JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (Warning: The photos below may be disturbing to some.)
First Coast News has obtained photos of what deputies say is the weapon that 13-year-old Aiden Fucci used to stab classmate Tristyn Bailey over a hundred times.
Tristyn's body was discovered on Mother's Day, May 9, 2021, after she was reported missing for hours. The next day, Fucci was arrested and charged with her death.
A police report says the knife was found in a retention pond next to where the murder occurred.
It says the knife was identified as the murder weapon because the missing tip of the blade was found by the Medical Examiner during an autopsy, lodged in Bailey’s scalp.
Photos of knife
According to investigative reports, Fucci’s friend told an investigator that he had two knives, nicknamed “Picker” and “Poker,” and that on one occasion he put a knife to her throat and pretended to slit it.
Less than a month before the murder, she said Fucci told her he was going to find someone walking at night, drag them into the woods and stab them.
Photos were also released Friday of Fucci after he was taken into custody.
The images of are Fucci's hands, arms, back and chest. Some of them appear to include minor abrasions.
Photos of Aiden Fucci
Soon after the photos were released, the family of Tristyn Bailey released a statement to members of the media:
"Foremost, we would like to express our gratitude for the privacy and respect that the media has provided our family since the tragic day in 2021. We are also extremely thankful for the community support provided to date. We understand that there will be a greater desire for information from us during the upcoming trial, but graciously ask that the media and community continue to respect our privacy.
Until further notice, our family friend and attorney, Matthew H. Hinson, will be our point of contact for all media inquiries. This will enable our family to focus on one another and on Tristyn, while providing members of the media with a contact for their requests in the coming weeks. It is our intent to have no further comments until the conclusion of the trial."
Fucci faces a first-degree murder charge in the crime. He is being charged as an adult and has pleaded not guilty, but he is not facing the death penalty.
Only six people will be selected to serve on the jury, rather than 12. According to Florida law, 12 people should form a jury in all capital cases, but six people make up a jury for all other criminal cases. While Fucci is charged with first-degree murder, a motion argues that because he was 14 years old at the time of Bailey's death, it is not a capital case. Fucci cannot receive the death penalty if he is found guilty; he can be sentenced to life in prison.
Bailey, a cheerleader from the Durbin Crossing neighborhood in St. Johns County, was murdered Mother's Day weekend in 2021. Her autopsy report shows she was stabbed 114 times.
According to jail records, Fucci has been extorting and threatening other teen inmates at the Duval County Jail, where he is being housed, although his trial will take place in St. Johns County, and has been pepper sprayed by officers twice. Fucci's former cellmate claims Fucci said he was tougher than other teen inmates who'd shot their victims to death, bragging that he'd stabbed a girl face to face.
First Coast News will be covering the trial gavel to gavel.