A Florida boy and his teen sister lost his life over the weekend after his mother killed him before taking her own life, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
During a Sunday afternoon press conference, Sheriff Judd Grady announced the deaths after the victims’ mother, 43-year-old Brandy Hutchins, failed to return her son to his father during what was supposed to be a custody exchange at a Florida police station.
Earlier last week, a Polk County judge ordered Hutchins to turn over custody of her son, Aiden Hutchins, 10, to his father by Friday evening. Instead of obeying the ruling, Hutchins kept her son inside a mobile home in Waverly, in the Lake Wales neighborhood.
At around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Police found Hutchins and the two victims inside home, dead from gunshot wounds. The teen daughter has not yet been publicly identified but police said she and Aiden had a different father.
Judd added that it appeared that Hutchins took her own life after shooting the children.
“[Hutchins], from every indication in our investigation now, has murdered her 10-year-old child and her 19-year-old child. Murdered them. And then subsequent to that, she shot herself.”
Judd acknowledged the ongoing custody battle with Hutchins and the child’s father, who lives in Maine. He added, however, that Hutchins had not previously shown any red flags that showed a propensity for violence children. She had no mental health holds and no criminal history, according to Law & Crime.
“There was no indication that there should be any violence, but it was violent,” Judd said.
“This was a domestic event, a court-ordered event, where she had to turn custody over to the ex-husband and she wasn’t going to do that, so she murdered the 10-year-old. The 19-year-old daughter was there and [she] murdered her as well.”
The incident is still under investigation, according to police.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Aiden Hutchins/Facebook; Brandy Hutchins/Polk County Sheriff’s Office]
