JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Aiden Fucci's mother is expected to enter a plea in the evidence tampering case against her during a Friday hearing, according to court documents.
Crystal Smith is charged with evidence tampering for allegedly washing blood out her son’s jeans hours after he fatally stabbed his 13-year-old classmate Tristyn Bailey 114 times.
A felony plea and sentence hearing is scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m. Jury selection for Smith's trial was previously expected to begin next week.
Her son, Aiden Fucci, is currently serving a life prison sentence for the May 2021 murder.
According to deputies’ reports, when Smith was with Fucci in the Sheriff’s Office interrogation room shortly after the incident and advised him to “find his story and stick with it.”
Reports say she also “attempted to convince him” he was wearing khakis the night of the murder, rather than the allegedly bloody blue jeans.
The reports say Smith whispered the word “blood” to him as if to remind him the pants were not clean.
Fucci was booked into prison last month following an emotional sentencing hearing. He was booked into the Suwannee Correctional Institution which is located at 5964 U.S. Highway 90 in Live Oak, Florida.
The life sentence came after the 16-year-old pleaded guilty to murder prior to jury selection in February.