Tragic custody battle ends in horror: Florida mother kills children, self | CPT PPP Coverage

Brandy Hutchins, mother of two took the lives of her two children before ending her own, following custody battle loss. The Polk County sheriff revealed that the 10-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter fell victim to their mother’s apparent murder-suicide after a judge ruled that the boy should be with his father residing in Maine.

The incident occurred within the family’s mobile home, after Brandy Hutchins defied a court order to hand over custody of her son to his father. Officials had been alerted about the breach, and a frantic search for the missing child, Aiden Hutchins, was launched over the weekend. The search ended in the discovery of the lifeless bodies of Aiden, his body older half-sister, and their mother inside a Lake Wales residence.

Sheriff Grady Judd’s words conveyed the profound sorrow surrounding the incident. He shared during a press conference, “Brandy 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.” The sheriff emphasized the rarity of such extreme violence associated with court orders, stating, “My heart breaks for all of the family. We’re devastated for this beautiful 10-year-old child — all because Mom did not want to turn the child over to the rightful father pursuant to a court order.”

Brandy Hutchins displayed no previous signs of violence or criminal behavior. The 19-year-old daughter, whose father differed from her younger brother’s, was not directly involved in the custody dispute.

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The boy’s father took to social media to announce the event. “It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this to give everyone an update about my son Aiden Hutchins who was taken by his mother on August 25, 2023, who decided to murder him. He was killed by her today, August 27, 2023,” he shared in a post.