Shraman Mitra
When 7-year-old Adrianna Hutto and her half-brother, AJ Hutto, asked permission to go for a swim in the family pool, their mother, Amanda Lewis, didn’t think much of it. However, moments later, AJ burst in to inform Amanda about Adrianna’s ordeal, and the mother of two rushed outside to find her daughter drowning in the pool. ’20/20: What AJ Saw’ chronicles the horrific incident and portrays how Adrianna Hutto passed away even though emergency responders did everything possible to save the girl. Meanwhile, AJ accused Amanda of dunking his half-sister, which prompted a homicide investigation. Well, let’s delve into the details surrounding the incident and find out where Amanda Lewis is at present, shall we?
Who Is Amanda E. Lewis?
Amanda Lewis is a mother of two who, back in 2007, lived with her six-year-old son, AJ Hutto, and her seven-year-old daughter, Adrianna Hutto, in Esto, Florida. Reports mention that Amanda had a dark past, as she lost her first child, Alex, to seizures when she was just 17. Moreover, even though Adrianna and AJ were half-siblings and had different fathers, they still had a remarkable bond as siblings. In fact, one of their favorite pastimes was to go for a swim in the family pool, and the half-siblings even loved spending most of their time together.
On the other hand, since Amanda worked as a registered nurse at a nearby medical center, she had to work long night shifts and could not give much time to her children. Still, there was nothing out of the ordinary that could have hinted at the oncoming tragedy. On August 8, 2007, Amanda was resting from a long night shift when Adrianna and AJ asked her if they could go for a swim in the family pool. Since the request was nothing unusual, Amanda obliged, and she even saw Adrianna bending over the side of the pool in order to scoop a few bugs from the water. However, moments later, AJ ran in and told his mother that Adrianna was in danger.
Without wasting any time, Amanda rushed out to find her daughter struggling to stay afloat in the pool. Furthermore, she noticed that the seven-year-old was slowly turning unresponsive even though Amanda had performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. In the meantime, the mother of two managed to inform 911, and emergency personnel airlifted Adrianna to a nearby hospital. However, it was too little too late, as the seven-year-olds lungs were completely waterlogged, and she passed away while still under medical care.
Although the police initially believed the death to be an accident, AJ soon came forward and claimed his mother had dunked Adrianna. When explaining the situation, he mentioned that earlier that day, Adrianna had taken a bottle of window cleaner before spraying the solution all over the living room TV. This greatly angered Amanda, who dragged the seven-year-old to the pool and held her head underwater until he stopped responding. AJ even used gestures to show how their mother allegedly murdered Adrianna, and the police soon began a homicide investigation into the incident.
When looking into Amanda’s life, the police learned that she found parenting to be quite tricky as Adrianna struggled with an acute condition of ADHD. On the other hand, a quick search of the children’s bedroom revealed that apart from the absence of toys, the whole area smelt of urine, which hinted at negligence. Moreover, during the autopsy, medical personnel found a hand-sized bruise on the victim’s face, which indicated that someone had held her head underwater. Hence, with a mountain of evidence against Amanda, the police eventually arrested her and charged her with murder.
Amanda E. Lewis Remains Incarcerated
Before being presented in court, Amanda claimed she was not involved in Adrianna’s death and even agreed to take a polygraph test. Surprisingly, the mother of two ended up passing the polygraph test, but the police decided to base their case on evidence alone. Thus, when put in front of a jury, Amanda put forward a claim of innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. However, the prosecution was armed with AJ’s drawing in which he detailed how Amanda had murdered Adrianna in a fit of rage.
Moreover, the young boy also agreed to testify against his mother, and the jury eventually convicted her of first-degree premeditated murder as well as aggravated child abuse. As a result of which, Adrianna was sentenced to life in prison along with an additional 30-year sentence in 2008. Since then, Adrianna has tried her best to get the conviction overturned, but with her petitions denied, she remains incarcerated at the Lowell C.I. Annex in Marion County, Florida.
Read More: Adrianna Hutto Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
