Photo: St. Johns County Sheriff's Office & Facebook
Police say they are "investigating every lead."
By Alice Kelly — Written on May 13, 2021
Aiden Fucci, 14, has been charged with second-degree murder, having found what they believe to be enough evidence to consider him the prime and only suspect in the killing of Tristyn Bailey, the 13-year-old cheerleader whose body was discovered in a wooded area of St. Johns, Florida.
Fucci, a schoolmate of Bailey’s at Patriot Oaks Academy, shared a disturbing Snapchat image of himself following his arrest and is said to have made “several admissions” to police, according to a police report.
However, the case is being tarnished somewhat by widespread misinformation online from social media users claiming to be witnesses and trolls harassing Bailey’s loved ones.
What evidence do police have against Aiden Fucci to implicate him in the murder of Tristyn Bailey?
With the volley of confusing claims and posts online, police have been working hard to separate fact from fiction in the case. They are continuing to search the area where Bailey’s body was discovered for evidence including searching several retention ponds.
In the meantinme, here is what we know so far about the evidence against Fucci.
Fucci shared a disturbing selfie on Snapchat from the back of the police car after being detained.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick says a Snapchat image taken and shared by Fucci will now be used as part of the case against him.
The image shows Fucci in the back of a police car with the caption, “Hey guys has inybody (sic) seen Tristyn lately.”
Photo: Snapchat
“That just makes our case a better case to present to the State Attorney’s office and to present to a jury down the road saying this was his mindset,” Hardwick said about the image, “This is what he’s doing, he’s proud of what he did.”
Fucci and Bailey appear to have been captured on surveillance videos walking together to the murder site.
A police report revealed that surveillance footage showed Fucci and Bailey walking together in the vicinity of the place where her body was later discovered.
The teenagers were filmed walking near the community center in St John's, Florida, at 1:14 am on Sunday, and then again at 1:45 am. This is believed to be the last time Bailey was seen alive.
Nearly two hours later, footage from the second camera showed Fucci walking back alone without his shoes on.
While in custody, Fucci told his mother he had removed his shoes because his feet “hurt.”
Police have not released the footage to the public as of now.
Blood was detected on clothing in Aiden Fucci’s bedroom.
Very little has been disclosed about the grounds for Fucci’s arrest in Bailey’s murder, but we do know that police searched Fucci’s bedroom.
In doing so, they found several “items of evidentiary value,” including pieces of clothing that gave presumptive positive tests for the presence of blood.
What have Police ruled out as evidence so far?
Social media posts speculating that Tristyn Bailey was sexually assaulted have been discredited.
Some social media speculation hinted that Bailey had been sexually assaulted by Fucci.
Some since-deleted posts allegedly shared by Fucci's friends read, “She probably deserved it” and, “Don’t dress like that and you might not get raped.”
A petition for Fucci to be tried as an adult also alleges that Bailey is “believed to have been raped.”
However, police have disclosed that Bailey’s body was found fully clothed and there is no indication at this time that she was sexually assaulted.
It should be noted, however, that this is an ongoing investigation and Fucci’s charges could be upgraded at any point based on emerging evidence.
How did Tristyn Bailey die?
The medical examiner’s office has ruled Bailey’s death a homicide, saying she was stabbed to death.
Fucci’s arrest report says that Bailey “appeared to have significant injury to her head” along with other visible signs of trauma.
Police have not disclosed any information about a murder weapon or further details about Bailey’s death.
Has Aiden Fucci confessed to murdering Tristyn Bailey?
The heavily redacted police report reveals that Fucci made “several admissions” to police following his arrest.
However, the report does not detail what exactly Fucci admitted.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick told the media that there was “no doubt in my mind,” that this was a murder case and described Bailey’s death as “cold [and] calculated.”
Were there any witnesses to Bailey's murder?
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office believes Fucci acted alone in Bailey’s death.
“We have a suspect in custody,” Sheriff Robert Hardwick said on May 10. “That is the only suspect.”
However, hundreds of uncorroborated accounts of Bailey’s death are believed to be circulating around social media from troll accounts and people claiming to have been part of the murder.
These users are posting under the hashtag #FreeAiden, sharing images of a bloody knife, and taunting Bailey’s family.
Police have verified that some of the accounts are trolls who had nothing to do with the murder but that they are still investigating if any of the posts came from potential witnesses.
“We’re trying to figure out is this real, is this legit, is this coming from a person that’s a possible witness?” Hardwick said. “We’re going to find out with every single lead.”
Could Aiden Fucci be charged as an adult?
Fucci, who has been charged with second-degree murder, is being held in a regional juvenile detention facility.
Fucci is said to have been emotional during a detention hearing, which he attended alongside his parents.
He is being held for at least 21 days and the State Attorney’s Office said it will determine whether or not Fucci will be charged as an adult within that time frame.
If given juvenile status, Fucci will be tried within 21 days.
As this is a murder charge, the accused must be granted certain protections against self-incrimination that are not available in juvenile court. The charges in adult court would be more severe.
A petition to have Fucci charged as an adult has already gained over 200,000 signatures.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.