Aiden Fucci pleads guilty to fatally stabbing 13-year-old classmate Tristyn Bailey over 100 times

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (TCD) -- A 16-year-old is facing several decades in prison after pleading guilty to killing his 13-year-old classmate in 2021.

St. Johns County court records indicate Aiden Fucci entered the first-degree murder plea Monday, Feb. 6 — the same day jury selection was slated to begin — for the death of Tristyn Bailey.

According to WJXT-TV, Fucci entered a "straight plea deal," so he did not work with prosecutors beforehand.

He reportedly said at the hearing, "I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family."

Bailey was reported missing to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office on May 9, 2021, at about 10 a.m. She was last seen around midnight, but her family became concerned when she was not home for a Mother’s Day breakfast. Investigators located her body that day at 6 p.m., and the chief medical examiner later determined she died from sharp force trauma by stabbing.

According to Fucci’s arrest report, Fucci reportedly admitted to being with Bailey at a mutual friend’s house the night she went missing, and the two were seen on surveillance cameras walking on North Durbin Parkway. Fucci "admitted to engaging in an argument with the victim in which he forcefully pushed the victim to the ground striking her head."

Bailey was found at the end of a retention pond near a cul-de-sac and had "significant injury to her head and other trauma."

Investigators executed a search warrant at his house and found clothing with blood on it.

Fucci’s mother, Crystal Smith, was later arrested for allegedly washing blood off of the teen’s jeans. She was arrested in June 2021 on a charge of tampering with evidence.

According to WTLV-TV, Bailey was stabbed 114 times, and several were defensive wounds.

State Attorney R.J. Larizza reportedly said Bailey was "fighting for her life."

WJXT reports Fucci could face life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

MORE:

• Aiden Fucci pleads guilty to first-degree murder in death of Tristyn Bailey - WJXT
• State of Florida vs. Aidan Fucci
• Updated Statement Re: Missing Child, 5/9/2021 - St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
• Updated Statement Regarding Tristyn Bailey Investigation, 5/11/2021 - St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
• Warrant: Aiden Fucci’s mother tried to wash blood off his jeans after Tristyn Bailey was killed, 6/5/2021 - WJXT
• 'I'm sorry' | Aiden Fucci enters guilty plea in Tristyn Bailey murder - WTLV