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Tristyn Bailey Goes Missing

May 9th, 2001, was Mother’s Day, and when 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey’s sisters went to wake her up so they could make their mother breakfast, she wasn’t in her room.

Unable to find the Patriot Oaks Academy 7th grader at home or contact her by cell phone, the family searched the neighborhood for 20 minutes before calling 911. They told authorities they had come home from a celebration at 11:45 pm the previous night.

According to a case timeline posted by FirstCoastNews, Bailey’s sister revealed she saw Bailey in the garage on video chat talking to a white male around Midnight.

Police took the case seriously and were able to make contact with many of Tristyn’s friends.

They learned that she had snuck out and gone to her friend Tre’s nearby home. After talking with Tre, police learned that she arrived at his home at around 12:30 am and hung out with him and 14-year-old Aiden Fucci.

According to FirstCoastNews, Tre revealed that the trio had hung out for 30 minutes before Fucci and Bailey left his home together.

Investigators then went to Fucci’s home to ask him about Bailey’s disappearance.

Once the authorities left the home with her son, Fucci’s mother, Crystal Smith, went into his room and saw a pair of jeans that looked like they had blood on them. She asked a friend who was in the home at the time if she thought it was blood.

To help her son, she washed the jeans in the bathroom sink.

Police questioned Fucci, and he showed them where he and Tristyn walked. He revealed they left Tre’s home at 1 am and went their separate ways between 3 and 3:30 am.

When the police inquired why it would take them two or more hours to walk 1.4 miles back to their neighborhood, he changed his story.

He told authorities Bailey grabbed him below the belt, so he pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head. He claimed he left her there, walked around alone, and returned home between 3 and 3:30 am.

According to FirstCoastNews, after making those statements, he was advised of his rights and after that, he refused to answer any more questions.

At some point when all of this was going on, Fucci posted a Snapchat from the back of the police car with the line, “Hey guys has inybody seen Tristyn lately.”

Tristyn’s Body Is Found, and Police Make an Arrest

According to FirsCoastNews, at around 6 pm on May 9th, 2021, hours after questioning Fucci, Tristyn’s body was found near a pond by her home. She had been stabbed 114 times, and her hand was on her chin like she had been posed. She had the word Karma and a smiley face written on her body.

After finding her body, Fucci was brought back in for questioning, but he refused to speak. Still, while he was alone with his parents in the interrogation room, he made incriminating statements.

Just after midnight on May 10th, authorities went to Fucci’s home with a search warrant. They found bloody clothing and shoes and a sheath that matched the knife found near Tristan’s body. They also had footage of Bailey and Fucci entering the woods at 1:45 am on May 9th. At 3:27 am, Fucci was on video running from the woods carrying his shoes.

Investigators also learned Fucci had a thirst for blood and told friends he was planning to lure someone into the woods and kill them. He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder three hours after authorities executed the search warrant. Eventually, the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder.

Fucci’s Mom gets arrested

As the case progressed, forensic investigators could tell Fucci’s jeans had been cleaned. When footage from inside the family’s home was subpoenaed, Smith was seen washing the jeans.

On June 5th, 2021, she was arrested for tampering with evidence, a charge that carried a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

Legal Proceedings

He was about to go to trial in February 2023, but decided to plead guilty. According to News4jax, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He also spoke briefly, saying, “I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family.” A month later, a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

There is a law in Florida that entitles juvenile lifers to a judicial review in 25 years. This review will determine if Fucci is rehabilitated and fit to reenter society.

Fucci’s mom resolves her case

According to Jacksonville.com, his mother resolved her case in May 2023 by changing her plea from not guilty to no contest to tampering with evidence. The plea deal with prosecutors resulted in a sentence of 30 days in jail and 5 years of probation.