ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – An accused teenage killer in Florida has now acknowledged the horrific crime of slaughtering a former classmate as a result of “sharp force trauma by stabbing” nearly two years ago, authorities said.
Aiden Fucci, now 16, planned to take his case to trial, but reversed course ahead of jury selection on Monday and pleaded guilty to murdering former classmate Tristyn Bailey, 13, on Mother’s Day weekend in 2021. As a result of the plea, Fucci avoids a possible life sentence without parole and now faces a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison. The death penalty was never an option due to Fucci’s age, Law&Crime reported.
Bailey had been missing for hours when her brutalized body was discovered with 114 stab wounds in a wooded area in the tight-knit community of Durbin Crossing on May 9, 2021.
“It has now been determined by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Predrag Bulic that the cause of death is sharp force trauma by stabbing,” St. Johns County Sheriff Robert A. Hardwick’s office previously wrote in a press release. “The manner of death is homicide.”
(St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
Following Fucci’s 2021 arrest, Hardwick disclosed that Bailey and the suspect had grown up together in the neighborhood and both attended the same school, Law Officer reported.
BREAKING: Teenager #AidenFucci pleading GUILTY. Today was the start of jury selection in his murder trial. Fucci charged with stabbing to death 13-yr-old Trystin Bailey. pic.twitter.com/T8lKVaKo4U
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 6, 2023
The case became a national news story due to the ages of the victim and suspect, the brutal nature of the crime, and because of Fucci’s smug, disassociated reaction when he was taken into custody.
Florida authorities have released videos of accused teen murderer Aiden Fucci in the back of a police car after Tristyn Bailey, 13, was stabbed to death.
Read more: https://t.co/TQbOqSvghG pic.twitter.com/hQZPVI2HLD
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) August 25, 2021
“Hey guys has inybody [sic] seen Tristyn lately,” read the caption of a Snapchat selfie.
On Monday, Fucci offered an apology in court to both the Bailey family as well as his own, according to First Coast News.
“I just want to say I’m sorry,” he said, words that ring hollow after the horrific crime.
It was unclear when Fucci will be sentenced.
His mother, Crystal Smith, was charged with evidence tampering in June 2021 for washing her son’s bloody jeans after the murder. Her case remains pending, News 4 Jax reported.
