sociology at Georgetown University and campaigner for the mother – also named Amanda Lewis – posted to social media, saying: “Her case did not begin with a crime. It began with a tragedy”.

“Instead of compassion for a grieving mother, limited resources, flawed assumptions and trauma-distorted narratives converged to blame the person suffering the greatest loss.

“Like many wrongfully convicted women, Amanda’s grief and her child’s trauma were used against her.”

AJ’s tragic testimony

Brave little AJ was asked to do a drawing of the events which occured when his sister drowned in court.

The image he showed depicted Lewis as outside the 4ft-deep pool, with a thick line drawn over the edge to Adrianna, who was shown inside the pool.

AJ told the court the line was his mother’s arm.

He was also in the drawing, watching the entire scene from a nearby tree.

He wrote “she did” on the drawing, telling the court he meant “she died”, referring to his older sister.

Judge Allen Register ruled AJ was a competent witness, despite his age and the seriousness of the case.

Despite this, Lewis’s campaigners say AJ was led by the prosecutors and that his answers were inconsistent.

Combating these claims, AJ, now 24 years old, married and a firefighter, broke his silence in April for the first time in 17 years.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, he said he believed his biological mother was “one hundred per cent guilty”.

“I stand by every word I said in the trial.”

Following his mother’s conviction, AJ was adopted by a couple outside his family.

His name was changed and he disappeared from public view, with friends and colleagues not knowing his true identity.

Despite no contact, he says he has monitored his mother’s failed bids for freedom.