Tristyn Bailey was stabbed 114 times (Image: St. Johns County Sherriff’s Office)
Tristyn Bailey, a beloved cheerleader, had plans to prepare a special Mother’s Day breakfast for her mum when she was reported missing. In a tragic turn of events, Tristyn’s sister, Sophia, had already begun making the special meal before the family realised something dreadful had occurred.
The 13-year-old from St Johns County, Florida, USA, was reported missing on 9 May 2021, when her father Forrest, mother Stacey and sister Sophie noticed her absence.
Shockingly, her body was discovered shortly after. She had been stabbed 114 times by her classmate Aiden Faucci, who then posted chilling selfies on Snapchat after his arrest and while in a police car.
A documentary, TikTok: Murder Gone Viral, will delve into the horrifying murder on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight (Tuesday), reports The Mirror. At a memorial service, Tristyn’s father Forrest said: “Shortly after that, our day was shattered.”
The gruesome truth that emerged – 14-year-old Fucci committed the crime “for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant’s internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone,” stated Judge R Lee Smith.
The teen’s mum washed Tristyn’s blood off her son’s jeans (Image: WJXT News4Jax)
The St Johns County Sheriff’s Office issued an urgent appeal for a missing seventh-grade Florida girl, last seen in her cheerleading outfit at 1.15am at the Durbin Amenity Centre in northwest St Johns County. The 13 year old was later found brutally murdered near a retention pond south of Jacksonville, having been stabbed 114 times, with 49 defensive wounds on her arms and right hand.
Sheriff Rob Hardwick told The St.Augustine Record: “I hate to use the words, but – it’s our worst nightmare,” The suspect, Fucci, was arrested that same night while the search for Tristyn was still ongoing. He chillingly posted a selfie from the back of a police car on Snapchat, asking: “Hey guys has anybody seen Tristyn lately.”
The State Attorney’s Office revealed further disturbing Snapchat videos taken by Fucci whilst in police custody. In one, he can be seen grinning into the camera, saying: “We’re having fun, in a f***ing cop car.” In another, he remarks: “Guess who’s in a f***ing cop car… tripping, dude.”
Fucci had been candid about his disturbing fantasies involving killing and mutilation, according to a report from the St Johns County Sheriff’s Office. “He said he wanted to slit someone’s throat, he said it’d be satisfying,” one friend revealed to deputies, according to First Coast News.
Tristyn Bailey, 13, was murdered on Mother’s Day 2021 by classmate Aiden Fucci (Image: WJXT)
“He’s talked about killing people talked about fighting people. I’ve have seen him practice stabbing motions with his knife. And I mean, you don’t really take any of this stuff as in: He’s gonna stab and kill somebody. Because he’s just a kid. We’re all just kids.”
CCTV footage from the evening of the brutal murder showed Fucci accompanying the 13-year-old before he was captured fleeing alone.
Officers who searched his residence discovered a Buck knife sheath in his bedroom, white Nike trainers stained with blood, a bloodied T-shirt, and a white piece of paper with suspected blood traces.
Fucci was charged with second-degree murder and remanded in custody without bail. A Buck knife recovered from a pond close to where Bailey’s body was discovered matched her stab wounds.
“The defendant’s story changed several times but [he] ultimately made several admissions,” according to an arrest report obtained by The Florida Times-Union.
Fucci’s mother Crystal Smith was subsequently charged with evidence tampering for allegedly cleaning blood from his jeans.
A surveillance camera within the property recorded Smith washing her son’s jeans, whilst blood traces were also discovered in a sink drain, according to an arrest warrant. Three weeks following his arrest, the charge was elevated to first-degree murder.
“The bottom line is that premeditation, could be inferred, certainly from just the sheer number of stab wounds that Tristyn Bailey had to suffer,” State’s Prosecutor RJ Larizza said explaining the change to the charges.
Two years later, following the rejection of several plea deals, Fucci admitted guilt to her murder in February 2023.
“I just want to apologise to the Bailey family,” 16 year old Fucci, told the court. He received the maximum life prison sentence in March 2023.
Fucci took a Snapchat selfie while in the back of a squad car (Image: St. Johns County Sherriff’s Office)
An unnamed teenager described as Fucci’s “best friend” tried to justify his disturbing fantasies as a way of dealing with a neglectful domestic situation, revealing that Fucci had been a heavy cannabis user.
Throughout his 20 months in Duval County Jail whilst awaiting trial, Fucci was involved in multiple altercations, made threats to stab a fellow inmate, was pepper sprayed by correctional officers, and declared he’d “stab a b**** face to face”, according to an inmate.
Sheriff Hardwick paid tribute to the Bailey family.
“Their strength and grace throughout this case has been incredible. This agency will forever be connected to the Bailey Family and this community will forever be #BaileyStrong,” he said. Judge Smith addressed the court, stating: “This was not done out of greed. It was not done in retaliation or retribution or revenge. It was not a crime of passion. It was not a crime that was committed because he felt rejected by her. It was not done in a fit of uncontrollable anger. There was no reason. There was no purpose..
“This leads this court to the conclusion that there is only one appropriate sentence in this case. He indicated he was going to kill someone. At which point he determined it was going to be Tristyn Bailey, I don’t know. But there was going to be a victim.”
Fucci’s sentence can be reviewed after he spends 25 years behind bars.
