'I was put on the stand aged 7 to help jail my mum for life for my sister's murder'

A seven-year-old boy was put on the stand to help throw his mum into prison for life for his little sister. AJ Hutto broke the hearts of when he broke down into tears telling a how he saw his mum Amanda Lewis drown his sister in their .

Young AJ was seen dressed in a smart shirt, knitted vest, and trousers when he took the stand at the intense court in February 2008. His crucial testimony helped to cement his mothers first-degree murder over the death of seven-year-old Adrianna, but AJ has not publicly spoken about his horror ordeal until now.

AJ's home in the rural town of Esto, just south of the Alabama state border, became the site of a heart wrenching tragedy on August 8, 2007. His sister died in a four-foot-deep pool but Amanda claimed young Adrianna accidentally drowned when she slipped and fell into the water, while trying to clean bugs from the pool.

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Amanda said she came home from a night shift on that doomed day to her children watching cartoons and begging to use the pool. She told that after refusing, the kids went outside regardless and AJ rushed into the house saying Adrianna was in the water.

The mum said in 2010: "When I got to the pool.. she was face down… she was very purple, very blue." Investigators initially believed her death was an accident but AJ shook the case by telling authorities on video that his mum "dunked" his sister.

said: "She done some stuff that she ain't suppose so my mama got mad, so she throwed her in the pool." The criminal case was mostly centred around AJ's chilling words and when his mum was found guilty the boy was adopted by another family and given a different identity.

17 years after the shock ordeal, AJ has spoken publicly about the murder and the trial to the , under the condition his new identity was kept private. The now 24-year-old stood by his testimony and hit back at claims from his mother's supports that he was too young and was led by the prosecution.

AJ said: "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."

He also recalled the tragic moment he was taken into the stand, six months after his sister died, and he did not recognise his mum in the courtroom. AJ said: "It was heartbreaking. You know, she's my mother. But there was also some relief that what we were going through at the time was finally coming to an end."

The 24-year-old revealed he has not had any contact with his birth mother and said: "It's court appointed that we cannot see each other, and I've wanted to keep it that way, just so nothing's getting brought back up… all the feelings and emotions and the traumas getting brought back into light."

Amanda has however maintained her innocence and protested her conviction. Despite losing several appeal attempts, the mum has reportedly hired a new legal team to represent a new potential appeal.