Aiden Fucci, the Florida teenager accused of the slaying of 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey, appeared in court Monday and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Fucci, now 16, was just 14 when his classmate was killed and had previously pled not guilty in June 2021, a month after Bailey’s murder. The teenage victim was stabbed 114 times, with 49 defensive stab wounds to the hands, arms and head. The tip of a knife used to attack her broke off and was “located by the medical examiner in the scalp of our victim.”
With a trial on the horizon and jury selection set to begin, Fucci changed his plea this morning, before offering a short statement. “I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family,” he said in court (video below).
He faces at least 40 years in prison; Fucci’s sentencing will be decided at a later date.
Bailey was reported missing on Mother’s Day 2021, before her body was found later that evening in the woods. Fucci was arrested the next day, first for second-degree murder before the charge was later upped to first-degree.
According to the arrest report obtained by First Coast News, deputies discovered security footage that showed two teens walking together at around 1:45 AM; later footage showed one person walking alone shortly before 3:30 AM, holding a pair of shoes (below).
Yet another video from inside Fucci’s home allegedly shows his mother, Crystal Smith, attempting to wash blood out of his jeans just hours after Bailey was killed. She was later charged with evidence tampering.
The report states that while being interviewed in the presence of his mother, she mentioned something about the video depicting him carrying his shoes, to which Fucci replied his feet hurt.
After obtaining a warrant, investigators said that among the evidence they found was an outfit that matched the one the suspect was wearing in the video; they also said some of the items seized tested positive for the presence of blood. Investigators also found a notebook containing “drawings of a violent nature,” with one “depicting a Satanic element to them, to include a pentagram.”
According to the Sheriff’s office, Fucci changed his story several times during interviews, and made several “admissions”.
After being taken into custody, the teenager allegedly posted a photo of his reflection in the police car to Snapchat, flashing a peace sign, with the caption: “Hey guys has inybody seen Tristyn lately [sic]”.
When the first-murder charge was announced, State Attorney R.K. Larizza told reporters Fucci told his friends “he intended to kill someone” and “indicated to witnesses that he was going to kill someone by taking them in the woods and stabbing them.” Larizza added Fucci “didn’t say who that was” and pointed out how that statement fit the “facts of the case.”
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