A Florida mother with no criminal record shot and killed her two children before turning the gun on herself, police said.
Brandy Hutchins, 43, allegedly killed her son Aiden Hutchins, 10, and daughter Hannah Griner, 19, in a trailer in the small town of Waverly on Sunday.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office said her children had different fathers, and that Hutchins, who worked in insurance, had just lost custody of Aiden to her ex-husband.
The 10-year-old was to live with his father in Maine, and Hutchins had been ordered to hand him over to the Polk County Police Department at 6 p.m. Friday.
But Hutchins failed to turn Aiden over to officers, and a frantic search for him ensued over the weekend, eventually leading police to a mobile home in Waverly, central Florida.
Brandy Hutchins, 43 (pictured), allegedly killed her son Aiden Hutchins, 10, and daughter Hannah Griner, 19, on Sunday in a trailer in the small town of Waverly, shortly after she lost custody of the boy to her ex. husband
Aiden’s heartbroken father, who is referred to on Facebook as Nick Hutchins, begged for help finding his son this weekend and posted photos of them together (pictured) after learning of his death
Hannah Griner, 19, was mentioned on Facebook by her devastated boyfriend Dylan Kirk, who paid tribute to her as his ‘soul mate’
Police found Hutchins and her two children dead around 12:30 a.m. Sunday in what Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described as a “horrific” tragedy.
Judd said the case is even more shocking because Hutchins had “no criminal history” and there was “no indication” she had any inclination for violence.
“I can’t imagine a more horrific situation,” he said. My heart breaks for the whole family.
“We are devastated for this beautiful 10-year-old child, all because mother would not hand over the child to the rightful father under a court order.
“The interesting thing about this is that she has no criminal history, she has no Baker Acts history, there’s no evidence that there should have been any violence – but it was violent.
“We’re dealing with hundreds of thousands of court orders, and it almost never happens that one turns out like this, but today it ‘never’ happened.”
Sheriff Judd said the tragedy stemmed from “a domestic event involving an ex-husband and an ex-wife dealing with custody of the child.”
“To get to the point, last Thursday, the ex-husband from Maine had come to court with his ex-wife for failing to appropriately transfer custody of their 10-year-old beautiful son,” he said.
“The judge listened to the arguments and ordered her to hand over the child to this district station no later than 6:00 Friday afternoon.
“Well, Friday afternoon at six o’clock came and went, and the child was not handed over by order of the judge.
“At this point there was absolutely no evidence in the court order or testimony that there was violence or threats of violence or danger.”
Police were called to a mobile home in the small town of Waverly, central Florida, around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, where they found Hutchins (pictured) and her two children dead
He said detectives worked all weekend to locate the boy so they could turn him over to his father.
“We were pinging phones and looking for the kid,” he said. The friends also did some social media. They said, ‘Hey, if you’ve seen the kid, let us know.’
Sheriff Judd said “much investigation remains to be done” and that detectives have not yet identified a trigger point or motive for the suspected murder-suicide.
Because of Florida laws, they couldn’t give the exact address of the incident.
Aiden’s heartbroken father, known on Facebook as Nick Hutchins, begged for help finding his son this weekend and posted photos of them together after learning of his death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write this to give everyone an update on my son Aiden Hutchins who went missing and was taken away by his mother on August 25, 2023, who decided to kill him. He was killed by her today August 27, 2023. ,’ he said.
“He will stay in my heart forever and he didn’t deserve this. Rest in peace my sweet boy, see you again. I love you.’
Judd said the case is even more shocking because Hutchins (pictured) had “no criminal history” and there was “no indication” she had any inclination for violence. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked in insurance
Sheriff Judd said “much investigation remains to be done” and that detectives have not yet identified a trigger point or motive for the suspected murder-suicide.
He shared pictures of his son smiling next to him in a clothing store and playing in their house.
Meanwhile, Hutchins’ daughter’s devastated boyfriend, Dylan Kirk, posted dozens of photos in tribute to his “soulmate.”
“I don’t even know what to say, Hannah Griner, I love you with all my heart. I don’t know what to do now, it’s so unreal that I will love you forever,” he said.
“You sure were my soul mate, but you were taken from me way too soon. I love you Hannah. I’m so sorry this happened to you. You didn’t deserve this. I don’t know what to do without you. lost …. I LOVE YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS HANNAH… FLY HIGH Hannah I love you baby.’