ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — New documents released Wednesday describe details surrounding the investigation into the murder of 13-year-old St. Johns County cheerleader Tristyn Bailey.
Tristyn's body was discovered on Mother's Day, May 9, after she was reported missing for hours. The next day, her classmate, 14-year-old Aiden Fucci was arrested and charged in her death.
One of the documents released Wednesday, a primary investigative narrative, lays out a timeline of events surrounding Tristyn's disappearance and death.
First Coast News put together the following timeline based on that document from St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy Kurt Hannon.
This is his official account of the investigation and all facts are attributed to him and the St. Johns Sheriff's Office.
Friday, May 7
Tristyn was seen with fellow classmates at the Durbin Crossing Food Truck Friday event. Her mother said a friend's parents drove them to the event and also picked them up afterward.
Saturday, May 8
10:51 p.m.: Tristyn sent a text message to a 407 area code number, the last time she used her cellphone, according to records her father received from AT&T.
11:45 p.m.: The Bailey family arrived home after going to dinner, then visiting one of their adult daughters.
Sunday, May 9
12 a.m.: Tristyn's sister SB last saw Tristyn speaking with an unknown white male wearing a backwards white baseball cap on a video chat in the garage at approximately midnight. Tristyn was last seen wearing what they believed to be a white cheer shirt and dark shorts.
12:25 a.m.: Cellphone records obtained from AT&T show Tristyn had an incoming voice call from a phone number later identified as Aiden Fucci.
12:30 a.m.: Doffis "Tre" Absher III says Tristyn arrived at his house.
1 a.m.: Tre says Tristyn and Fucci left his house after hanging out late Saturday night.
1:24 a.m.: Surveillance video from the Durbin Crossing North Amenities Center shows two subjects walking past the main entrance along the sidewalk.
1:45 a.m.: 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 the subjects appeared to be wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and a pair of white shoes with a black Nike swoosh. The second subject appeared to be significantly shorter than the first subject and was wearing a light-colored shirt and black shoes.
3:27 a.m.: Surveillance video from Schoenberg shows one subject walking west, away from the area of the pond, wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt and carrying a pair of white shoes with a black Nike swoosh.
9:40 a.m.: Tristyn's siblings went to wake her up as they made Mother's Day breakfast and discovered she was missing. The Bailey family searched of the house and the immediate area for Tristyn but could not find her. Forrest Bailey, Tristyn's father, searched the area of the north amenities center, but did not locate Tristyn.
10:00 a.m.: Stacy Bailey, Tristyn's mother, called 911. During the entire call Stacy appeared to be upset and distraught. The following is a synopsis of the 911 call: Stacy requested an officer and stated she had a missing child. Stacy said the missing child was her daughter, Tristyn Bailey, and described her as a 13-year-old female, approximately 5 feet 4 inches, 130 pounds, who attended Patriot Oaks Academy. Stacy said Tristyn was last seen at approximately midnight by another sibling and was supposed to be sleeping in her bedroom. Stacy said, to her knowledge, Tristyn had not snuck out of the house before. Stacy said Tristyn's cellphone was not in her bedroom and went straight to voicemail when they called Tristyn's cell phone. Stacy said Tristyn's cellphone locations and Snapchat locations were turned off. Stacy said a family friend had Tristyn on the Life 360 app, but Tristyn stopped sharing her location. The dispatcher asked Stacy to search the house room by room while on the phone with the dispatcher. Stacy told the dispatcher she and her family had already searched the home. Stacy said Tristyn recently began hanging out with friends in the neighborhood and participated in cheerleading for three different cheerleading squads. Stacy said Tristyn did not seem upset before going to bed, but has been stand-offish lately and goes to her room a lot. Stacy said Tristyn never said anything about wanting to leave or harm herself. Stacy said the only thing Tristyn has ever said was she felt like she didn't do anything right. Stacy said Tristyn did not take any medications for depression or anxiety. Stacy said Tristyn did not have a boyfriend. Stacy said Tristyn communicates with several friends from school. Stacy stated Tristyn was discovered missing this morning after a sibling went to get her for breakfast.
2:23 p.m.: Hannon ordered a "ping" order for Tristyn's cellphone to attempt to locate the device's geographical location, believing she would be with or near her cell phone.
2:54 p.m.: Deputy Robert Maloney and Deputy Liam Stack interviewed Tre. He said when Tristyn came to his house, she snuck around the north side of the house to avoid the security cameras on their residence. Tre said Tristyn and Aiden Fucci left his house together at the same time. Tristyn was wearing a black and grey t-shirt with the word "PINK" across the front and black sweatpants.
Maloney then interviewed Fucci at his home on Castledale Court. With the consent of his mother, Crystal Smith, Fucci showed Maloney where he and Tristyn went after leaving Tre's house. Fucci said after he and Tristyn left from Tre's house, they walked to North Durbin Parkway. Fucci said Tristyn then turned onto Cloisterbane Drive to go to her home. Fucci stated he walked along North Durbin Parkway and arrived home between approximately 3 to 3:30 a.m.
Maloney asked Fucci to clarify his timeline since it seemed odd it would take Fucci approximately two hours to walk from Tre's house to his house. For reference, per Google Maps, the walking distance would have been approximately 1.4 miles, or a 28-minute walk.
Fucci changed his story, stating he and Tristyn continued walking north along North Durbin Parkway and got into an altercation after Tristyn grabbed his penis. Fucci stated he forcefully pushed Tristyn to the ground, which caused her to strike her head. Fucci said the incident occurred near the 600 block of North Durbin Parkway, just north of Leith Hall Drive. Fucci said he was not sure if he saw Tristyn get up due to him being dizzy from smoking marijuana earlier at Tre's house. Fucci said after the incident with Tristyn he "walked around alone for a while." Fucci also told a detective that Tristyn could be with a drug dealer who is in his 20s that she communicates with through Snapchat or she could be on a path by the north amenities center known for teenage drug use.
Based on Fucci's statements, Maloney believed a crime may have occurred and advised Fucci of his Constitutional rights. Fucci invoked his rights and declined to provide any further statement. Fucci was returned to the North Amenities Center, at which time Fucci and his parents requested an attorney.
3 p.m.: Corporal Justin Ackerman of the Special Victims Unit responded to 334 Sanctuary Drive to attempt to make contact with two of Tristyn's friends, Samantha and Lina Creel. Corporal Ackerman stated that no one was at the home, but he was able to speak with Jerry Creel, Samantha and Lina's father, via phone. Jerry stated Lina contacted Doffis earlier and was told Tristyn and another boy snuck out in the middle of the night and were hanging around the north amenities center. Doffis said the two boys went home, but Tristyn was going to hang out with a 22-year-old drug dealer named "Karlo."
3:29 p.m.: Sergeant Christopher Alexander, the patrol supervisor, identified Tristyn's cellphone number with service provider AT&T. SJSO Communications Shift Leader Ramona Davis began to forward the mobile locator results (pings) through email. The location showed a 2,500-meter radius from that central location. This placed the center of the radius within a wooded area south of the Loop Nursery, located at 4842 Racetrack Road. Signal was historical, no longer actively sending signals.
Deputy Hannon submitted an exigent request for 30 days of Tristyn's call and text detail records to attempt to identify a pattern of her communication, any recent deviation from that pattern, and attempt to identify anyone Tristyn may have had contact with the evening of May 8 through the morning of May 9.
3:59 p.m.: Deputy Hannon received the requested call the text detail records from AT&T for Tristyn's cellphone but was unable to open them at that time due to technical complications. He then relocated to the Unified Command Center, located at Veterans Park.
4:29 p.m.: Hannon received an email from SJSO Communications with a photo attachment of a Snapchat message. The Snapchat message depicted Aiden Fucci in the back seat of a patrol car taking a selfie while holding up a peace sign in the reflective panel of the patrol car divider. Within the Snapchat message was a text banner reading, "Hey guys has anybody seen Tristyn lately." The message appeared to have been forwarded at least twice, and included additional text banners reading "Wtf Aiden" and "You were with her Aiden u know what happened to her."
Hannon notified the chain of command and the investigative team of the Snapchat message and requested through the patrol supervisor Aiden's cellphone be seized as it possibly contained evidence related to this investigation.
4:50 p.m.: 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 Tristyn.
5:02 p.m.: Authorities were able to open the AT&T exigent call and text detail records for Tristyn. These records indicated Tristyn's last outgoing call was on May 7, 2021, at approximately 9 p.m., from 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 Tristyn was discovered missing.
5:10 p.m.: Detective Peluso conducted audio-recorded interviews with the Bailey family. The Bailey family stated they were unaware of Tristyn sneaking out prior to this incident. Detective Peluso advised she was informed of additional information that Tristyn may have been involved in an illegal activity and was afraid she would be caught and wanted to run away.
5:15 p.m.: Detective Kenneth Carter and Detective James Giammarinaro canvassed Cloisterbane Drive for possible witnesses and video surveillance.
6:00 p.m.: Detective Toubaili conducted an audio-recorded interview with Katerina Cox via phone. Katerina advised there was a video circulating on social media regarding a subject named "Tre" encouraging a female named "Lola" to sneak out on the night of May 8. Katerina advised "Lola" stated she was unable to sneak out, but "Tre" also contacted Tristyn to encourage her to sneak out that same night.
6:06 p.m.: The sheriff's office received a call from Daniel Hart, who advised he located what appeared to be a deceased female, later identified as Tristyn Bailey. Deputy Robert Neigebauer pronounced Tristyn dead at 6:15 p.m.
Tristyn 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. Tristyn was lying on her right side with her head pointed to the east looking north and her feet pointed to the west. Tristyn's right leg was bent slightly at the knee and her left leg was bent at a 90-degree angle at the knee. Tristyn's right arm was extended with a slight bend at the elbow and her left arm was bent at the elbow with her hand touching her chin. Tristyn was wearing a black Victoria Secret shirt with the word PINK on the front, black Nike brand sweatpants and black and white slip-on Vans brand shoes.
Tristyn's hair appeared to be matted and red in color, which appeared to be blood. Tristyn had multiple sharp force injury wounds on her hands, arms, neck and appeared to have additional sharp force trauma injuries to her back, evident by the holes in her shirt.
In the immediate vicinity, Crime Scene Technician Marilyn Butts located a gold-toned ring, a cellphone later identified as Tristyn's phone, a $20 bill and a pink vape device.
Butts advised she located a possible shoe impression within the wooded area, as well as a Powerade bottle near the pond. Butts said she did not locate any other items of possible evidentiary value, nor did she observe any suspicious circumstances around the scene.
Butts collected the cellphone after processing the scene, which was later transferred to Detective David Causey with Digital Forensics to be processed.
6:31 p.m.: Detective Carver conducted an interview with Daniel Hart, who located Tristyn. Hart stated he searched the wooded area and pond near his house after returning from a run. While searching the area, he located what appeared to be a deceased female and immediately called 911 without getting near the body.
6:40 p.m.: Detective Thompson responded to Aiden's home located on Castledale Court in reference to securing the residence. Deputies Ralph Papovitch and Alan Daniels were already at the home and advised no one was there. The residence was secured with crime scene tape pending the application of a search warrant.
7:00 p.m. Detective Toubaili responded to 25 Ninewells Lane, which was listed as Aiden's home of record with Patriot Oaks. Upon arrival, he met with the homeowner, Andy Akel who advised he was the cousin of Aiden's step-father, Michael Akel. Andy stated Aiden did not have a bedroom or any belongings at this residence. Andy advised he allowed Aiden's parents to use his address to register Aiden at Patriot Oaks Academy. The residence was secured until a determination could be reached to release the residence.
8:00 p.m. Deputy Parker Harvey responded to the north amenities center and transported Aiden to the SJSO Central Investigations Division. Detective Holland conducted an interview with Doffis III father, Doffis Absher Jr. at Telford Drive.
Doffis Jr. stated his son Doffis III was friends with Aiden and knows Aiden's family. Doffis Jr. advised he does not know and has never met Tristyn. Doffis Jr. said he woke his son up at around 7 a.m. that morning and learned Aiden came over to the house overnight and hung out for a while.
Doffis Jr. also said that law enforcement came to his house at approximately 11 a.m. in reference to the missing juvenile investigation. Doffis Jr. stated after law enforcement left, Doffis III advised Tristyn was also over during the night.
Doffis Jr. advised his house has security cameras, however, Doffis III knows the locations of the cameras and normally sneaks out of the house, out of view of the cameras.
8:30 p.m.:
Deputy Maloney said while conducting a pat-down for weapons of Aiden at the North Amenities Center, he located a blue-handled folding knife. Deputy Maloney advised he inspected the knife, but did not observe anything suspicious about it, and turned the knife over to Aiden's father, Jason Fucci.
Jason was contacted and advised he placed the knife on the bumper of his truck and forgot to retrieve it before leaving the north amenities center, further advising it may have fallen off of his bumper somewhere. Detective Kermit Kidder responded to the amenities center in reference to searching the area for a knife but was unable to locate one.
8:49 p.m.:
Aiden was delivered to CID and placed in Interview Room 2 which was both audio and video recorded. Aiden's father, Jason, and mother, Crystal Smith, were present in the room with Aiden.
While inside the interview, both of his parents made several comments advising Aiden not to speak about any possible involvement he may have had, and also advised Aiden the room was being recorded.
Crystal and Jason asked Aiden questions about the incident, which Aiden answered. They also advised Aiden not to speak until his attorney arrived.
Crystal then advised Aiden the girl, referring to Tristyn, was found in their neighborhood, down the "main street." Aiden asked, "Is she good?" Crystal responded, "No, she's dead. That's why this is very important. It's all on you right now."
Aiden responded, "How is it my problem?" Crystal and Jason both advised Aiden he was the last one seen with her. Crystal and Jason both told Aiden the Snapchat he posted in the back of the police car was not a smart idea and they have been receiving threats because of it.
Jason asked Aiden if he had any scrapes or anything on him. Aiden responded, "No sir."
Jason asked Aiden if he told police anything different, which neither he nor Crystal knew. Aiden stated he did not. Aiden then explained he told the police Tristyn probably got picked up by her drug dealer. Additionally, Aiden advised Tristyn was not going to go home and was going to find someone to stay with.
Crystal continued asking about where Tristyn went after Aiden left her. Aiden stated she probably kept walking. Jason interjected and stated Aiden pushed her down then kept walking. Jason then cut himself off and stated, "We probably shouldn't be talking in here."
Jason then stated "You walked away. You came straight home. You didn't turn back around to see where she went?" Aiden shook his head no. Jason then asked, "What were you doing outside that late at night?" Aiden stated he was at Doffis' house hanging out.
Jason asked, "Did you kiss or do anything with them?" Aiden stated he kissed Tristyn and denied doing anything further. Jason then asked, "So your DNA is going to be on her?" Aiden did not respond. Jason stated "We saw your shoes were off on the camera. Why were your shoes off?" Aiden responded "Because my feet were hurting. And those shoes give me blisters."
Crystal asked Aiden if he came home then snuck back out again, or if he was at Doffis' house the whole day. Aiden stated he did not sneak back out and was at Doffis' house the whole day.
Jason advised, because of the Snapchat Aiden and Doffis took in the back of the police car, people on social media believed Aiden and Doffis raped and murdered Tristyn. Aiden did not respond.
Crystal asked Jason if Aiden was going to be kept with the police. Jason stated he did not know, there was no evidence he knew of and asked Aiden if he knew anything he did not know of. Crystal asked Aiden if Tristyn really grabbed him and he pushed her. Aiden stated Tristyn did grab him.
Jason asked if Aiden knew what happened after he pushed her, Aiden stated no.
Crystal asked if Tristyn said "Ow" or got mad. Aiden stated Tristyn yelled out his name, he pushed her, told her to "F off," and he walked away. Aiden stated Tristyn 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 indicated "No." Crystal advised Aiden their house was being searched.
Jason asked Aiden why he was damp or wet when he got home. Aiden said he was wet due to water from a cup that he spilled on himself. Jason pressed Aiden on how he was wet. Aiden stated he fell.
8:59 p.m.:
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 advised they were going to wait until their attorney arrived.