Aiden Fucci, accused of murdering Tristyn Bailey, appears in a police intake photo immediately after his arrest.
Law&Crime on Friday obtained dozens of evidentiary exhibits set to be used by the state in the upcoming murder trial of Aiden Fucci, 16, the Florida teenager accused of stabbing 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey 114 times on Mother’s Day weekend in 2021.
He’s accused of one count of first-degree murder over the brutal death of his schoolmate. He faces a life sentence. It happened after he told several people he wanted “to kill someone by taking them in the woods and stabbing them,” prosecutors said.
Bailey’s body was discovered in the woods of Durbin Crossing, a residential community in St. Johns, Fla., according to police reports and court documents. St. Johns is about 30 miles south of Jacksonville. She was found on Mother’s Day after being reported missing by her parents hours earlier.
In response to a public records request, the Florida Office of the State Attorney for the 7th Judicial Circuit released the complete, 234-page St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office report on the murder investigation.
That report details dozens of witnesses, reports, and interviews by law enforcement from the day Bailey’s mother first reported that her daughter ran away from home.
Deputy Robert Maloney detailed a change in Fucci’s story as he quickly became the lead suspect in Bailey’s murder. The accused murderer first said he left Bailey walking alone down her street while he continued to walk around for hours before heading home. But in the back of a patrol car, Fucci allegedly said that he and Bailey argued and he “pushed her hard to the ground where she hit her head.”
“While sitting in my patrol vehicle Aiden started to cry and punched the back of the seat,” Maloney wrote. “I asked him if he was okay and he stated ‘I’m going to get arrested for bullshit’ I did not ask him any questions. I stated if he did not do anything he has nothing to worry about.”
The evidence detailed in the report is gruesome and shocking.
At least two of Fucci’s and Bailey’s mutual acquaintances described two of the defendant’s knives that he regularly kept on him, which he had nicknamed “picker” and “poker” based on their respective blades.
According to law enforcement, “poker” was the knife used to kill the beloved cheerleader who liked “to hang out with older kids.”
The knife Aiden Fucci is said to have called “poker” appears in a police evidence photo.
According to witnesses, Fucci regularly carried knives with him – and usually, the two mentioned above – when he was not at school. Police said “several knives” were recovered from both the defendant’s and his brother’s bedrooms.
Another view of Aiden Fucci’s so-called “poker” knife, with a visible bend in the blade.
The Buck-branded knife police believe was used to kill Bailey was found in a pond near her body. Without being provided any context, schoolmate Zofie Bauman identified that knife as “poker” when shown a picture, Deputy John Newman wrote in the report.
Along with that lengthy report is the full list of the state’s evidence slated to be used in the trial. That evidence list is available here.
The state also released photos of the defendant, taken by law enforcement after his arrest. Those images show Fucci’s hands and shoulders, which appear to be cut and scratched.
Police believe cuts, scratches, and abrasions on Aiden Fucci’s hands, arms, and shoulders are key pieces of evidence.
Jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin on Monday at the St. Johns County Courthouse.
LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR: Teen Accused of Stabbing Cheerleader to Death Faces Trial Next Week
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[images via Florida State Attorney’s Office]