Aiden Fucci, 14 will be charged as adult in the killing of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey. He now faces one charge of first-degree murder.
A press conference is expected from authorities in the near future to discuss updates in the high-profile killing.
“State Attorney R.J. Larizza will conduct a press conference towards the end of the week regarding the Murder of Tristyn Bailey,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release on Monday of this week. “We appreciate the patience and support from family, friends, neighbors and all of the folks who have been following this disturbing case. We are in the final stages of our comprehensive review of the facts, circumstances and the law. It is Mr. Larizza’s intention to address several questions/issues that surfaced as a result of this brutal homicide at that time.”
The case has been in something of a holding pattern since May 11 when Fucci appeared in court digitally and seemed to cry as he was charged with Bailey’s murder and ordered to be held at a juvenile detention facility pending a decision on whether or not he would be charged as an adult.
Jacksonville-based CBS affiliate WJAX obtained court documents that briefly note Fucci was charged pursuant to a grand jury indictment with Bailey’s premeditated murder.
Fucci may be transferred to an adult prison soon.
On May 10, Fucci was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Bailey’s body was discovered on Sunday, May 9, after she had mysteriously gone missing the night before.
The teenager’s disappearance and relatively quickly confirmed death became a national news story after local media outlets, members of the public and community organizations organized highly-publicized searches at various locations near the Durbin Amenity Center in Saint Johns County, Florida–where Bailey was last seen alive.
The girl’s parents reported her missing less than nine hours after she stopped answering her phone. Authorities joined searches arranged by the community that were already in progress just before 5 p.m. local time. Bailey’s lifeless body was found just after 6 p.m.
Fucci was all-but immediately questioned by police.
That interrogation didn’t work out too well for him. While sitting in the back of a patrol car, the suspect sent a bizarre Snapchat selfie that appeared to reference and even mock the girl’s disappearance.
He was arrested and charged the next morning.
According to authorities, social media and surveillance footage were the determinative factors leading up to Fucci’s initial arrest.
“Based on the discovery of the body and admissions during questioning, we refocused our investigative efforts,” St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwicke noted. “We were able to obtain numerous search warrants which led to the location of multiple items of evidentiary value at the suspect’s home.”
WJAX reporter and true crime podcaster Bridgette Matter obtained a copy of Fucci’s redacted arrest report which alleges that some of those items, said to have been gathered from Fucci’s bedroom by investigators, tested positive “for the presence of blood.”
This is a developing story…
[Fucci image via mugshot; Bailey image via St. Johns County Sheriff]
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