“Satanic” Teen Stabs Young Girl 114 Times For Fun

“Satanic” Teen Stabs Young Girl 114 Times For Fun

Tristan Tyne Bailey was born on January 18, 2008, to parents Forest and Stacy Bailey, and was the youngest of the couple’s five children. She had three older sisters, Brittany, Alexis, and Sophia, and a brother named Tegan. The family resided together in the town of Saint John’s, Florida, just south of Jacksonville on the state’s eastern seaboard. As the baby of the family, she was treasured in every way. According to her family, Tristan was absolutely adored by her grandparents and spent a lot of time with them, getting more attention as a baby from her grandad than any sibling before her.

As a daughter, Tristan always exceeded the expectations that were put in front of her. She was described as dedicated and thoughtful. Brittany and Tristan, despite being 16 years apart, were kindred spirits. With Alexis, she shared a deep love of animals. Tegan brought out Tristan’s serious side; they would talk about goals and aspirations and outline the work to accomplish them. Sophia and Tristan were easily described as having a yin-yang relationship; from the moment Tristan entered the world, they spent all their time together. Tristan and her mother, Stacy, enjoyed a close bond and formed many wonderful memories during cheer weekends.

Tristan loved to cheer, and she did so competitively. She had won many awards and was described by her coaches to have a dedicated work ethic. She was the seventh-grade team captain at her school, Patriot Oaks Academy, and was a member of Infinity All-Stars Cheerleading and Zone Cheer All-Stars. She also enjoyed playing lacrosse.

On May 9, 2021, Tristan and her sister had been planning on making breakfast for Stacy to celebrate Mother’s Day. Sophia had already begun preparing the meal before anybody noticed that something was awry. But when Tristan didn’t come downstairs, her family soon realized that she was gone. At 10 that morning, they contacted the police and reported her missing. What was most worrisome is that Tristan’s cell phone was not in her bedroom, and when they called it, it went straight to voicemail. Her cell phone and Snapchat locations were also turned off. According to Stacy, a family friend had Tristan added to the Life360 app, but she had stopped showing her location there as well.

The Bailey family resided in the Durbin Crossing neighborhood of St. John’s. Keep in mind, this is an extremely safe and modern neighborhood. According to their website, quote: “Durbin Crossing is encompassed by hundreds of acres of nature preserves, lake views, and picturesque panoramas. We offer community activities, events, and social gatherings at our two amenity centers. Our community’s cherished close-knit feel is further supported by the A-rated schools of St. John’s County, which are the best in Florida,” end quote.

In fact, St. John’s as a whole is rated safer than 74 percent of U.S. cities, with a one-in-1,714 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime. The neighborhood even held weekly Food Truck Friday events, and Tristan had attended the most recent one on May 7.

The Bailey family searched the house and the immediate area for Tristan but could not find her. Forest, Tristan’s father, searched the area of the north amenity center but did not locate Tristan. As this community was so close-knit, many families abandoned their Mother’s Day plans to search for her. Soon, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined the surge.

At 2:23 PM, detective Kurt Hannon requested a ping order for Tristan’s cell phone to attempt to locate the device’s geographical location, believing she would be found nearby. Meanwhile, Deputy Robert Maloney and Deputy Liam Stack interviewed people in Durbin Crossing. One person in particular had seen Tristan recently. According to Dolphus Abshire III, who goes by the name Trey, Tristan arrived at his house at 12:30 AM on May 9. He told the detective that Tristan snuck around the north side of his house to avoid the security cameras. She was wearing a black-and-gray T-shirt with the word “pink” across the front and black sweatpants. Half an hour later, she left his house with Aiden Fucci, a classmate at Patriot Oaks Academy.

The night prior, the Bailey family had returned home at around 11:45 after attending a dinner. Around midnight, Tristan was last seen by her sister, Sophia, speaking with an unknown white male wearing a backward white cap on a video chat in the garage. According to cell phone records obtained from AT&T, Tristan received an incoming call from a phone number later identified as belonging to Aiden Fucci. She was supposed to be going to bed, but the 13-year-old had other plans. Even though this was completely out of character for her, Tristan snuck out of her family’s home shortly thereafter. According to her family, Tristan was last seen wearing what they believed to be a white sheer shirt and dark shorts.

At 1:24 AM, surveillance video from the Durbin Crossing North amenity center shows two subjects walking past the main entrance along the sidewalk. About 20 minutes later, surveillance video obtained by detectives from a neighborhood resident, Dr. Larry Schoenberg, shows two subjects walking east on the sidewalk of Saddlestone Drive toward a pond. One of these subjects was later identified as Aiden Fucci; he appeared to be wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and a pair of white-and-black Nike sneakers. The second subject was later identified as Tristan; she was significantly shorter than Aiden and was wearing a light-colored shirt and black shoes. At 3:27 AM, Aiden was caught again on Dr. Schoenberg’s camera; this time, he was running west away from the pond while carrying his sneakers. He was alone.

Detective Maloney then interviewed Aiden Fucci at his home on Castledale Court with the consent of his mother, Crystal Smith. Aiden showed Detective Maloney where he and Tristan went after leaving Trey’s house. Aiden said that after he and Tristan left, they walked to North Durbin Parkway. He said that Tristan then turned onto Cloisterbane Drive to go home. Aiden claimed that he walked along North Durbin Parkway and arrived home between 3:00 and 3:30 in the morning.

Detective Maloney thought that it seemed odd it would take Aiden approximately two hours to walk from Trey’s house to his house. For reference, from Google Maps, the walking distance would have been approximately 1.4 miles or a 28-minute walk. Because of this, the detective asked for further clarification. In response, Aiden changed his story. He claimed that he and Tristan continued walking along North Durbin Parkway and got into an altercation after Tristan allegedly grabbed his crotch. Aiden went on to state that he forcefully pushed Tristan to the ground, which caused her to strike her head. He alleged the incident occurred near the 600 block of North Durbin Parkway, just north of Leith Hall Drive. He said that he was not sure if he saw Tristan get up due to being dizzy from smoking weed at Trey’s house.

Aiden said that after the incident with Tristan, he walked around alone for a while. He went on to suggest that Tristan could be with a drug dealer in his 20s that she communicated with through Snapchat, or she could be on a path by the north amenity center known for teenage drug use. As Tristan wasn’t a known drug user, this was deemed extremely suspicious. Based on Aiden’s statements, Detective Maloney believed a crime may have occurred and advised the teenager of his constitutional rights. Aiden invoked his rights and declined to provide any further statement. He was later returned to the north amenity center, at which time Aiden and his parents requested an attorney.

Meanwhile, around 3:00 PM, Corporal Justin Ackerman of the Special Victims Unit responded to 334 Sanctuary Drive to attempt to make contact with two of Tristan’s friends, Samantha and Lena Creel. Neither were home, but Corporal Ackerman was able to speak to their father, Jerry, over the phone. Jerry said Lena contacted Trey earlier and was told that Tristan and another boy snuck out in the middle of the night and were hanging around the north amenity center, after which Tristan allegedly was going to hang out with a 22-year-old drug dealer named Carlo. Now, Carlo indeed was a real person, later identified as Carlo Lindo, however, it was determined that he had no involvement in Tristan’s disappearance.

While this was going on, patrol supervisor Sergeant Christopher Alexander received the mobile locator results from Tristan’s cell phone from AT&T via email. The location showed a 2,500-meter radius from the central location. This placed the center of the radius within a wooded area south of the Loop Nursery located at 4842 Racetrack Road. The signal was historical, no longer sending active signals. Additionally, Detective Hannon submitted a request for 30 days’ worth of Tristan’s call and text detail records to attempt to identify a pattern of her communication, any recent deviation from that pattern, and an attempt to identify anyone Tristan may have had contact with through the evening of May 8 through the morning of May 9.

Deputy Hannon received the requested records from AT&T but was unable to open them due to a technical error. A half-hour later, Detective Hannon received a bizarre email from St. John’s Sheriff’s Office Communications with a photo attachment of a Snapchat message. The message depicted Aiden Fucci in the back seat of a patrol car taking a selfie, holding up a peace sign in the reflective panel of the divider. Within the message was a text banner reading, “Hey guys, has anybody seen Tristan lately?” The message appeared to have been forwarded at least twice. It included additional text banners reading, “WTF Aiden” and “You were with her Aiden, you know what happened to her.”

Detective Hannon notified the chain of command and requested Aiden’s cell phone be seized as it possibly contained evidence related to this investigation. Just before 5:00 PM, Sergeant Thomas Marmo of the Special Victims Unit, with the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse, requested a missing child alert for Tristan.

A short time later, authorities were able to open the AT&T call and text records for Tristan. These records indicated Tristan’s last outgoing call was on May 7, 2021, at approximately 9:00 PM, which was to her sister. The records did not reflect any call or text detail for May 8, 2021. The remainder of the calls or text detail records were all incoming calls, all of which began around the time Tristan was discovered missing.

Meanwhile, Detective Kim Peluso conducted audio-recorded interviews with the Bailey family, who stated that they were unaware of Tristan speaking out prior to this incident. Detective Peluso told them that she was informed of additional information that Tristan may have been involved in illegal activity and was afraid that she would be caught and wanted to run away. During this time, Detective Keith Carter and Detective James Jiminaro canvassed Cloisterbane Drive for possible witnesses and video surveillance.

But what was the perceived illegal activity that would make Tristan, who was loved by her family, want to run away? Now, keep in mind, the following information has been sourced from Law and Crime. Investigators also spoke with Tristan’s best friend, Shyla Holmes. She told police that Tristan had an intimate relationship with a boy named Trey, but that they were more like friends with benefits and didn’t really talk to each other in school. But one of those alleged encounters was believed to have been captured on video and then used against Tristan by Aiden. Shyla said Trey had a video of him and Tristan being intimate together, and that he had FaceTimed Aiden while doing so. Allegedly, Aiden screen-recorded the entire thing. He had begun to blackmail Tristan with the video; he showed it to seventh and eighth-grade students at their school.

Tristan and Aiden had also allegedly hooked up, but according to Shyla, nobody knew about it but her. Shyla also said that Tristan, Aiden, and Trey planned on having a three-way together, but wasn’t sure if it ended up happening or not. There was also discussion regarding graffiti on a sign, but I think it’s reasonable to conclude that the illegal activity that Tristan was worried about was this video in question.

Just a few minutes later, a call came from Daniel Hart, a resident of the Durbin Crossing neighborhood. Daniel lived at the end on Drive adjacent to a cul-de-sac. He had been out on an evening run when he made a chilling discovery. He informed the authorities that he had located what appeared to be a dead body in the woods just east of the cul-de-sac. It was Tristan, who was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Robert Najbauer at 6:15 in the evening.

Tristan was located in a wooded area approximately 80 feet from the southernmost retention pond south of the Durbin Creek Nursery located at 4286 Racetrack Road. Her blonde hair was matted and red in color, which appeared to be blood. She had multiple sharp force injury wounds on her hands, arms, and neck, and she appeared to have additional sharp force injuries to her back, evident by the holes in her shirt.

In the immediate vicinity, crime scene technician Marilyn Butts located a gold-tone ring, a cell phone later identified as Tristan’s phone, a twenty-dollar bill, and a pink smoking device. She located a possible shoe impression within the wooded area as well as a Powerade bottle near the pond. However, she did not locate any other items of possible evidentiary value, nor did she observe any suspicious circumstances around the scene. She collected the cell phone after processing the scene, which was later transferred to Detective David Causey with digital forensics to be processed.

Detectives were dispatched to two different addresses in search of Aiden Fucci: to his mother’s home located at Castledale Court, and to 25 Nine Wells Lane, the address he used in order to be registered at Patriot Oaks Academy. Both residences were secured pending the application of a search warrant. Unfortunately, Aiden wasn’t at either home, but less than two hours later, he was tracked down at the north amenity center and transported to the SJSO Central Investigations Division, or CID.

According to Deputy Maloney, while conducting a pat-down for weapons on Aiden at the north amenity center, he located a blue-handled folding knife. Deputy Maloney said he inspected the knife but did not observe anything suspicious about it and turned the knife over to Aiden’s father, Jason Fucci. Conveniently, Mr. Fucci placed the knife on the bumper of his truck and forgot to retrieve it before leaving. He claimed that it must have fallen off his bumper somewhere. Law enforcement attempted to search for this knife, but it was never recovered.

At the same time, Trey’s father, Dolphus Abshire Jr., was interviewed at his Telfer Drive home. He stated that he knew Aiden and his family well but had never met Tristan. He shared that he had woken his son up at around 7:00 in the morning and learned that Aiden had hung out the night prior. He also stated that law enforcement came to his house at approximately 11:00 with regards to the search for Tristan. The father stated that after law enforcement had left, his son claimed that Tristan had also visited that evening.

Aiden was delivered to the CID in an interview room which had both audio and video recording capabilities. Aiden’s father, Jason Fucci, and mother, Crystal Smith, were present. Both of his parents made several comments advising Aiden not to speak about any possible involvement that he may have had, saying that the room could be bugged. Crystal and Jason asked Aiden questions about the incident, which he did answer. They also told Aiden not to speak until his attorney arrived. Crystal then told Aiden that Tristan was found in their neighborhood. Aiden asked if she was good, and Crystal responded, quote: “No, she’s dead. That’s why this is very important. It’s all on you right now,” end quote.

Aiden asked how any of this was his problem. They stressed to Aiden that he was the last one seen with her, that the snap he posted in the back of the police car was not a smart idea, and that the family had been receiving threats because of it. Jason asked Aiden if he had any scrapes or anything on him. Aiden responded, “No, sir.” He then asked Aiden if he told the police anything different than what he had shared with them. Aiden stated that he did not. Jason then explained that he told police that Tristan probably got picked up by her drug dealer and that she was not going home, rather she was going to stay with somebody else.

Crystal continued asking about where Tristan went after Aiden left her. Aiden stated that she probably kept walking. Jason interjected that Aiden pushed her down and then kept walking, before stating, “We probably shouldn’t be talking in here.” Jason then stated, quote: “You walked away, you came straight home, you didn’t turn back to see where she had went,” end quote. Aiden shook his head no.

Jason then asked, “What were you doing outside that late at night?” Aiden stated he was at Trey’s house hanging out. Jason asked, “Did you kiss or do anything with her?”, to which Aiden stated that he kissed Tristan and denied doing anything further. Jason then asked, “So your DNA is going to be on her?” Aiden did not respond. Jason continued, “We saw your shoes were off on the camera. Why were your shoes off?”, and Aiden responded, quote: “Because my feet were hurting and those shoes give me blisters,” end quote.

Crystal asked Aiden if he had been home and then snuck back out again, or if he was at Trey’s house the whole day. Aiden said that he did not sneak back out and that he was at Trey’s house the whole time. Jason explained that because of the snap that he and Trey took in the back of the police car, people on social media believed that the two friends had S-A’d and killed Tristan. Aiden did not respond.

Crystal asked Aiden if Tristan really grabbed his crotch, to which Aiden replied that she did. Jason then asked if Aiden knew what happened after he pushed her, and Aiden said no. Crystal asked if Tristan said “ow” or got mad, and Aiden told her that Tristan yelled out his name. He pushed her, told her to F off, and he walked away from her. Aiden guessed that Tristan probably walked off because she was no longer next to him and he did not look back.

Jason asked if there was anything to worry about. Aiden said no. Crystal then said that their house was being searched. Jason asked Aiden why he was wet when he got home, to which Aiden said that he was wet due to spilling water on himself. Now, Jason didn’t believe him, and then he pressed Aiden on how he was wet, to which Aiden claimed that he fell.

At 8:59 PM, Detective Thompson entered the interview room and requested Jason and Crystal’s consent to collect a DNA buccal swab, photographs, and fingernail scrapings from Aiden. Crystal said they were going to wait until their attorney, Andy Snowberger, arrived. Aiden’s counsel changed multiple times, from Snowberger to the public defender’s office led by St. Augustine-based attorney Joshua Mosley, and later Rosemary Peoples.

After the detective left the room, Jason and Crystal attempted to convince Aiden that he was wearing khaki pants instead of blue jeans on the night of the incident. However, video from Crystal’s Castledale Court home later proved otherwise.

Just after midnight on May 10, investigators searched Crystal’s home, finding a pair of wet white Nike shoes with blood on them, a T-shirt with blood on it, a white piece of paper with handwriting with possible blood on it, and a pair of wet blue denim jeans in a laundry basket. Blood and dirt were found on the drain in the bathroom sink next to Aiden’s bedroom. In addition, a Buck brand knife sheath was recovered from the home. The actual knife was later recovered in a pond 140 feet from where Tristan was located. This knife was noted as having a broken tip. Investigators also found a notebook full of satanic and violent drawings. We’ll get into this notebook later, as Aiden was not the only person that knew of this notebook’s existence prior to Tristan’s death.

At 3:30 AM, Aiden Fucci was arrested and charged with second-degree homicide in the death of Tristan Bailey. Those charges were later upgraded to first-degree homicide, and Aiden would be tried as an adult and held without bail in an adult facility in St. John’s County. Aiden pled not guilty.

On the evening that he was initially arrested, a candlelight vigil was held in honor of Tristan at the Durbin Crossing South amenity center. Tristan’s post-mortem examination was performed by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Predrag Bulic. He observed that Tristan was coming out of rigor mortis and appeared to have skin slippage. Based on these conditions, Dr. Bulic estimated Tristan’s time of death was consistent with occurring between 1:45 and 3:30 AM.

Tristan appeared to have handprints on her upper left inner and outer thigh, her inner left calf, her right calf, and upper right thigh. Based on the pattern of the handprint on Tristan’s upper left thigh, it was determined it would not have been her own hand. Tristan was found to have a total of 114 stab or cutting wounds concentrated to the top of her head, back of her neck, upper back, and the back of both of her arms and hands. At least 49 of these were considered to be defensive wounds. Some of the injuries to her hands were penetrating, which indicated at the time of those injuries her hands were on a hard object, most likely her head. Based on the nature of the injuries, it appeared the suspect was standing behind Tristan and came at her at a downward angle.

Dr. Bulic found three stab wounds that penetrated Tristan’s left chest cavity and lung. Additionally, he also found one stab wound which punctured her right chest cavity and lung once. Dr. Bulic estimated the cutting instrument to be a single-edged blade approximately four inches in length. X-rays of Tristan’s body indicated a possible metallic fragment on the top of her skull, which was not initially recovered during the autopsy. This fragment was confirmed to be the tip belonging to the knife found in the pond; it apparently had broken off in Tristan’s skull while she was being stabbed.

Handwritten in blue ink on her left ankle was one word: “Karma.” A smiley face was drawn on her right ankle as well. It is unclear how these markings ended up on her body. Dr. Bulic, however, confidently stated Tristan’s cause and manner of death would be listed as homicide due to sharp force trauma.

On Tuesday, May 18, the Bailey family held a public memorial service for Tristan at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida.

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, Aiden’s mother, Crystal Lane Smith, was arrested on a warrant charging her with tampering with evidence following the death of Tristan Bailey. It seems the fact that Crystal had cameras all over her house got her into trouble. It appears that after Aiden was initially taken into the patrol car by Deputy Maloney, where he made the now-infamous snap picture, Crystal allegedly got to work covering for her son. After putting the family dog in the master bedroom, Crystal went upstairs directly to the bathroom, where she is observed picking some things off the floor and walking inside Aiden’s bedroom. A few moments later, Crystal exited Aiden’s bedroom holding a pair of jeans and went back into the adjacent bathroom. Crystal appeared to be scrubbing the jeans in the bathroom sink right in front of Aiden’s brother. After Crystal is seen exiting the bathroom, she briefly steps into Aiden’s bedroom and then takes the jeans downstairs to the master bedroom. She’s later caught on camera discussing the jeans with an in-law, Victoria Ackle, before returning the jeans to Aiden’s bedroom. She pled not guilty on July 26 and is expected to go to trial in April of 2023.

Several classmates came out to talk about Aiden’s anger issues. The most damning was that of Sophie Bowman, Aiden’s girlfriend. Sophie explained that Aiden always carried a knife with him whenever he was out of school. She described two of Aiden’s most common knives: one was a gray and black folding knife with a serrated blade and an orange skull on the handle. Aiden named it “Picker.” The second knife was a folding knife with a wooden and brass handle, which Aiden called “Poker.”

He talked about killing people frequently and even made previous statements about wanting to kill Tristan. He claimed that occasionally Aiden would take his knife out and pretend to stab her with it. On occasion, Aiden surprised Sophie from behind, put the knife to her throat, and pretended to slit her throat. Recently, they had been hanging out together on the roof of Sophie’s house, and it was there that Aiden told her that he was going to kill someone. Aiden said that the killing would be planned and that he would find a random person walking at night, drag them into the woods, and stab them. He told her that he was going to do it soon and to expect it to be carried out within the month.

According to one of Aiden’s friends, Caleb Montanez, Aiden was very jealous and believed that Sophie was cheating on him with Trey. She added that Aiden would draw graphic pictures depicting mutilated bodies. This was later confirmed when a notebook filled with these drawings was found in Aiden’s room. One such drawing that police found was that of a nude female with severed limbs who had blood gushing out of the wounds; red axes were drawn over her private parts. This notebook also contained many drawings of pentagrams and Aiden’s interpretation of satanic imagery.

Sophie also stated that Aiden claimed to hear voices in his head when he was angry. He said the voices would tell him he was a worthless disappointment, and the voices would tell him to kill people.

This case has a lot of moving parts and a huge cast of characters involved. We will have the full 34-page probable cause affidavit available to you in our show notes if you’re interested in learning more about the investigation leading up to Aiden’s arrest.

Aiden’s trial finally came to a close in February of 2023. After all plea offers from his defense team were rejected, Aiden finally entered a plea of guilty during jury selection. Prior to his sentencing, his mother, Crystal, sent a letter to the judge begging for leniency. It read, and I quote:

“Honorable Judge Smith,

Upon recommendation from my attorney, it is with deepest regret that I am not present to speak on behalf of my son Aiden today, the day my child is to be sentenced for the murder of another child. As a mother, the love you have for your child is difficult to articulate to others unless they’re a mother themselves. To be helpless to protect your child is a mother’s worst living nightmare. To cope with such a loss is unimaginable. I grieve for the devastating loss of Tristan. I grieve for the subsequent arrest of my son, and I grieve for the irreparable agony inflicted on the Bailey family as well as all other friends and families affected. Most of all, however, I grieve for Stacy Bailey as a mother.

Your Honor, nothing can measure the depth of despair caused by Aiden’s crime and the inability to help your child when they need you most. From a mother pleading on behalf of the life of her adolescent son, please show my Aiden mercy. He is not beyond saving.

Thank you, respectfully,
Crystal Smith,” end quote.

During the sentencing phase of Aiden’s trial, the Bailey family had their own words to share with the court:

“My home, which was once where we all gathered in comfort, is now a place of hurt that Tristan is no longer there. The door to her room remains closed; it is exactly as she left it. Her bed is unmade, her bath towel she used on May 8 is at the foot of her bed. The suitcase is still packed from the weekend before when we attended Summit with Infinity All-Star Cheer. I can’t bear to change one thing, not even washing her clothes in the hamper, as it would wash away the scent of her.

Many times I find our cat, who knows how to open Tristan’s door, in her room as if she’s just waiting for her to return. I do not know if we will ever have comfort in our home again. My children were once full of life and laughter, and now they are full of despair, anger, depression, PTSD, and anxiety.

Bailey family fun day was every Sunday in our home, a day where we would all come together and have a meal and spend time together. Sunday will never be the same for us, as we have a missing link in our family. The Sunday of May 9, 2021, has made us dread every Sunday. How will we ever be whole again?

The memories of May 9 will forever be ingrained in my mind, body, and soul. To know I was awake and only 11 minutes away from my sister as she was being brutally murdered—could I have saved her? I remember the vivid feelings of my body collapsing on the ground as the police informed us that they had found a body, then finding out hours later it was Tristan’s body. I remember becoming physically ill and having a detective grip my hair as my body uncontrollably expelled everything from my stomach between my sobs.

The pain I felt in every nerve as I watched my dad lying on the floor screaming in a way no human should ever be able to produce—our family broke that day, and I don’t recognize any of us anymore. I have watched my parents go from believing that they were good parents to believing they were failures. I have listened to my parents question, ‘What did we do wrong? What kind of mother or father was I not to protect my child?’ I have watched them overanalyze every conversation, every action, trying to figure out what they could have done differently.

I’ve watched my older sister, Brittany, become unrecognizable with anger. I’ve watched my brother, Tegan, emotionally shut down and avoid the family due to the pain being home causes. I’ve watched my younger sister, Sophia, completely lose her childhood and be cast into the role of being a parent and being the resident therapist for my mother.”

On Friday, March 24, 2023, Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith sentenced Aiden Fucci to life in prison. He is currently serving his time at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak, Florida. He took into account several factors when making this decision, including Aiden’s young age, the heightened level of premeditation, and the fact that he was the sole participant who was not pressured by anyone to commit the devastating crime. He noted that Aiden was considered of average maturity by his peers and that he understood the consequences of his actions.

He called Tristan’s case the most difficult and shocking case that St. John’s County had encountered. Judge Smith added that the crime was especially troubling because it had no motive. He said, quote:

“This was not done out of greed. It was not done in retaliation, 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. It was done for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant’s internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone,” end quote.

He went on to address the Bailey family, quote:

“The loss which you have clearly suffered is unimaginable. Sometimes family members hope or expect that whatever the sentence is that somehow or another that’s going to heal or provide closure. I cannot provide a closure to this. It may close a chapter, but I cannot bring her back. You still have a lot of healing to do. Her spirit lives on through each and every one of you,” end quote.