JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The investigation into the violent stabbing death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey in North Florida has been dominating the news cycle for the past few days.
So far there has been one arrest and several developments that deputies say have been critical to the case.
Here are five things you need to know regarding the investigation and where it currently stands.
1. Who, what, when and where?
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrested Aiden Fucci, 14, on second-degree murder charges in the death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.
Bailey was last seen around 1:15 a.m. at the Durbin Amenity Center. She was reported missing to authorities around 10 a.m. and after some time had passed, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined search efforts.
Neighbors, teammates, and deputies had been searching for the teen all day before the sheriff's office called off the search at around 6 p.m. when they announced that Bailey's body had been found in a wooded area near a retention pond in the neighborhood.
Fucci was taken into custody early Monday morning.
2. What was the cause of death?
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office says 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey's death was caused by "sharp force trauma by stabbing," according to a news release Tuesday.
"It has now been determined by Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Predrag Bulic that the cause of death is sharp force trauma by stabbing," the release says. "The manner of death is homicide. We will continue to investigate this case fully and will begin transitioning this case to the State Attorney's Office."
The state attorney’s office confirms Tristyn was stabbed more than once. St.Johns County, Sheriff Rob Hardwick says he hopes his team has collected the murder weapon, but deputies won't know that until forensics come back.
It's not clear what the weapon is exactly.
Bailey was found fully clothed and deputies say there is no indication of sexual assault at this time.
3. What evidence do deputies have?
An arrest report obtained by First Coast News sheds new light on the circumstances police say surrounded the violent stabbing death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.
An investigation led deputies to Fucci, although it's not clear how, and deputies say he provided an initial statement. Deputies say Fucci later changed his story several times and made several "admissions."
The arrest report says that deputies were able to get ahold of a security video that showed two teens walking east on Saddlestone Drive around 1:45 a.m. The video later showed just one person walking west around 3:27 a.m.
The report says a search warrant was executed on Fucci's home where officers found clothes that tested positive for the presence of blood.
4. Will Fucci be charged as an adult?
It's unclear at this point if Aiden Fucci will be tried as an adult for the murder of Tristyn Bailey. Florida law leaves it up to the state attorney's office to decide if children are tried as an adult under discretionary criteria.
Fucci appeared in court Tuesday morning, where a judge found "probable cause" that an act of delinquency occurred by Fucci, and because of that, ordered him to remain in custody for 21 days or until further order of the court. So far, the state attorney's office has not determined whether Fucci will be tried as an adult.
If children are given juvenile sanctions, they could be kept in custody until their 21st birthday.
5. Does social media come into play?
A selfie taken by Aiden made the rounds on social media.
The Snapchat photo appears to show Fucci in the backseat of a police cruiser holding up a peace sign with the caption "Hey guys has inybody seen Tristyn lately."
A high-ranking law enforcement source confirmed the photo's legitimacy to First Coast News. The photo has sparked outrage on social media, with many people adding their own critical comments to the picture as it circulated.
Also sparking outrage have been reports of social media troll accounts appearing to show support for Fucci and disparage Tristyn. Many viewers have shared screenshots of the posts with First Coast News, and several of those accounts seem to have been suspended from their platforms.
Tuesday, the sheriff's office shared a community alert regarding the troll activity to its Facebook page, saying that the individuals behind those accounts "had nothing to do with this incident."