A Florida woman’s apparent killing prompted a check-up on her 5-year-old twins after their mother’s suicide death, whose lifeless bodies were found Friday at home in an apparent homicide.
At a news conference later on Friday, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma revealed the sad chain of events, stating his investigators are convinced a “murder-suicide situation” is at play.
The mother, Catorreia Hutto, 31, was reportedly seen by witnesses driving to the “crest” of the Lake Jessup Bridge in Oviedo at 8:45 in the morning, stopping, getting out, and jumping. Later, Lemma claimed that her lifeless, floating body was removed from the ocean.
Then, according to him, deputies went to the twins’ Sanford home to see how they were doing. The sheriff claimed that the precise manner of the children’s deaths was unknown, despite the fact that the mother was blamed when the case was classified as a murder-suicide by the prosecutor’s office.
Lemma reported that the twins looked to be sleeping and that there was no sign of injury or blood. The bridge is about 28 miles north of downtown Orlando; the home is around 7 miles north of it.
Deputies who went to Hutto’s house and discovered the couple would not have known they were dead, according to Lemma, if they had not checked the vital signs.
Although a gun was discovered on the ground with live bullets close by, the children did not appear to have been shot, the sheriff added. He claimed that no ammunition cases were seen, either empty or fired.
An autopsy might reveal the children’s cause and manner of death within 48 hours, according to a coroner’s official, although information may be withheld by investigators if they keep looking into the case.
Lemma stated that the twins were publicly recognized despite the fact that officials were unable to contact their father.
According to the sheriff, Hutto obtained her home from Habitat for Humanity, a charity recognized for constructing homes and distributing them to those whose income made it impossible for them to purchase one.
According to Daytona Beach’s NBC station, WESH, Hutto moved in a little more than a year ago.
Lemma remarked that it had “not much food” and was minimally furnished.
He claimed Hutto was performing clerical work for a temp agency and had recently finished a shift. “The family might have been struggling financially,” he stated.
However, the sheriff said that there were no overt indications of a quick decline and that neither his office nor the Florida Department of Children and Families had any records of complaints against the family.
“Nobody that we know had any indication that she may be in this dire state,” Lemma stated.
He claimed that the twins’ mother had battled depression throughout her life, according to the twins’ grandmother.
When contacted for comment, the Florida Department of Children and Families took some time to react. The two were recognized as kindergarteners by the children’s school district, UCP (Unlocking Children’s Potential) Charter Schools, in a statement to WESH.
The tragic deaths of two kindergarten students at our Seminole County campus have surprised and grieved the whole UCP community, CEO and Superintendent Ilene E. Wilkins stated in a statement.
Latoshia Reynolds, a neighbor, asked the station if Hutto ever felt alone.
She said, “I am utterly heartbroken. “I am sympathetic. I’m not required to know her. My own daughter may not have had somebody to turn to, which is the first thing that occurs to me.
Call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 if you or someone you know is in distress. The network, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, can be reached by phone at 800-273-8255, by texting HOME to 741741, or online at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for more information.