A Florida woman allegedly shot and killed her two children before killing herself after she lost custody of her son, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Brandy Hutchins is accused of shooting her ten-year-old son Aiden and her 19-year-old daughter before shooting herself in an apparent murder-suicide in the family’s Lake Wales mobile home, Fox News reported.
The incident happened after a judge ordered Hutchins to surrender her son to his father, who lives in Maine. Her daughter was not involved in the custody dispute because she had a different father.
“Hutchins’ ex-husband was in Florida to appear in court with her because she did not appropriately turn over custody of their son. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said she was instructed to give up custody of him by 6 p.m. Friday but failed to show up for the appointment,” according to the report. “The sheriff’s office learned that Hutchins violated the court order and deputies worked through the weekend to locate the boy.”
When deputies arrived at the home on Sunday afternoon, they discovered the bodies of Hutchins and her two children.
Judd said the sheriff’s office investigation found that Hutchins “murdered her 10-year-old child and her 19-year-old child — murdered them and then subsequent to that, she shot herself.”
“I can’t imagine a more horrific set of circumstances,” Judd said, adding that Hutchins had no criminal history and had shown no previous signs of violence.
The boy’s father posted to Facebook about his son’s death on Sunday:
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 will forever be in my heart and did not deserve this.
Judd offered his condolences to the family and said that while the sheriff’s office deals with many court orders, they rarely end in such a devastating way.
“My heart breaks for all of the family,” Judd said. “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.”