July 31, 2025 • 37 mins
Introducing the full length investigative podcast, In Esto.
IN ESTO - What really happened to Adrianna Hutto?
Episode 1 - "Everything's Purple"
Amanda and Alan live in his double-wide trailer in Northern Florida. He is a butcher and she works overnights at a care home. He has two teenagers who often visit and she has a 7 (Adrianna) and a 6 (AJ) year old who share a room. Alan goes to work early and leaves Amanda's kids under the supervision of his son, Alan Jr. When Amanda arrives from work she finds her two kids watching TV alone and Alan Jr fast asleep in his bedroom. But this is where the stories differ...
Later that afternoon, Adrianna is found floating in the pool.
What really happened to Adrianna Hutto?
Written and Produced by N Leigh Hunt
Theme music by Bart Mendoza and Manual Scan Acoustic score by Dylan Lotter Music. Additional info graciously provided by Georgetown University's Making An Exoneree Program and Investigator Kimberly Hunter
A Fire Eyes Media LLC network podcast
To listen to the entire season, please subscribe to "In Esto" wherever you get podcasts.
IN ESTO - What really happened to Adrianna Hutto?
Episode 1 - "Everything's Purple"
Amanda and Alan live in his double-wide trailer in Northern Florida. He is a butcher and she works overnights at a care home. He has two teenagers who often visit and she has a 7 (Adrianna) and a 6 (AJ) year old who share a room. Alan goes to work early and leaves Amanda's kids under the supervision of his son, Alan Jr. When Amanda arrives from work she finds her two kids watching TV alone and Alan Jr fast asleep in his bedroom. But this is where the stories differ...
Later that afternoon, Adrianna is found floating in the pool.
What really happened to Adrianna Hutto?
Written and Produced by N Leigh Hunt
Theme music by Bart Mendoza and Manual Scan Acoustic score by Dylan Lotter Music. Additional info graciously provided by Georgetown University's Making An Exoneree Program and Investigator Kimberly Hunter
A Fire Eyes Media LLC network podcast
To listen to the entire season, please subscribe to "In Esto" wherever you get podcasts.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Fire Eyes Media before we begin. This episode refers to
children being harmed and may contain strong language.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Nine on one, what's all, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
My daughter filling the poem when he's not where it ma'am?
Speaker 4 (00:18):
And Esther woman is in the Holmes County jail tonight,
charged with killing her own daughter. At least one witness
says they saw Lewis pushing the little girl underwater. Lewis
has reportedly denied she killed her own child. She is
due in court tomorrow morning for a bond hearing.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Okay, we haven't officially started the podcast yet, but I
did just want to say this. I debated whether I
should use the children's names in this series. Their identities
are in open public domain and all over the internet,
as is this case, so I've decided to use them,
but with hesitance. The victim in this case is a
(00:57):
seven year old Adriana. For whatever reason, the victim appears
to be forgotten during all the legal wranglings. She was
a very little girl with ADHD and she always tried
her best. Many have criticized the accused for being blunt
or motionless. That's the mother I'm talking about. But during
(01:17):
my research I found that just about everyone was the same,
including her own family members and the sheriff's office. I
was unable to find any official transcripts or recording or
document or anything that showed any sympathy for the victim
or the victim's family other than the EMTs and the hospital.
(01:40):
The only sign of emotion I could find was from
the accused mother herself. Now she is the very person
the prosecutor and the sheriff said showed no emotion. It's confusing.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
There have been a few TV shows, major TV networks,
about three of them telling different versions of the story,
but none of them were able to tell the entire story.
So here's what really happens. By the way, her name
was Adrianna Huddo. She was a vulnerable seven year old
(02:12):
little girl who passed away in her own swimming pool.
Let's not forget this during all the rhetoric and conjecture
or medical facts and pseudoscience, A precious little girl has died.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
There is a in my opinion, a credible witness.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Oh are you.
Speaker 6 (02:34):
Do you know the difference between the truth and alive?
Speaker 5 (02:40):
If I told you your mother was in the courtroom
here today, would that be the truth?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Your show.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Hey everybody, welcome to the first episode of n Esto.
My name's en Lee Hunt. I'm a crime history and author,
and I sometimes stabbling radio as well. This is a
case that captured my attention. I might accidentally blanket you
with loads of information For that. I'm not sorry, because
there's a lot to get through. But let me set
(03:14):
the scene for you. First Estow, Florida. This is taken
from the town's official website. Nestled in the heart of
the Florida Panhandle is Estow, a charming town with rich
history and a welcoming community spirit. Surrounded by the natural
(03:36):
beauty of northwest Florida. Our town boasts a unique blend
of Southern hospitality and small town charm. Daniel Boone explored
the area in the seventeen sixties, and the swamps are
said to be inhabited by a huge, red eyed gator
named two Toe Tom. Some call him the Lochness Monster
(03:56):
of Northwest Florida. The small town of s is ranked
in the top ten of Lottery's winningest locations. Yeah, the
friendly mini market on Highway seventy five is in the
top ten of whole state's winning lottery tickets so if
you're in the area, you might want to stop by
because there are more winners out of Estow than any
(04:17):
other town its size. But let's get to the story.
It's the summer of two thousand and seven. Estow at
that time had a population of about three hundred and fifty,
but was near a few larger towns, and people loved
the rural lifestyle. Just miles from the Alabama border on
(04:37):
the south, It's Holmes County, one of the poorest areas
of Florida, Predominantly white. Bonifay, the nearby town has a
local sheriff's office in a community fire and rescue department,
but much of the in depth police work was done
down in Panama City. It's about sixty three miles away.
(04:58):
You can get there in about an hour if you
put your feet to the floor and hit the freeway.
Amanda lewis twenty seven year old, mother of two and
certified nursing assistant in nearby Bonifay. She had two kids
(05:19):
from a previous relationship. They were Adrianna, who was seven,
and little aj who was six. Neither had a relationship
with their different fathers. Not important. Amanda lived with their boyfriend,
Alan Carnly and occasionally his two kids, Alan Michael, or
Alan Junior as we may call him. He's fourteen, and Amber,
(05:39):
who's eleven. When they weren't with their mom's house just
over the Alabama border, they came to stay a lot.
In fact, Alan Michael started staying longer and longer as
he got older because he had his own room and
they'd always work out sleeping arrangements. When Amber came to stay,
Alan Senior and his ex partner Aby they'd separated years before,
(06:00):
and Amda had moved into Allen's double wide trailer home
with her kids. It's about September two thousand and five.
The house was down First Avenue Esto on a gravel road.
The tarmac stopped as you left Commerce Street. It's one
(06:22):
of the main roads going north south through the little town.
They lived in a classic double wide mobile home, not
unlike the thousands that dot around the south and elsewhere.
Slightly gray. It's got a siding with white trim green shutters.
I'd be lying if I said the exterior was really
well kept, but it wasn't decrepit or even close to
(06:44):
being the ugliest in town, even though it didn't really
have a porch out front or proper steps when you
exit the back door, and the side kitchen entrance was
just some blocks. It was a nice family home. Inside,
the main sitting room and kitchen were pretty tidy. The
sitting room had yellow paddeled walls covered in images of
(07:06):
Elvis Presley Everybody Loves the King, greenish blue carpet, and
red couches. The kitchen was like any other kitchen in
the South, flowered wallpaper, blue curtains, and a dozen two
liter soda bottles neatly positioned on the countertop, all ready
for drinking on a hot day. The rest of the
(07:27):
house not so tidy, but more about that later. The
outside of the house was surrounded on all sides by
sun drenched Florida grass that grows like mad He grows
in patches because of the heat. Allan did a pretty
(07:47):
good job of tidying it up on his right d mower.
Other than around the square fenced area that was directly
out of the back door, grass was everywhere. The fence
line was as wide as the house itself, and it
kept the dog from going wherever it liked. They were
about two hundred feet from the nearest neighbour's home on
(08:08):
the west side and blocked on both sides by trees
and bushes. There wasn't really a neighbor to the east
at all. All of the kids, at one time or
another loved playing in the perimeter of the house. Adrianna
and aj were not supposed to cross the gravel road,
but they did sometimes on occasions. Alan purchased a large
(08:30):
rubber above ground pool. It had a ladder to enter
the side of the pool. Now the ladder rested on
the floor of the pool and the ground outside the pool,
but did not touch the pool itself or it would
collapse like a big capital a. It had a white
steel frame and it had gratings going up and when
(08:51):
you're on the top of the platform you can stand
up there. It had three blue plastic steps going up
and three blue plastic steps going down into the pool.
The pool had a cover to protect it and a
big tarp below. It sat on top of the grass.
The ground wasn't exactly level, so one side was slightly
deeper than the other, although not a crazy slope, It
(09:13):
just made the pool a couple of inches deeper on
one end than the other end. Alan and Amanda got
the pool because the kids liked to play in Alan's
sister pool. She just lived down the road, and they
enjoyed it so much that they thought they'd splored for
one of their own for the summer. They were starting
to get really tired of going down the road to
his sisters, and I'm sure his sister was tired of
(09:34):
hosting them every time it was really hot. Now, both
the young kids, Adriana and aj used floaties or water
wings when they were in the pool. Amanda was always
with them and they weren't allowed to swim alone.
Speaker 7 (09:54):
Me and Alan both would get in there and play
with them, and we'd swim and yeah, play and I
mean they like to play turtle, and that was just
where they got on my back and I'd swim around
the pool. But as far as Adriana, she unless she
had the floaties on or we were with her, she
didn't like to get away from the edge of the
(10:14):
pool so that she could hold on m or either
she'd stay at the ladder. Before we bought our pool,
we would go to Alan's sisters and she would do that.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
She'd stay right there at the ladder. Of course, that
one they couldn't.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Reach but she's never gotten the pool by herself before.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
M have you ever seen the wagon up inside.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Of the pool like that?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
I don't let them put anything up beside it.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
I mean, you know, one, we didn't want it to
get punctured, and two I don't want 'em.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
I didn't wanna fall in it. And this happening.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
You normally keep the ladder locked up, and the ladder
the locked up.
Speaker 7 (10:48):
Now, yes, that was the first rule when we got
the pool, that the ladder would stay locked up, and
it it stays right there in the shed.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Alan, Michael, and Amber loved the pool, but didn't jump
into this pool too often. They were busy with their
lives coming and going from the house, but they did
like the pool. Alan Senior and his son erected the
pool on the eastern part of the property in early July,
just after the school year broke up, ready for the summer.
The pool was outside of a small fence line and
(11:26):
you could see it clearly right out the back sliding
glass door if you turn your head a little bit
to the right. Now, this is Florida. It's hot, really hot.
Everyone can use a cool down. Despite drowning being the
number one killer, of children in Florida. They got one
once the kids were a certain age. This ladder was
(11:49):
locked away in the shed and the pool was almost
always covered. The shed looked like a little barn in
the northern part of the property. It's about fifty feet
from the pool, and this shed was always locked. They
kept the mower in there, They kept the pool cleaning items.
They kept the net for scooping out the bugs. This
(12:09):
is Florida, after all, bugs are everywhere. There were strict
rules for the kids about not going in the pool
when the parents were not around. Now, this previous weekend,
Alan had added chemicals to the pool and had not
(12:30):
replaced the cover. It was open to the elements he
wanted to dissipate. The latter was still locked up in
the barn slash shed. Now let's flash forward. It's early
August two thousand and seven, August eighth to be exact.
Amanda had worked the night shift at Bonifay Nursing and
(12:50):
Rehabilitation Center. Her shift is eleven pm to seven am
the overnight, the graveyard shift. She didn't get home until
about eight am that morning. It was payday and there
was a mandatory work meeting. She had to attend. Amanda
was away all night working while Alan Senior and Alan
(13:10):
Michael took care of the kids overnight. Alan Senior is
a meat cutter and he works at a market just
ten miles away, but it's across the Alabama border and
he doesn't have to be at work till about six am.
He's got a set up and get everything ready, so
he leaves the house about five thirty am that morning.
(13:31):
He doesn't have to go in every day that early,
but on August eighth, he was scheduled to be in early.
On his way out of the house, Alan Senior stopped
by Adriana to see her in her bed, the monk bed.
As he went past, she was awake. He then went
(13:53):
past a j who was sleeping on a camp bed
in the living room. The two little ones shared a
room and they probably really loved when there wasn't anyone
else there and when Aj behaved himself, he was allowed
to set up a camp bed in the living room.
His mother purchased it from a yard sale. He thought
it was just like camping. Now I can identify with that.
(14:14):
I remember doing something very very similar when I was
six year old, and I loved it. As Alan Senior
took off for work, babysitting duties shifted to Alan Junior,
Alan Michael, who was asleep in his room and he
was just off the living room, not far away. What
happens between this time that Allan Senior leaves to work
(14:34):
and Amanda arrives home from her shift the nursing home
is kind of unknown. On August eighth, it was somewhere
about two and a half hours between the time Allan
Lee's and Amanda gets home. They were under the care
of fourteen year old Alan Michael, but he was fast
asleep in his room.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
What did you discover when you went in the.
Speaker 7 (14:59):
House, Well, they were sitting there watching cartoons. They were
on a I went to a yard cell and there
was a one of the little bad things that you
can put in a tent to inflate the thing. And
last night I had aired it up to see make
sure they have any holes in it, and Aj wanted
to sleep on it, and so it was it was out,
(15:21):
so both of them were sitting on it watching TV.
Speaker 8 (15:25):
So AJ slept in the letting round and where Adrian
on her bed.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
They've got bunk beds, so they.
Speaker 9 (15:32):
Were both on that when you come in, where was
Alan Michael?
Speaker 5 (15:35):
He was still asleep in his room.
Speaker 8 (15:40):
You said you took a nap at around nine thirty.
What transpired in that hour or and a half there?
Speaker 1 (15:52):
When Amanda arrives home at eight am, she says, aj
and Adriana were sitting on the camp bed in the
living room just TV. Adriana told her mom that she
had thrown up on the sheets and that she had
had a bad tummy. Amanda sat with them for a
bit and watched TV and then read her book a
little bit. About nine to thirty, am Amanda told them
(16:15):
that she needs to take a little nap and they
would all go do their school shopping later on in
the day when it cooled down. Kids told her they
wanted to go swimming in the pool, and it was
already ninety degrees outside, so that sounds like a good idea.
Amanda said, look, you can either go swimming or you
can go shopping. The kids chose to go shopping for
(16:35):
school stuff. They'd been cooped up in the house for
a long time. They officely wanted to get out. The
temperature now into the afternoon was in the low one hundreds.
It's another sweltering hot August day in North Florida. A
lot of people avoided the heat during the middle of
the day. Amanda said she woke about twelve thirty ish
(16:55):
and let the kids go outside to play. She saw
they were playing together with AJ's trucks in the front
yard and along the driveway and the gravel road. She
told them that she was gonna take a quick shower
and they would need to do the same before they
go shopping. Meanwhile, Alan Michael still asleep in his room
into the afternoon. He hears none of this. He's got
(17:18):
a noisy air conditioner just outside his bedroom window, and
he says he heard nothing.
Speaker 7 (17:27):
Well, they, you know, continue to watch cartoons. I got up,
I got something to drink when they're not sat down,
I was watching cartoons with them, and that's when they
ask if they could, you know, get in the pool.
And then that's when I told him, you know, do
you want to go get in the pool or do
you want to go get your school stuff? And they
wanted to go get their school stuff because they had
(17:49):
already picked out book bags and all kinds of stuff
out of the papers.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
I peddled around a little bit more, and.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Then they wanted to go outside, and they went outside
and played, and they were sitting in the dirt playing
with his tractors right there where that tree's at in
the front, in that dirt. That's where they were playing,
and me walking back and forth. They stayed there for
the longest. She's playing with the tractors.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Where was Alan Michael at that time still asleep?
Speaker 7 (18:26):
He had woken up one time and he come out
and he had played around with Aj a little bit.
It was right after I got up, and then he
went on back to his room.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Amanda got out of the shower, shifted some towels and
sheets from the washer to the dryer, and then she
started a new load of the dirty sheets. She called
over to Alan Senior at work to check in and
have a bit of a chit chat. He's probably on
his lunch break. While on the phone, Amanda goes to
the front door to see what Aj is up to.
(19:02):
He was now alone playing in the trees beside the driveway.
They called it the trash can tree. It's where you
put the rubbish out for the weekly collection. She asked Aj,
where's Adriana. He said she was playing out by the
back pool. I think Amanda told him to go get
her because they have to get ready to go shopping.
(19:23):
According to Amanda, Aj ran around the side of the
house and she made her way to the sliding glass
door at the back. She looked out, couldn't see Adriana.
She's still on the telephone. This is the entire exchange,
Alan Senior hears it. She then sees Aj standing on
a red wagon reaching over the side of the pool,
(19:47):
raking at something.
Speaker 7 (19:52):
They were playing in the front yard in the driveway
with some of AJ's trucks.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
And I went out checked on and I told him
I take a shot and then they could come in.
Speaker 7 (20:02):
We'd get them bathed and then we'd go do their
school shopping. And I went took my shower, put some
tiles in the washing machine 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 him and I asked him where
Adriana was at, and he said she was playing at
the pool. I said, we'll go tell her to come
(20:23):
in so we can get ready to go, and we'll
go get your school stuff. And he went to go
around the house and I went to the slide and
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 it 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. And that's
(20:47):
when I run out there and I made him go
get Alan Michael. And then when he come out, I
told him, I said take aj in the house and
keep him in there.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
And I was trying to get her out because she was.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
Close to the middle of the pool, and then I
reached I leaned over and reached over and I managed
to get her foot and I pulled her out and
got her on the ground, and I tried to do
CPR as I was calling.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Nine one one.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Note one nine on one. What's wrong, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
My daughter failing the poe when he's not breathing, whereat ma'am, And.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Ma'am, what's your address?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Three three four three, First Avenue South.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Three three four three, First Avenue South.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Tell the rest of the post office in the bay head.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What's your phone number, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
A five zero two three row seven five nine.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And she's not breathing. How old is she? She's seven
years old?
Speaker 7 (21:38):
All right?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Hang on just a second, man, Oh gosh, just a second, man,
pro it's a proper What do I do? Avenue happening sound, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Waters just coming out out yesterday, ma'am, he said, wors
going out of her nose.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yes, I got on her side. It's coming out of
her nose every time i'm over. Okay, hang on this second.
Please talk rescues, yes, ma'am. I've got them on the way.
I'm gonna see if they can do something to health you.
Hang on just a moment. Rescue one there advising they
better laid over on her side, walk coming out of
her nose? Is there anything they can do? So you
hit them? Twelve h hang on? Just does you have
(22:38):
a faults, ma'am? No, she's not got nothing.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
She is purple.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
She don't hang on a second. Everything's purple, violins purple,
My faults neverathing. Hang on just a second, man, ten
for okay, ma'am. I've got rescue on the way and
i'm fixing see someone else. Okay, okay, if I'm gonna
(23:02):
call your up back in just a few minutes, ma'am
with got him on the way.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Thank you, thank you. Quite A traumatic scene has just occurred,
and Amanda says that she managed to lean over the
pool's edge and grab Adriana's foot. Amanda says she was
almost in the middle of the pool as she just
(23:29):
able to get the foot. The pool would have collapsed
if she'd reached any further. I mean, luckily for Amanda,
she's a good height and she was able to catch
Adriana's heel and drag her to the edge of the pool.
Once Amanda got Adriana in her arms, she safely lifted
her onto the grass and she began rudimentary CPR. Her
training as a nursing assistant only covered the basics but
(23:52):
did not include resuscitation after potential drownings. She immediately told
Aja go inside get Alan Jr. From his room. Once
he arrived outside, Amanda told him to take ag in
the house and keep him there away from the scene.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
I tried to give her CPR, I mean, I'm not
that good at it, And then the dispatcher was, you know,
telling me what she breathing, and I told her no
when I was trying to give her CPR.
Speaker 10 (24:23):
Then did you have any trouble getting her out of
the pool?
Speaker 5 (24:27):
Well, she was kind of in the middle, so I
had to lean over the side.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
But you didn't have to get in it.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
I didn't have to get in it. I could reach
her from the outside.
Speaker 8 (24:35):
Were you standing in the wagon?
Speaker 7 (24:38):
No, I was standing on the ground, and the side
that I was on the pools not even, so it
was kind of leaning that way and I just leaned over.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
You didn't have no trouble getting her out.
Speaker 7 (24:50):
I mean I had to rake at her choes to
get her to WY could grab her leg, and then
I pulled her to me and then pulled her.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Out of the pool.
Speaker 7 (25:00):
About the bruises, the one that was on when I
pulled her out of the pool, The one that was
right here was a very small purple spot. It wasn't
nothing like it is right now. And when they got there,
they asked me if she had bumped her head or
she had had a mark all day, and I told him, no,
she's not had a mark.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
On her head.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Had she had any bruises, well, I.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
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.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Any Alan Jr. Had been in and out of sleep
while in his room all through the morning and into
the afternoon. He'd only just fully awakened about one thirty PM.
He rolled over and watched some TV for bet and
then spoke with Amanda. He then checked his phone and
(25:53):
came out and took a shower. Here's how the fourteen
year old Alan Junior described the events to Sheriff Lee
A few days later. He was taken to the Sheriff's
office by his mother, but interviewed without any parents present.
The background noise you hear is another Sheriff's deputy coming
in and out of the room, putting his note pat
in his back pocket, and then eventually taking a seat.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
M Then I need you to to think back that
morning and tell me what went on from the time
you woke up that morning.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
Can you do that? Told me okay a little good,
and I checked him the phone seven.
Speaker 8 (26:33):
And then called, now what time was that?
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Tell about doing something my.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Okay?
Speaker 10 (26:42):
And then I started watching TV and then miss Amanda
Amy and told him that she was gonna take him
school shop. Okay, So I called some brandy and I
was gonna go to his out well if they didn't
answer the first time, so I was gonna call him
(27:03):
again later after I got out of showers and so
went he got in a shower then, and AJ ran
in there and told me that Adrianna was dead. So
I ran outside and Miss Samanda was giving him out
them out and she told me to take a j
inside in eternal cartoon, and maybe I started showing up.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
Okay, So you oke up about one o'clock, started watching TV.
Called Brandon, Brandon, who Carlin. She called him on your
house phone or on your sail phone, my house.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
On Alan Jr. Told police, very bluntly that AJ ran
into the house and told him that Adriana was dead,
not drowned, not being resuscitated, not getting CPR, not hurt,
but dead. And this is Alan Michael's father, Alan Sr.
(28:02):
This is how he described events to sheriffs the following day. Now,
remember he was on the other end of the phone
line with Amanda when all of this was taking place.
Speaker 9 (28:14):
When she called me, I was at work, okay, I
was on the phone with her, her little boy come inside,
and she told aj that they needed to get ready.
There was one shopping to go. Tell them back in
so they could take a shower. So next thing I know,
I heard my front door open on my trailer. You
couldn't know the door to them, and I heard her,
Manda go out and down the steps. She had the
phone with her and as soon as she rounded the
trailer had no words the pool. You'd tell that she
(28:36):
started in the trot. You could tell my phone with bouncing,
and when she got to the pool was in the
pool upside down. I said, we'll get her out, put
her on the ground, turn her to her.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
Side, and call nine one one.
Speaker 9 (28:47):
And the next thing I know, the phone goes dead.
So I waited probably five or six minutes, called her back.
She said she'd call nine one one, and they had
paged out in the fire department.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Nine one one dispatchers do not call a man to
back as promise, because paramedics arrive on the scene within minutes.
This is a fine example of how fast first responders
can attend in rural areas. The house was close enough
to the center of Esto and only about a mile
from the nearest firehouse Esto fire chief was the first
(29:21):
on the scene, probably one of the most decorated and
experienced skilled responders Northern Florida had ever seen. Charles Corcoran
moved down from New York to the South and he
brought all of his medical credentials and experience with him.
He was the first to arrive and the first to
start CPR. He tried to clear the water from Adriana's lungs.
(29:43):
They briefly got a pulse and prepared her for transport,
first putting her into the ambulance and then prepped her
for the life flight helicopter that was soon to arrive.
They needed to get her to Panama City, the best
facility in the region. Let's have a quick listen to
the fire chiefs credentials. In his own words, it's quite impressive.
Speaker 11 (30:08):
I started in the fire service where I grew up
in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I did three years there.
Speaker 11 (30:14):
I was assigned to a unit called a rescue squad
that did first aid extrication, all qualified and taught by
the Red Cross. Worked for approximately forty years. I was
also in the reserves, the Army Reserve, and Air National Guard.
I went into a LPN program run by Delaware University.
(30:38):
I passed that and got an LPN license in New York,
went back to school, got a degree as a Applied
Nursing Science registered nurse.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Passed the state boards.
Speaker 11 (30:49):
I did another course in Dakota in what they call
the Compact States in the Midwest, and got a license
for fourteen states.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
There.
Speaker 11 (30:59):
I worked in an er and labor and delivery and
a Manhattan hospital, and I worked in the er and
surgery recovery in a Brooklyn hospital.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Fire Chief Cochrane knew Alan Carny and knew his home.
Alan Carny was a member of the community fire squad,
so he was turning up at the firehouse for meetings.
In fact, he was with Charles Cochrane the night before
the accident. So when Charles Cochran arrives at the house,
he was no stranger to the Carnley family and no
(31:35):
stranger to the area. Not only was he most experienced
EMT in the region, he also had specific geographical information.
No wonder he arrived within three minutes. When fire Chief
(31:57):
Cochrane arrives at the scene, he sees brought mother leaning
over her child. He takes over CPR from Amanda and
begins a series of very important steps to remove water
from the airway. Here he is telling Holmes County deputies
exactly what he did that afternoon. In an unreleased police audio, where.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Was the mother?
Speaker 12 (32:23):
The mother was kneeling with her back to the pool
and the baby said.
Speaker 6 (32:27):
As towards the road, and she was creating the baby from.
Speaker 12 (32:31):
Foot to head position superprints over pretty.
Speaker 11 (32:35):
Much over crying and consoling the baby, and in that
state of grief that.
Speaker 6 (32:42):
You would expect for them to recurls. Okay, what happened?
Can you call the third steps from you got there?
I responded east on for a stand and drove into
the yard. Saw the two people down on the ground.
I got out of the vehicle, started approaching. Asked the
mother man the album. Has she been in the pool?
(33:02):
I looked at the baby. I told the mother to
leave and go get me some pals. I'm gonna need
some powels.
Speaker 12 (33:09):
There was obvious water infiltration in the mouth.
Speaker 6 (33:13):
It was drained and shrowm the nose.
Speaker 12 (33:14):
I picked the child up, turned it over, turned it back,
over looked, put my hand in. I gave you two brets.
I slowed distension. I put pressure on the stomach. I
got a gush of fluid. KAY turned it over and
I f picked her.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Up let her drain again. At that time when the
many other guys.
Speaker 12 (33:38):
Mar than Nez came in, I put him on the
other side, told him to start taking the pulse.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (33:46):
I did the compression.
Speaker 12 (33:47):
She had something of a I will turn it a
tank top on.
Speaker 6 (33:52):
I lifted it.
Speaker 12 (33:52):
Up through his shoulders had been intact. I found my landmarks.
I started giving them impressions. I kept getting linked with
water returns. I drained it again at Martinez and I
told him do a finger sweep a couple of the
more breads.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
At this point I don't remember al many. I heard
it gurgling. One more good compression on the chest.
Speaker 12 (34:17):
I went back to CPR and I'm willing to estimate four.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
To five minutes of cp R. And I picked it
up again and.
Speaker 11 (34:28):
I drained of.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Drowning was the number one reason for child fatalities in
the state of Florida. Bay Medical in Panama City is
the best place for someone in Adriana's condition. In total,
over ten EMTs would handle Adrianna's body before she arrived
at Bay Medical Center. Sadly, poor seven year old Adriana
(34:57):
was pronounced dead at five oh five PM, less than
two and a half hours after the nine one one call,
but four minutes later, way back in Boniface, sixty miles
away from Panama City and Holmes County, sheriff's deputies began
an interview with amanda six year old son Aj. He
(35:20):
was whisked away from the scene by his step grandfather,
affectionately named Paul Chuck. He's married to Amanda's mom, but
he's known the family for a long time from church,
so he's almost like a family friend who just happened
to marry AJ's grandmother. AJ and Paul Chuck were together
for about an hour as they drive from the scene
(35:42):
to where Paul Chuck and Brenda, Amanda's mother lived together
in Alabama. When Brenda finally arrived some time later, Paul
Chuck says to her, AJ's just told me the most
remarkable story. They decide they're going to call the sheriff
in Holmes County. They get in touch with Sheriff Lee,
(36:04):
and he says, interesting, I think you should come right
down to the Sheriff's office and we should talk more
with AJ. Apparently, AJ has quite a detailed story to
tell the Sheriff. In the next episode, we go deep
(36:24):
dive into what AJ tells the Sheriff. Everyone seeing doesn't
see anything untowards, but the Sheriff's department pick up on
some things that AJ tells them, the multiple stories that
AJ tells them, that's all next in Esto. In Esto
(36:48):
is written, produced, and presented by me and Lee Hunt.
The music is graciously provided by Batmandoza of Manual Scant.
The acoustic score was created specifically by Dylan Modern of
Dylan Modern Music, Fire Eyes Media
Fire Eyes Media before we begin. This episode refers to
children being harmed and may contain strong language.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Nine on one, what's all, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (00:15):
My daughter filling the poem when he's not where it ma'am?
Speaker 4 (00:18):
And Esther woman is in the Holmes County jail tonight,
charged with killing her own daughter. At least one witness
says they saw Lewis pushing the little girl underwater. Lewis
has reportedly denied she killed her own child. She is
due in court tomorrow morning for a bond hearing.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Okay, we haven't officially started the podcast yet, but I
did just want to say this. I debated whether I
should use the children's names in this series. Their identities
are in open public domain and all over the internet,
as is this case, so I've decided to use them,
but with hesitance. The victim in this case is a
(00:57):
seven year old Adriana. For whatever reason, the victim appears
to be forgotten during all the legal wranglings. She was
a very little girl with ADHD and she always tried
her best. Many have criticized the accused for being blunt
or motionless. That's the mother I'm talking about. But during
(01:17):
my research I found that just about everyone was the same,
including her own family members and the sheriff's office. I
was unable to find any official transcripts or recording or
document or anything that showed any sympathy for the victim
or the victim's family other than the EMTs and the hospital.
(01:40):
The only sign of emotion I could find was from
the accused mother herself. Now she is the very person
the prosecutor and the sheriff said showed no emotion. It's confusing.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
There have been a few TV shows, major TV networks,
about three of them telling different versions of the story,
but none of them were able to tell the entire story.
So here's what really happens. By the way, her name
was Adrianna Huddo. She was a vulnerable seven year old
(02:12):
little girl who passed away in her own swimming pool.
Let's not forget this during all the rhetoric and conjecture
or medical facts and pseudoscience, A precious little girl has died.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
There is a in my opinion, a credible witness.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Oh are you.
Speaker 6 (02:34):
Do you know the difference between the truth and alive?
Speaker 5 (02:40):
If I told you your mother was in the courtroom
here today, would that be the truth?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Your show.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Hey everybody, welcome to the first episode of n Esto.
My name's en Lee Hunt. I'm a crime history and author,
and I sometimes stabbling radio as well. This is a
case that captured my attention. I might accidentally blanket you
with loads of information For that. I'm not sorry, because
there's a lot to get through. But let me set
(03:14):
the scene for you. First Estow, Florida. This is taken
from the town's official website. Nestled in the heart of
the Florida Panhandle is Estow, a charming town with rich
history and a welcoming community spirit. Surrounded by the natural
(03:36):
beauty of northwest Florida. Our town boasts a unique blend
of Southern hospitality and small town charm. Daniel Boone explored
the area in the seventeen sixties, and the swamps are
said to be inhabited by a huge, red eyed gator
named two Toe Tom. Some call him the Lochness Monster
(03:56):
of Northwest Florida. The small town of s is ranked
in the top ten of Lottery's winningest locations. Yeah, the
friendly mini market on Highway seventy five is in the
top ten of whole state's winning lottery tickets so if
you're in the area, you might want to stop by
because there are more winners out of Estow than any
(04:17):
other town its size. But let's get to the story.
It's the summer of two thousand and seven. Estow at
that time had a population of about three hundred and fifty,
but was near a few larger towns, and people loved
the rural lifestyle. Just miles from the Alabama border on
(04:37):
the south, It's Holmes County, one of the poorest areas
of Florida, Predominantly white. Bonifay, the nearby town has a
local sheriff's office in a community fire and rescue department,
but much of the in depth police work was done
down in Panama City. It's about sixty three miles away.
(04:58):
You can get there in about an hour if you
put your feet to the floor and hit the freeway.
Amanda lewis twenty seven year old, mother of two and
certified nursing assistant in nearby Bonifay. She had two kids
(05:19):
from a previous relationship. They were Adrianna, who was seven,
and little aj who was six. Neither had a relationship
with their different fathers. Not important. Amanda lived with their boyfriend,
Alan Carnly and occasionally his two kids, Alan Michael, or
Alan Junior as we may call him. He's fourteen, and Amber,
(05:39):
who's eleven. When they weren't with their mom's house just
over the Alabama border, they came to stay a lot.
In fact, Alan Michael started staying longer and longer as
he got older because he had his own room and
they'd always work out sleeping arrangements. When Amber came to stay,
Alan Senior and his ex partner Aby they'd separated years before,
(06:00):
and Amda had moved into Allen's double wide trailer home
with her kids. It's about September two thousand and five.
The house was down First Avenue Esto on a gravel road.
The tarmac stopped as you left Commerce Street. It's one
(06:22):
of the main roads going north south through the little town.
They lived in a classic double wide mobile home, not
unlike the thousands that dot around the south and elsewhere.
Slightly gray. It's got a siding with white trim green shutters.
I'd be lying if I said the exterior was really
well kept, but it wasn't decrepit or even close to
(06:44):
being the ugliest in town, even though it didn't really
have a porch out front or proper steps when you
exit the back door, and the side kitchen entrance was
just some blocks. It was a nice family home. Inside,
the main sitting room and kitchen were pretty tidy. The
sitting room had yellow paddeled walls covered in images of
(07:06):
Elvis Presley Everybody Loves the King, greenish blue carpet, and
red couches. The kitchen was like any other kitchen in
the South, flowered wallpaper, blue curtains, and a dozen two
liter soda bottles neatly positioned on the countertop, all ready
for drinking on a hot day. The rest of the
(07:27):
house not so tidy, but more about that later. The
outside of the house was surrounded on all sides by
sun drenched Florida grass that grows like mad He grows
in patches because of the heat. Allan did a pretty
(07:47):
good job of tidying it up on his right d mower.
Other than around the square fenced area that was directly
out of the back door, grass was everywhere. The fence
line was as wide as the house itself, and it
kept the dog from going wherever it liked. They were
about two hundred feet from the nearest neighbour's home on
(08:08):
the west side and blocked on both sides by trees
and bushes. There wasn't really a neighbor to the east
at all. All of the kids, at one time or
another loved playing in the perimeter of the house. Adrianna
and aj were not supposed to cross the gravel road,
but they did sometimes on occasions. Alan purchased a large
(08:30):
rubber above ground pool. It had a ladder to enter
the side of the pool. Now the ladder rested on
the floor of the pool and the ground outside the pool,
but did not touch the pool itself or it would
collapse like a big capital a. It had a white
steel frame and it had gratings going up and when
(08:51):
you're on the top of the platform you can stand
up there. It had three blue plastic steps going up
and three blue plastic steps going down into the pool.
The pool had a cover to protect it and a
big tarp below. It sat on top of the grass.
The ground wasn't exactly level, so one side was slightly
deeper than the other, although not a crazy slope, It
(09:13):
just made the pool a couple of inches deeper on
one end than the other end. Alan and Amanda got
the pool because the kids liked to play in Alan's
sister pool. She just lived down the road, and they
enjoyed it so much that they thought they'd splored for
one of their own for the summer. They were starting
to get really tired of going down the road to
his sisters, and I'm sure his sister was tired of
(09:34):
hosting them every time it was really hot. Now, both
the young kids, Adriana and aj used floaties or water
wings when they were in the pool. Amanda was always
with them and they weren't allowed to swim alone.
Speaker 7 (09:54):
Me and Alan both would get in there and play
with them, and we'd swim and yeah, play and I
mean they like to play turtle, and that was just
where they got on my back and I'd swim around
the pool. But as far as Adriana, she unless she
had the floaties on or we were with her, she
didn't like to get away from the edge of the
(10:14):
pool so that she could hold on m or either
she'd stay at the ladder. Before we bought our pool,
we would go to Alan's sisters and she would do that.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
She'd stay right there at the ladder. Of course, that
one they couldn't.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Reach but she's never gotten the pool by herself before.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
M have you ever seen the wagon up inside.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Of the pool like that?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
I don't let them put anything up beside it.
Speaker 7 (10:38):
I mean, you know, one, we didn't want it to
get punctured, and two I don't want 'em.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
I didn't wanna fall in it. And this happening.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
You normally keep the ladder locked up, and the ladder
the locked up.
Speaker 7 (10:48):
Now, yes, that was the first rule when we got
the pool, that the ladder would stay locked up, and
it it stays right there in the shed.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Alan, Michael, and Amber loved the pool, but didn't jump
into this pool too often. They were busy with their
lives coming and going from the house, but they did
like the pool. Alan Senior and his son erected the
pool on the eastern part of the property in early July,
just after the school year broke up, ready for the summer.
The pool was outside of a small fence line and
(11:26):
you could see it clearly right out the back sliding
glass door if you turn your head a little bit
to the right. Now, this is Florida. It's hot, really hot.
Everyone can use a cool down. Despite drowning being the
number one killer, of children in Florida. They got one
once the kids were a certain age. This ladder was
(11:49):
locked away in the shed and the pool was almost
always covered. The shed looked like a little barn in
the northern part of the property. It's about fifty feet
from the pool, and this shed was always locked. They
kept the mower in there, They kept the pool cleaning items.
They kept the net for scooping out the bugs. This
(12:09):
is Florida, after all, bugs are everywhere. There were strict
rules for the kids about not going in the pool
when the parents were not around. Now, this previous weekend,
Alan had added chemicals to the pool and had not
(12:30):
replaced the cover. It was open to the elements he
wanted to dissipate. The latter was still locked up in
the barn slash shed. Now let's flash forward. It's early
August two thousand and seven, August eighth to be exact.
Amanda had worked the night shift at Bonifay Nursing and
(12:50):
Rehabilitation Center. Her shift is eleven pm to seven am
the overnight, the graveyard shift. She didn't get home until
about eight am that morning. It was payday and there
was a mandatory work meeting. She had to attend. Amanda
was away all night working while Alan Senior and Alan
(13:10):
Michael took care of the kids overnight. Alan Senior is
a meat cutter and he works at a market just
ten miles away, but it's across the Alabama border and
he doesn't have to be at work till about six am.
He's got a set up and get everything ready, so
he leaves the house about five thirty am that morning.
(13:31):
He doesn't have to go in every day that early,
but on August eighth, he was scheduled to be in early.
On his way out of the house, Alan Senior stopped
by Adriana to see her in her bed, the monk bed.
As he went past, she was awake. He then went
(13:53):
past a j who was sleeping on a camp bed
in the living room. The two little ones shared a
room and they probably really loved when there wasn't anyone
else there and when Aj behaved himself, he was allowed
to set up a camp bed in the living room.
His mother purchased it from a yard sale. He thought
it was just like camping. Now I can identify with that.
(14:14):
I remember doing something very very similar when I was
six year old, and I loved it. As Alan Senior
took off for work, babysitting duties shifted to Alan Junior,
Alan Michael, who was asleep in his room and he
was just off the living room, not far away. What
happens between this time that Allan Senior leaves to work
(14:34):
and Amanda arrives home from her shift the nursing home
is kind of unknown. On August eighth, it was somewhere
about two and a half hours between the time Allan
Lee's and Amanda gets home. They were under the care
of fourteen year old Alan Michael, but he was fast
asleep in his room.
Speaker 6 (14:57):
What did you discover when you went in the.
Speaker 7 (14:59):
House, Well, they were sitting there watching cartoons. They were
on a I went to a yard cell and there
was a one of the little bad things that you
can put in a tent to inflate the thing. And
last night I had aired it up to see make
sure they have any holes in it, and Aj wanted
to sleep on it, and so it was it was out,
(15:21):
so both of them were sitting on it watching TV.
Speaker 8 (15:25):
So AJ slept in the letting round and where Adrian
on her bed.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
They've got bunk beds, so they.
Speaker 9 (15:32):
Were both on that when you come in, where was
Alan Michael?
Speaker 5 (15:35):
He was still asleep in his room.
Speaker 8 (15:40):
You said you took a nap at around nine thirty.
What transpired in that hour or and a half there?
Speaker 1 (15:52):
When Amanda arrives home at eight am, she says, aj
and Adriana were sitting on the camp bed in the
living room just TV. Adriana told her mom that she
had thrown up on the sheets and that she had
had a bad tummy. Amanda sat with them for a
bit and watched TV and then read her book a
little bit. About nine to thirty, am Amanda told them
(16:15):
that she needs to take a little nap and they
would all go do their school shopping later on in
the day when it cooled down. Kids told her they
wanted to go swimming in the pool, and it was
already ninety degrees outside, so that sounds like a good idea.
Amanda said, look, you can either go swimming or you
can go shopping. The kids chose to go shopping for
(16:35):
school stuff. They'd been cooped up in the house for
a long time. They officely wanted to get out. The
temperature now into the afternoon was in the low one hundreds.
It's another sweltering hot August day in North Florida. A
lot of people avoided the heat during the middle of
the day. Amanda said she woke about twelve thirty ish
(16:55):
and let the kids go outside to play. She saw
they were playing together with AJ's trucks in the front
yard and along the driveway and the gravel road. She
told them that she was gonna take a quick shower
and they would need to do the same before they
go shopping. Meanwhile, Alan Michael still asleep in his room
into the afternoon. He hears none of this. He's got
(17:18):
a noisy air conditioner just outside his bedroom window, and
he says he heard nothing.
Speaker 7 (17:27):
Well, they, you know, continue to watch cartoons. I got up,
I got something to drink when they're not sat down,
I was watching cartoons with them, and that's when they
ask if they could, you know, get in the pool.
And then that's when I told him, you know, do
you want to go get in the pool or do
you want to go get your school stuff? And they
wanted to go get their school stuff because they had
(17:49):
already picked out book bags and all kinds of stuff
out of the papers.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
I peddled around a little bit more, and.
Speaker 7 (18:01):
Then they wanted to go outside, and they went outside
and played, and they were sitting in the dirt playing
with his tractors right there where that tree's at in
the front, in that dirt. That's where they were playing,
and me walking back and forth. They stayed there for
the longest. She's playing with the tractors.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Where was Alan Michael at that time still asleep?
Speaker 7 (18:26):
He had woken up one time and he come out
and he had played around with Aj a little bit.
It was right after I got up, and then he
went on back to his room.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Amanda got out of the shower, shifted some towels and
sheets from the washer to the dryer, and then she
started a new load of the dirty sheets. She called
over to Alan Senior at work to check in and
have a bit of a chit chat. He's probably on
his lunch break. While on the phone, Amanda goes to
the front door to see what Aj is up to.
(19:02):
He was now alone playing in the trees beside the driveway.
They called it the trash can tree. It's where you
put the rubbish out for the weekly collection. She asked Aj,
where's Adriana. He said she was playing out by the
back pool. I think Amanda told him to go get
her because they have to get ready to go shopping.
(19:23):
According to Amanda, Aj ran around the side of the
house and she made her way to the sliding glass
door at the back. She looked out, couldn't see Adriana.
She's still on the telephone. This is the entire exchange,
Alan Senior hears it. She then sees Aj standing on
a red wagon reaching over the side of the pool,
(19:47):
raking at something.
Speaker 7 (19:52):
They were playing in the front yard in the driveway
with some of AJ's trucks.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
And I went out checked on and I told him
I take a shot and then they could come in.
Speaker 7 (20:02):
We'd get them bathed and then we'd go do their
school shopping. And I went took my shower, put some
tiles in the washing machine 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 him and I asked him where
Adriana was at, and he said she was playing at
the pool. I said, we'll go tell her to come
(20:23):
in so we can get ready to go, and we'll
go get your school stuff. And he went to go
around the house and I went to the slide and
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 it 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. And that's
(20:47):
when I run out there and I made him go
get Alan Michael. And then when he come out, I
told him, I said take aj in the house and
keep him in there.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
And I was trying to get her out because she was.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
Close to the middle of the pool, and then I
reached I leaned over and reached over and I managed
to get her foot and I pulled her out and
got her on the ground, and I tried to do
CPR as I was calling.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Nine one one.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Note one nine on one. What's wrong, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
My daughter failing the poe when he's not breathing, whereat ma'am, And.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Ma'am, what's your address?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Three three four three, First Avenue South.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Three three four three, First Avenue South.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Tell the rest of the post office in the bay head.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What's your phone number, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
A five zero two three row seven five nine.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And she's not breathing. How old is she? She's seven
years old?
Speaker 7 (21:38):
All right?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Hang on just a second, man, Oh gosh, just a second, man,
pro it's a proper What do I do? Avenue happening sound, ma'am?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Waters just coming out out yesterday, ma'am, he said, wors
going out of her nose.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yes, I got on her side. It's coming out of
her nose every time i'm over. Okay, hang on this second.
Please talk rescues, yes, ma'am. I've got them on the way.
I'm gonna see if they can do something to health you.
Hang on just a moment. Rescue one there advising they
better laid over on her side, walk coming out of
her nose? Is there anything they can do? So you
hit them? Twelve h hang on? Just does you have
(22:38):
a faults, ma'am? No, she's not got nothing.
Speaker 9 (22:40):
She is purple.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
She don't hang on a second. Everything's purple, violins purple,
My faults neverathing. Hang on just a second, man, ten
for okay, ma'am. I've got rescue on the way and
i'm fixing see someone else. Okay, okay, if I'm gonna
(23:02):
call your up back in just a few minutes, ma'am
with got him on the way.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Thank you, thank you. Quite A traumatic scene has just occurred,
and Amanda says that she managed to lean over the
pool's edge and grab Adriana's foot. Amanda says she was
almost in the middle of the pool as she just
(23:29):
able to get the foot. The pool would have collapsed
if she'd reached any further. I mean, luckily for Amanda,
she's a good height and she was able to catch
Adriana's heel and drag her to the edge of the pool.
Once Amanda got Adriana in her arms, she safely lifted
her onto the grass and she began rudimentary CPR. Her
training as a nursing assistant only covered the basics but
(23:52):
did not include resuscitation after potential drownings. She immediately told
Aja go inside get Alan Jr. From his room. Once
he arrived outside, Amanda told him to take ag in
the house and keep him there away from the scene.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
I tried to give her CPR, I mean, I'm not
that good at it, And then the dispatcher was, you know,
telling me what she breathing, and I told her no
when I was trying to give her CPR.
Speaker 10 (24:23):
Then did you have any trouble getting her out of
the pool?
Speaker 5 (24:27):
Well, she was kind of in the middle, so I
had to lean over the side.
Speaker 6 (24:30):
But you didn't have to get in it.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
I didn't have to get in it. I could reach
her from the outside.
Speaker 8 (24:35):
Were you standing in the wagon?
Speaker 7 (24:38):
No, I was standing on the ground, and the side
that I was on the pools not even, so it
was kind of leaning that way and I just leaned over.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
You didn't have no trouble getting her out.
Speaker 7 (24:50):
I mean I had to rake at her choes to
get her to WY could grab her leg, and then
I pulled her to me and then pulled her.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Out of the pool.
Speaker 7 (25:00):
About the bruises, the one that was on when I
pulled her out of the pool, The one that was
right here was a very small purple spot. It wasn't
nothing like it is right now. And when they got there,
they asked me if she had bumped her head or
she had had a mark all day, and I told him, no,
she's not had a mark.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
On her head.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
Had she had any bruises, well, I.
Speaker 7 (25:22):
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.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Any Alan Jr. Had been in and out of sleep
while in his room all through the morning and into
the afternoon. He'd only just fully awakened about one thirty PM.
He rolled over and watched some TV for bet and
then spoke with Amanda. He then checked his phone and
(25:53):
came out and took a shower. Here's how the fourteen
year old Alan Junior described the events to Sheriff Lee
A few days later. He was taken to the Sheriff's
office by his mother, but interviewed without any parents present.
The background noise you hear is another Sheriff's deputy coming
in and out of the room, putting his note pat
in his back pocket, and then eventually taking a seat.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
M Then I need you to to think back that
morning and tell me what went on from the time
you woke up that morning.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
Can you do that? Told me okay a little good,
and I checked him the phone seven.
Speaker 8 (26:33):
And then called, now what time was that?
Speaker 5 (26:36):
Tell about doing something my.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
Okay?
Speaker 10 (26:42):
And then I started watching TV and then miss Amanda
Amy and told him that she was gonna take him
school shop. Okay, So I called some brandy and I
was gonna go to his out well if they didn't
answer the first time, so I was gonna call him
(27:03):
again later after I got out of showers and so
went he got in a shower then, and AJ ran
in there and told me that Adrianna was dead. So
I ran outside and Miss Samanda was giving him out
them out and she told me to take a j
inside in eternal cartoon, and maybe I started showing up.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
Okay, So you oke up about one o'clock, started watching TV.
Called Brandon, Brandon, who Carlin. She called him on your
house phone or on your sail phone, my house.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
On Alan Jr. Told police, very bluntly that AJ ran
into the house and told him that Adriana was dead,
not drowned, not being resuscitated, not getting CPR, not hurt,
but dead. And this is Alan Michael's father, Alan Sr.
(28:02):
This is how he described events to sheriffs the following day. Now,
remember he was on the other end of the phone
line with Amanda when all of this was taking place.
Speaker 9 (28:14):
When she called me, I was at work, okay, I
was on the phone with her, her little boy come inside,
and she told aj that they needed to get ready.
There was one shopping to go. Tell them back in
so they could take a shower. So next thing I know,
I heard my front door open on my trailer. You
couldn't know the door to them, and I heard her,
Manda go out and down the steps. She had the
phone with her and as soon as she rounded the
trailer had no words the pool. You'd tell that she
(28:36):
started in the trot. You could tell my phone with bouncing,
and when she got to the pool was in the
pool upside down. I said, we'll get her out, put
her on the ground, turn her to her.
Speaker 5 (28:45):
Side, and call nine one one.
Speaker 9 (28:47):
And the next thing I know, the phone goes dead.
So I waited probably five or six minutes, called her back.
She said she'd call nine one one, and they had
paged out in the fire department.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Nine one one dispatchers do not call a man to
back as promise, because paramedics arrive on the scene within minutes.
This is a fine example of how fast first responders
can attend in rural areas. The house was close enough
to the center of Esto and only about a mile
from the nearest firehouse Esto fire chief was the first
(29:21):
on the scene, probably one of the most decorated and
experienced skilled responders Northern Florida had ever seen. Charles Corcoran
moved down from New York to the South and he
brought all of his medical credentials and experience with him.
He was the first to arrive and the first to
start CPR. He tried to clear the water from Adriana's lungs.
(29:43):
They briefly got a pulse and prepared her for transport,
first putting her into the ambulance and then prepped her
for the life flight helicopter that was soon to arrive.
They needed to get her to Panama City, the best
facility in the region. Let's have a quick listen to
the fire chiefs credentials. In his own words, it's quite impressive.
Speaker 11 (30:08):
I started in the fire service where I grew up
in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I did three years there.
Speaker 11 (30:14):
I was assigned to a unit called a rescue squad
that did first aid extrication, all qualified and taught by
the Red Cross. Worked for approximately forty years. I was
also in the reserves, the Army Reserve, and Air National Guard.
I went into a LPN program run by Delaware University.
(30:38):
I passed that and got an LPN license in New York,
went back to school, got a degree as a Applied
Nursing Science registered nurse.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Passed the state boards.
Speaker 11 (30:49):
I did another course in Dakota in what they call
the Compact States in the Midwest, and got a license
for fourteen states.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
There.
Speaker 11 (30:59):
I worked in an er and labor and delivery and
a Manhattan hospital, and I worked in the er and
surgery recovery in a Brooklyn hospital.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Fire Chief Cochrane knew Alan Carny and knew his home.
Alan Carny was a member of the community fire squad,
so he was turning up at the firehouse for meetings.
In fact, he was with Charles Cochrane the night before
the accident. So when Charles Cochran arrives at the house,
he was no stranger to the Carnley family and no
(31:35):
stranger to the area. Not only was he most experienced
EMT in the region, he also had specific geographical information.
No wonder he arrived within three minutes. When fire Chief
(31:57):
Cochrane arrives at the scene, he sees brought mother leaning
over her child. He takes over CPR from Amanda and
begins a series of very important steps to remove water
from the airway. Here he is telling Holmes County deputies
exactly what he did that afternoon. In an unreleased police audio, where.
Speaker 6 (32:21):
Was the mother?
Speaker 12 (32:23):
The mother was kneeling with her back to the pool
and the baby said.
Speaker 6 (32:27):
As towards the road, and she was creating the baby from.
Speaker 12 (32:31):
Foot to head position superprints over pretty.
Speaker 11 (32:35):
Much over crying and consoling the baby, and in that
state of grief that.
Speaker 6 (32:42):
You would expect for them to recurls. Okay, what happened?
Can you call the third steps from you got there?
I responded east on for a stand and drove into
the yard. Saw the two people down on the ground.
I got out of the vehicle, started approaching. Asked the
mother man the album. Has she been in the pool?
(33:02):
I looked at the baby. I told the mother to
leave and go get me some pals. I'm gonna need
some powels.
Speaker 12 (33:09):
There was obvious water infiltration in the mouth.
Speaker 6 (33:13):
It was drained and shrowm the nose.
Speaker 12 (33:14):
I picked the child up, turned it over, turned it back,
over looked, put my hand in. I gave you two brets.
I slowed distension. I put pressure on the stomach. I
got a gush of fluid. KAY turned it over and
I f picked her.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Up let her drain again. At that time when the
many other guys.
Speaker 12 (33:38):
Mar than Nez came in, I put him on the
other side, told him to start taking the pulse.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (33:46):
I did the compression.
Speaker 12 (33:47):
She had something of a I will turn it a
tank top on.
Speaker 6 (33:52):
I lifted it.
Speaker 12 (33:52):
Up through his shoulders had been intact. I found my landmarks.
I started giving them impressions. I kept getting linked with
water returns. I drained it again at Martinez and I
told him do a finger sweep a couple of the
more breads.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
At this point I don't remember al many. I heard
it gurgling. One more good compression on the chest.
Speaker 12 (34:17):
I went back to CPR and I'm willing to estimate four.
Speaker 6 (34:24):
To five minutes of cp R. And I picked it
up again and.
Speaker 11 (34:28):
I drained of.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Drowning was the number one reason for child fatalities in
the state of Florida. Bay Medical in Panama City is
the best place for someone in Adriana's condition. In total,
over ten EMTs would handle Adrianna's body before she arrived
at Bay Medical Center. Sadly, poor seven year old Adriana
(34:57):
was pronounced dead at five oh five PM, less than
two and a half hours after the nine one one call,
but four minutes later, way back in Boniface, sixty miles
away from Panama City and Holmes County, sheriff's deputies began
an interview with amanda six year old son Aj. He
(35:20):
was whisked away from the scene by his step grandfather,
affectionately named Paul Chuck. He's married to Amanda's mom, but
he's known the family for a long time from church,
so he's almost like a family friend who just happened
to marry AJ's grandmother. AJ and Paul Chuck were together
for about an hour as they drive from the scene
(35:42):
to where Paul Chuck and Brenda, Amanda's mother lived together
in Alabama. When Brenda finally arrived some time later, Paul
Chuck says to her, AJ's just told me the most
remarkable story. They decide they're going to call the sheriff
in Holmes County. They get in touch with Sheriff Lee,
(36:04):
and he says, interesting, I think you should come right
down to the Sheriff's office and we should talk more
with AJ. Apparently, AJ has quite a detailed story to
tell the Sheriff. In the next episode, we go deep
(36:24):
dive into what AJ tells the Sheriff. Everyone seeing doesn't
see anything untowards, but the Sheriff's department pick up on
some things that AJ tells them, the multiple stories that
AJ tells them, that's all next in Esto. In Esto
(36:48):
is written, produced, and presented by me and Lee Hunt.
The music is graciously provided by Batmandoza of Manual Scant.
The acoustic score was created specifically by Dylan Modern of
Dylan Modern Music, Fire Eyes Media
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