a 27-year-old mother was accused of killing her own daughter one witness saw her pushing her little girl underwater the witness was her own six-year-old son he sat in open court and told the story that would Rob him of his own mother and you said your your mama did this who is your mama Amanda LS okay is she in this this room today yes so where is she can you point out and show show that that show the judge where she is okay this is the story of Adriana Hutto on a regular hot weekday in esto Florida the sun was scorching and it felt like a sauna with temperatures climbing towards the hundreds Amanda Lewis a 27-year-old nursing assistant had just returned from her night shift around 8 in the morning exhausted she laid down on the couch while her two little ones Adriana 7even and AJ six got glued to the TV watching cartoons her 14-year-old stepson Alan Michael was still sleeping around 9:00 a. m. Amanda dozed off on the couch when she woke up at 12:30 or 1 in the afternoon the kids were all excited asking if they could play Outdoors before heading out later to grab school supplies I told them that we couldn't get in the pool today because we were getting ready to go so they wanted to go outside and play for a few minutes while I got everything ready after catching a quick shower Amanda strolled out and peered through the window there was AJ perched up a tree like a little Adventurer but Adriana was missing but Amanda didn't stress about it at that moment sometimes kids just vanish into their own little worlds right I went took my shower put some towels in the washing machine um and some in the dryer and then I walked to the front door and I couldn't see Andrew and he was in the trees beside the house climbing in them and and I asked him where Adrian was at and he said she was playing at the pool I said we'll go tell her to come in so we can get ready to go and we'll go get your school stuff with shopping plans Amanda's mind was occupied a little while later as she glanced out the back window there was AJ now on a red toy wagon leaning over the above ground pool Amanda saw her son dipping his hand into the water like he was reaching for something desperately concerned Amanda called out to AJ little did she know her mother's instincts were about to kick in Full Throttle I went to the sliding glass door at the back and looked out and I didn't see her and when I looked at him he was over he was on the wagon reaching over in the pool raking at something and I asked him what was he doing and he said that Adriana was upside down in the pool and she wasn't moving racing to the backyard Amanda's heart skipped a beat there in the pool floated her seven-year-old daughter Adriana face down with without a second thought Amanda snapped into action she called 911 911 I made an ulent what's wrong ma'am my daughter filling the pool and she's not breathing where at ma'am uh in esto ma'am what's your address 33 43 First Avenue South 33 43 1 Avenue South yes down the road from the post office at the very end as Amanda poured every ounce of strength into compressions on Adriana's tiny chest the dispatcher put her on a brief hole to Rel lay the situation to the emergency units with each passing second feeling like an eternity Amanda clung to the phone almost a minute and a half had slipped away since the call began and she was still in the dark waiting for the dispatcher's guidance not once did the dispatcher instructor to start life-saving measures had precious minutes Slipped Away In The Silence does she have a fault ma'am no she's not got nothing she is purple she don't hang on a second everything's purple she clung to the phone Des desperate for instructions if you listen closely to the chaos the distant murmur of EMS instructing to start CPR seeped into the background tragically though that crucial message never found its way through the phone lines to Amanda's ears okay ma'am I've got rescue on the way and I'm fixing to get you someone else okay okay if I'm going to call you right back in just a few minutes ma'am huh we've got them on the way thank you thank you esto County fire chief Charles corkran rushed to aand Lewis's home as the first responder there he discovered Amanda in the backyard kneeling over her seven-year-old daughter Amanda was busy performing CPR Chief corkran took over Adriana's body still warm showed no signs of a pulse the chief managed to briefly revive her heartbeat but it slipped away Adriana was airlifted to Bay Medical Center where doctors fought tirelessly for over an hour but at 5:05 p.
m. young Adriana was declared dead when Adriana was discovered the scene seemed like an accident waiting to happen the toy wagon was snug against the pool and a child's bicycle laid just a foot away these artifacts were quickly documented as investigators piece together the puzzle the fire chief believed Adriana had scaled the pool wall using the toy wagon met an accidental fall and possibly struck her head on the wagon or bicycle rendering her unconscious before the drowning the telltale signs of bruising on her forehead only added weight to this Theory as Adriana was rushed to the hospital EMS saw Amanda in shock and distress any mother would experience in such a traumatic event but the hospital staff saw a different side of Amanda DrFox one of the Physicians attending to Adriana approached Amanda in the waiting room offering information on her daughter's condition instead of probing about her child she asked almost indifferently about the vending machines DrFox couldn't shake shake off the encounter Amanda's demeanor remained strangely casual Witnesses in the hospital waiting room noticed this peculiar reaction as well DrFox returned about an hour later with the devastating news of Adriana's death Amanda still showed no reaction at all when Fox told her the tragic news that Adriana had died didn't see tears I saw just um no emotion you tell a mother that her seven-year-old daughter died and you expect um some reaction Amanda did enter Adriana's room she gently ran her hand through her daughter's hair planted a tender kiss on her forehead and walked out barely 3 hours had passed since Adriana's death when the police came looking for Amanda Lewis at the hospital can you tell me about what all happened today can you take us through that yes well I got home from work I work 11 to 7 um they were watching cartoons um I told them they let me take a little nap that we'd get up and get ready and go do their school shopping um they were good I took my nap I got up probably around 12 12:30 1:00 some are running there um they wanted to go outside so I let them go out um they're out there playing they you know come in and out um around close to the incident they had went outside they were playing in the front yard in the driveway with some of AJ's trucks and I went out checked on them and I told him I supp to take a shower and and then they could come in we get them bathed and then we go do their school shopping the interview kicked off at 7:41 p. m.
on that same evening the detectives were Keen to unravel the story of what the children had eaten that day um did they eat lunch or anything or breakfast or any of that or um well when I got home this morning Adriana said that she had thrown up and there was some in her bed there was a little throw up in her bed and and she had threw up one more time and I asked her was your stomach hurting last night we had some um chili cheese Hamburger Helper um and I didn't know if maybe that made her sick and she said she wasn't feeling good but you know she didn't want anything to eat um Adriana had fallen ill multiple times in the hours leading up to her death the detective shifted gears probing into going swimming that day did they eat they didn't eat any lunch then did you know of no cuz we were going to stop and get something okay did you say now earlier when that we were up there I thought you told me that they said they wanted to get in the pool yeah first thing this morning they wanted to get in the pool and go swimming mhm and I told them to let me take my nap and then we talk about it and I asked them I said do you want to swim in the pool or do you want to go get your school stuff and they then they wanted to go get their school stuff but then when I asked him what she was doing he said said she was cleaning the bugs out of the pool so we could go swimming Amanda opened up to the detectives about Adriana's battle with ADHD the condition made her attention flutter between activities and on that particular day it bounced from wanting to swim to the urge for school shopping and back to swimming again about an hour after waking up showering and tackling some laundry Amanda shared that AJ appeared at the front door reporting that Adriana wanted to clear the bugs from the pool for a swim Amanda headed outside to check on Adriana herself you said is AJ had said that she was cleaning the bugs out of the pool she was trying to get the bugs out of the pool so we could swim okay that was after you got out of the shower mhm okay was it when you were did you say you were doing some laundry or something like that I had took the towels out of our bathroom uhhuh and put them in the washing machine and then put the ones from the wash machine in the dryer and then that's when I went out ask me okay the detective cutting through the details posed a straightforward question to Amanda Lewis what actually happened at the pool when you went out and found uh Adrian how was she how was she in the water she was face down in the water was she on top of the water below the water or she was on top of the water could Adriana stand up in the pool the above ground pool was an Intex brand Sand and Surf easy set model unfolded 18 ft wide 4 ft deep with Adriana standing at approximately 47 in tall the water level was measured at 32 to 35 in if she fell in why didn't she just stand up adding another layer to the puzzle Amanda revealed that Adriana was afraid of water this begged the question if she was scared of water why was she leaning over the pool's Edge fishing for bugs in the first place a white bucket was found in the pool suggesting Adriana might have used it to fish out insects before her unfortunate fall Amanda's boyfriend and other Witnesses later confirmed that despite her fear Adriana had swam in the pool before but always with an adult present back at the pool site investigators meticulously combed through every detail child shoe prints found inside a red wagon wedged against the pool meant someone was playing there was mud inside the wagon printed by little shoes a significant overflow of water from the pool meant the recovery effort after Adriana fell in also checked out the investigators also noted a stark absence of children's toys at the home prosecutor Larry bassford was immediately disturbed by the crime scene photos when you looked in AJ and Adriana's room it was it was just Barren and then I got to looking and everywhere I looked I didn't see what I was looking for besides the wagon AJ's toy gun and the bicycle near the pool there wasn't much else Adriana and AJ's bedroom was a bare bunk bed with mattresses without sheets or blankets and a lingering urine smell meanwhile at the hospital Amanda Lewis unraveled another layer of the story Adriana in the recent past had been acting out um he said she had some behavioral problems had she had any recently um see he changed her medicine and put her on foline she's been doing you know a lot better before you know she wouldn't she wouldn't listen to anything and she was getting in trouble at school they were having to call me almost every day Adriana grappling with ADHD had recently been prescribed focal in however on that particular day she hadn't taken her prescribed medication as the interview pressed on detectives turned their attention to a critical question did Amanda indeed administer CP R to Adriana after discovering her lifeless body in the pool did you take any measures to resuscitate her I tried to give her CPR I mean I'm not that good at it and then he told me to call 911 investigators couldn't shake the odity that despite Adriana's recent passing Amanda Lewis showed no signs of distress during the interview Chief corkran the first responder later asserted that upon his arrival Amanda wasn't engaged in any life-saving efforts for her daughter she was just kneeling over her detectives probed Amanda about bruises found on Adriana's body has she had any bruises well I mean little ones on her legs and I think she had one on her left arm or her right arm where her and AJ would fight but other than that she didn't have any as the interview approached its conclusion a seismic Revelation rattled the room the investigators disclosed that they were aware Adriana wasn't Amanda's first child to meet a tragic and mysterious end her firstborn 16-month-old Alex had succumbed to a seizure disorder Alex passed away in his sleep after a seizure though deemed accidental at the time the circumstances surrounding his death now raised eyebrows it wasn't just the absence of toys or the red flags from Alex's past nor the potential signs of neglect or the link lingering smell of urine in the home the turning point was a crucial witness someone who allegedly witnessed everything the sole eyewitness Adriana's six-year-old brother AJ has a shocking story they need to six-year-old AJ had already spoken to the police moments after Adriana was airlifted to Bay Medical while Adriana was rushed to the hospital Amanda Lewis's mother stepped onto the scene she took temporary custody of AJ while Amanda headed to the hospital during the drive to the grandparents house AJ told something to his grandmother that left her reeling as they arrived home AJ's grandmother wasted no time she picked up the phone and dialed the sheriff urgently reporting that AJ had just revealed a disturbing detail who threw her in the pool my mama mama threw who in the pool my sister Adriana his mother Amanda had punished Adriana by covering her face and holding her under the water AJ's interview on the afternoon of August 8th 2007 Just 4 hours after the incident documented a chilling reenactment she screamed AJ AJ call the police the young boy at the Holmes County Sheriff's Office detailed the distressing events he claimed to have witnessed my sister she readed me in spray some and that makes everything smell good and she didn't do she done the stuff that she didn't post to so my mom got mad at it so she threw in the pool Amanda's story had a significant Gap she made no mention of driving her car that day when questioned AJ's claims asserting a different sequence of events didn't align with his mother's account the challenge for investigators was to determine whether AJ was telling the truth or was the intricate workings of a young boy's imagination M told my mom told me to go get and then we was standing in the wagon so you stood up in the wagon um could your sister swim to understand the current living situation investigators turned their attention to AJ's daily life and his sleeping arrangements with his sister where do you you sleep at AJ uh and and old bedroom me and my sister is that where you slept last night I sleep in there all day when I get in trouble but when I be good I get to sleep in the living room he explained that when he behaved well he was allowed to sleep in the living room however on days when he found himself in trouble his sleeping Arrangements shifted to their shared bedroom for the entire day adding another layer to the story AJ disclosed that he and Adriana hadn't had breakfast on that particular day you watch Boomerang did Adriana watch it with you he only watched it in the morning this morning so she got up out of her bed and came in the living room did she she done yet what did y'all have for breakfast I didn't have did y'all have any cereal neither did he have any lunch that day what' you have today for lunch uh nothing nor has her sister had anything to eat since morning what did Adriana have nothing she didn't she didn't have no breakfast either yes she hadn't have she didn't have no lunch either AJ also shared additional details about the siblings belongings he mentioned having a bicycle the very one found near the pool however he pointed out that Adriana's bicycle had flat tires and hers was behind the shed did Mama go outside while y'all were out today what'd she do just Ming my wagon and then when she kep done moving my w she told Adrian to scoop out the bugs out the pool and then she maybe she didn't so m d do you ever scoop out bugs you had to do it by herself but you never did it before I can't do it with the neck I only do it with my hands AJ repeatedly stated that his mother dunked Adriana the clarity of his claim persisted throughout leaving investigators to Grapple with the disturbing image painted by a six-year-old boy AJ further revealed a troubling detail Adriana was grounded on the day she died where was Adriana bedroom and when she got unrounded she was in the living AJ continued to provide a vivid snapshot of the day's events aligning with some aspects of his mother's account he said once Adriana was off punishment they were watching cartoons in the living room echoing his mother's earlier statement however AJ also disclosed a source of Adriana's trouble that day slamming cabinets in the kitchen and playing with their mother's hair care products when questioned about why his sister was in trouble AJ revealed that Adriana had been punished for spraying something she wasn't supposed to you said that uh something about some spray what can you tell me about the spray she was spraying it until I woke up when I went the fall smell and smell it in the bedroom what did it look like it looked in a spray ball I stuff out what color uh AJ delved further into the unsettling details narrating how Adriana had sprayed Windex All Over the TV leading to her getting in trouble he then provided a chilling account of the alleged incident describing how his mother in his words dunked Adriana in the pool AJ painted a haunting picture stating that his mother held her hand over Adriana's face to smother any screams tell me what do you mean when you say dunk somebody dunk somebody Mama dun my sister what does that mean how that happens when Stu today so who was in the pool adri did your mama get in the pool n adri was just in the pool when M Adrian was Ling like this and Mama hold hand so she went scream Adrian started screaming on she Mama took her hand off of Adrian's uh face where were they at at the pool despite being just 6 years old he demonstrated a Keen awareness of his mother's work schedule recalling specific days and times he also revealed an understanding of his absence from school pinpointing it as spring break instead of the more common summer break while seemingly trivial these details became crucial markers for investigators probing the depths of the young boy's memory he maintained that his mother dunked Adriana underwater when she busy scooping bugs out of the pool AJ then revealed the traumatic scene recounting how 14-year-old Alan Michael hurried him into the house after Adriana was pulled from the pool and then she was purple her lips were purple and then Brown W was coming out of the mail AJ's detailed account painted a vivid but troubling picture of the events leading up to Adriana's death according to him it appeared that Adriana was punished perhaps having just been grounded or coming off a punishment that morning AJ recounted her misbehavior involving spraying Windex and playing with cabinets and beauty products after being sent to her room as per AJ's version when Amanda checked on Adriana she found her not scooping bugs as instructed but playing in the pool AJ's Revelation suggested a possible form of punishment and anger with Allan Michael Amanda's boyfriend's son then taking AJ inside the chilling implication raised questions about Amanda's actions whether in a fit of anger or as a misguided form of punishment she repeatedly held her daughter's face underwater meanwhile at Bay Medical Center Amanda remained oblivious to the unfolding developments it wasn't until her second interview with law enforcement on August 9th 2007 that she would be confronted with AJ's Revelation I don't know how to put this but he he seems to that you grounded her well I don't know why he would think that I mean I wasn't even out there I was in the house the detective informed Amanda that her daughter's autopsy would be completed the next day with that he highlighted a lingering concern Amanda had yet to provide any plausible explanation for the bruises discovered on Adriana's face and forehead you know it just don't look good I talked to you about trying to explain the bruises and uh we can't come up with a reasonable explanation is why they're there well I mean I don't know why they're there I mean the only thing I can think of is either she hit the tablet container or either she went completely to the bottom and hear her head or she hit it on the wagon before she even went in the pool that's the only explanations I have okay when the detective asked Amanda about how was she coping with the loss of her daughter she mentioned the overwhelming presence of people at her house explaining that she hadn't found the time to process it this second interview happened less than 24 hours after Adriana's death yet Amanda did not display any visible emotion during the interview adding another layer to the unfolding story Amanda disclosed a shocking detail Child Protective Services had been regularly visiting Amanda after an intervention from a School faculty member repor reporting concerns about the children's hygiene Amanda countered that it actually happened after one of Alan Michaels basketball games the children were dirty from playing beneath the gymnasium bleachers despite this claim Amanda admitted that the Department of Children and Families DCF began weekly visits every Thursday these meetings involved one-on-one sessions with a social worker primarily focusing on parenting discussions particularly methods of punishment the convers pivoted to the unresolved question of Adriana's bruises probing deeper into the perplexing Amanda attempted to explain the bruises happened because of the children's frequent fights she casually mentioned a nextdoor neighbor who occasionally visited but the detective eliminated this person as a potential culprit during the investigation how would you feel about taking a Parra I'd be fine with it Amanda willingly took a polygraph test she passed it but the results wouldn't be admissible in court Amanda passes a polygraph test yet police are convinced she drowned her daughter Adriana's autopsy report later confirmed drowning as the cause of death ruling it a homicide the investigation continued for about a month before Amanda Lewis was arrested and officially charged with aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder of Adriana's death the trial opened in February 2008 offering Amanda a plea deal for 10 years in prison pleading guilty to manslaughter to the surprise of many Amanda rejected the deal she was innocent the trial revealed Adriana's challenges including bed weding ADHD and misbehavior with Amanda's history of struggling to bond with her the prosecution argued that Amanda's frustration reached a Breaking Point leading to extreme punishment contrary to earlier accounts the prosecutor theorized that Adriana and her mother argued on that fateful day the defense proposed alternative explanations he suggested the bruises came from the children's physical fights or AJ hitting Adriana with his toy gun at that moment while she is on the telephone with her boyfriend AJ comes running up to the house saying uh Adriana is upside down in the pool of course like every mother she gets hysterical she runs out to the pool she's still on the phone with her boyfriend who hears what's happening he says her you know put down the phone call 911 she gets the child out of the pool she's able to lean into the pool the defense contended that this was a tragic accident emphasizing that Adriana was trying to clean the pool and slipped in Amanda's boyfriend Alan Carelli supported the claim that the Windex incident happened a week before Adriana's death the defense aimed to create Reasonable Doubt emphasiz izing inconsistencies in AJ's account you weren't at home when she had any of these spraying incidences no sir but I was informed of it and you weren't at home the day of her death were you sir that's correct all right so you don't know whether she was spraying anything or not do you that's correct I do not however he wasn't present that day and the only individuals on site were six-year-old AJ Hutto Amanda Lewis and 14-year-old Alan Michael who as per his account was inside the house showering when's the uh when's the first knowledge that you had that something had gone wrong with Adriana when I was in the shower and AJ came here and told me that she was dead Allan Michael in a prior police interview mentioned not hearing Amanda yell at the children that day and claimed he woke up around 100 p. m.
