Florida mother kills 2 kids, herself in apparent murder-suicide after losing custody battle: sheriff

A Florida woman allegedly shot and killed her two children before killing herself in an apparent murder-suicide after losing custody of her son, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Brandy Hutchins is accused of shooting her 10-year-old son, Aiden, and 19-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself inside the family’s mobile home in Lake Wales.

The incident took place after a judge ordered her to surrender Aiden to his father who lives in Maine. Hutchins' daughter had a different father and was not involved in the custody battle.

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.

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The sheriff’s office learned that Hutchins violated the court order and deputies worked through the weekend to locate the boy.

Deputies arrived at the home Sunday afternoon and found the bodies of the boy, his half-sister and his mother.

Judd said the sheriff’s office's investigation indicates Hutchins "has 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 added.

The sheriff said Hutchins had no criminal history or indication of potential violence.

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The boy's father addressed his son's death Sunday on Facebook:

"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 wrote. "He was killed by her today, August 27, 2023. He will forever be in my heart and did not deserve this."

Judd said the sheriff’s office deals with many court orders but rarely sees an incident like this. He also offered his condolences to the family.

"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."

Vivek Ramaswamy, a great debater, suddenly faces the media buzzsaw

Vivek Ramaswamy is an impressive guy.

The political unknown wound up center stage at last week’s Fox News debate. He has built billion-dollar companies. He raised his profile by doing endless interviews. He’s obviously super smart and is having the time of his life, getting to sit at the big boys’ table.

But his instant celebrity is a double-edged sword. Once a presidential candidate comes seemingly out of nowhere, he runs into a tidal wave of media scrutiny, vetting him as a neophyte who must be held accountable.

That’s what happened on Sunday when Ramaswamy was interrogated on NBC’s "Meet the Press" and CNN’s "State of the Union." Again, he deserves substantial credit for appearing on those programs knowing he would get a grilling, and he proved to be an effective counterpuncher.

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So when some of my viewers declared that I can’t stand the guy, they are flat wrong. As a journalist, I believe his views – some of which are framed in inflammatory language – should be subjected to aggressive reporting.

CNN’s Dana Bash asked whether Ramaswamy believes White supremacy exists, since he said he’s never encountered it. Rather than offering a simple ‘yes,’ he talked about how all forms of racism are troubling.

Then she spent several minutes challenging him for saying the views of Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley are the modern-day equivalent of the grand wizard of the KKK. 

When an outraged Bash said the Ku Klux Klan was a murderous organization that lynched Black people, Ramaswamy did not disagree, but kept insisting that he didn’t go too far with Pressley because she was judging him by the color of his skin.

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On NBC, Chuck Todd pressed Ramaswamy on the murder of three Black people in Jacksonville, Florida, by a White shooter with a manifesto of racist views.

The candidate said that for "those last burning embers of racism, the last thing I want to do is throw kerosene on it. And yet that's exactly what I believe the modern culture is doing by creating race-based quota systems that deny people access to goods or services based on the color of their skin."

Todd responded by saying, "your argument comes across as blaming those that are trying to create equality for the rise and racism."

Ramaswamy said three times during the debate that the climate change agenda is a "hoax." The fossil-fuels proponent doesn’t deny man-made global warming, but claimed there are almost 100% fewer climate-related deaths than a century ago (which, of course, is largely due to new technology).

Then there are the hints of 9/11 conspiracy theories. 

After denying quotes reported by the Atlantic of Ramaswamy questioning why there were no federal agents on the hijacked planes – the magazine released part of the tape-recorded interview – he now says the government isn’t telling the truth about that tragic day, including the role of Saudi Arabia.

Ramaswamy has legitimate differences with the other candidates on foreign policy. In a tough debate exchange with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, she accused him of denigrating the importance of Ukraine, aiming to curtail U.S. aid to Israel and phasing out our potential defense of Taiwan. There is substance to back up each point, and many Republicans undoubtedly agree with him on Ukraine (though he would admittedly allow Vladimir Putin to keep the territorial gains Russia has made).

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By the way, if elected, Ramaswamy says he would slash the federal government by 75% – including the Department of Education, FBI and IRS – and would raise the voting age to 25 for those who cannot pass a civics test.

But here’s the thing: He has a Trumpian quality in which he can say just about anything without alienating his supporters. They care less about the fine details or media fact-checks than the refreshing brazenness of this 38-year-old son of Indian immigrants.

It’s not surprising that Ramaswamy is a huge Trump fan, offering him a preemptive pardon and hailing him as the "best president of the 21st century," which raises questions about why he’s running since the aforementioned "best president" is also a candidate.

Ramaswamy said over the weekend that he could bring greater unity to the country.

Republicans have developed a habit of briefly falling in love with charismatic outsiders. Herman Cain, Ben Carson and Michele Bachmann all spent time at or near the top of primary polls before their moment passed.

The question with Ramaswamy is whether he’ll have the staying power to be a serious contender for the nomination, especially with his hero still maintaining an overwhelming lead in the polls.

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