Teen boy pleads guilty to stabbing cheerleader classmate 114 times to death
Aiden Fucci, 16, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.
A 16-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to stabbing to death a teenage girl who was a cheerleader and his classmate.
Aiden Fucci confessed to stabbing 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey 114 times on Mother’s Day 2021.
‘I just want to say I plead guilty and I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family,’ said Fucci on Monday in court in St Augustine, Florida.
Fucci’s lawyer told Judge R Lee Smith that they were changing his client’s plea from not guilty to guilty, shortly after they entered the courtroom. His plea came before the jury selection was set to start.
Bailey was reported missing in St Johns County on May 9 and her body was found later in the day with more than 100 stab wounds. About 49 of the wounds were defensive and were on her arms, hands and head, according to state attorney RJ Larizza.
A witness said that Fucci, who was 14 years old at the time, stated that he planned to stab someone to death in the woods, according to a prosecutor.
Fucci was charged with first-degree murder and has been prosecuted as an adult despite his age.
Evidence against Fucci had been mounting and St Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick applauded his team and investigators after his guilty plea.
‘Aiden Fucci’s decision to enter a guilty plea today is nothing more than a testament to the hard work and dedication of the exceptional men and women of the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office,’ stated Hardwick. ‘This was an all-out agency effort.’
The sheriff added that ‘the cooperation between our agency and the Bailey Family has been unparalleled’ and that ‘their strength and grace throughout this case has been incredible’.
With his plea, Fucci faces a minimum sentence of 40 years to the possibility of life in prison. Fucci is not eligible for the death penalty because of his age at the time of the crime.
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