JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The St. Johns County teen accused of murdering his middle school classmate claims he is enduring “ongoing torture” at the Duval County Jail.
A new motion filed by Aiden Fucci's attorney says he has been held in solitary confinement for much of his time at the jail. The motion calls solitary "a form of cruel and unusual punishment," which "will result in psychological harm."
Fucci, who's charged as an adult in the stabbing death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey, is being held in solitary due to “threats of violence against [him] in May 2022; and previously for a disciplinary action in January 2022, and suicidal ideations in 2021."
Fucci was 14 when he was arrested in May 2021 after Bailey's body was discovered hours after she was reported missing by her family. She'd been stabbed 114 times.
The motion says Fucci has been in confinement "for over 400 days of pretrial detention; with three exceptions where he was in general population for a total of 129 days that ended on May 16, 2022." The motion does not detail the threats made against him.
According to the motion, Fucci's confinement means he is "alone in a cell for 24 hours a day, denied access to any form of group recreation either indoor or outdoor, denied access to group education [and] not allowed to eat meals outside of his cell."
The motion says "on occasion [he] will participate in a video conference call with family members and a few times a month he will meet with a member of his criminal defense team."
Fucci's mother, Crystal Smith, is also charged in connection with the crime. Prosecutors claim she tampered with evidence when she allegedly tried to wash blood off his jeans.
The motion asks the judge to move him to a different facility or ask jail officials to house him in a less restrictive setting. Prosecutors have not yet filed a response to the motion.