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ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The 14-year-old accused of killing his 13-year-old schoolmate Tristyn Bailey earlier this month was ordered to be held without bond in his first court appearance Friday morning on a first-degree murder charge in her death.
Aiden Fucci, 14, will be tried as an adult in the stabbing death of Bailey, State Attorney R.J. Larizza announced Thursday.
Fucci, who was initially charged with second-degree murder, appeared virtually before a judge in St. Johns County court on the upgraded charge Friday morning. He is expected to be arraigned on the upgraded charge within a week. His public defender did not object to the judge’s order that Fucci be held without bond but said a motion for bond might be filed later.
Bond is not typically granted in first-degree murder cases.
RELATED: State attorney: Tristyn Bailey stabbed 114 times
Fucci had been in custody at the Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Daytona Beach since his arrest on May 10. The first-degree murder indictment now filed against Fucci automatically transfers a juvenile case to adult court, so Fucci was re-arrested and moved to the jurisdiction of adult court, which is protocol in cases like this.
Larizza gave an update on the case Thursday afternoon, saying investigators have collected a large amount of evidence in the case, including the suspected murder weapon and Bailey’s DNA that was found on shoes and a T-shirt located in Fucci’s bedroom.
Larizza said Bailey was stabbed 114 times and a knife believed to belong to Fucci was found in a pond near where Bailey’s body was found.
“The executive team and I reviewed all the facts, all the circumstances, the applicable law and it was not a difficult decision to make that he should be charged as an adult,” Larizza said. “It’s a sad decision and a sad state of affairs, but it was clear to us after we looked at what happened that it was not only appropriate to charge the defendant as an adult, but it was really the only choice that we could make.”
Larizza added that Fucci made statements to friends that he planned to kill someone by taking them into the woods and stabbing them.
Fucci is the lone suspect in Bailey’s murder.
MORE: Teen accused of killing Tristyn Bailey will now be represented by public defender
On Monday, a circuit judge appointed the Public Defender’s Office to take over the case after Fucci’s private attorney, Anwar Snober, withdrew for unknown reasons. A judge found Fucci’s parents indigent and unable to pay for a private lawyer. Assistant Public Defender Joshua Mosley is the attorney assigned to represent Fucci.
Bailey’s body was found on Mother’s Day near a retention pond in a cul-de-sac in the Durbin Crossing subdivision, less than a half-mile from Fucci’s home, according to an arrest report. The discovery was made by a neighbor out for a walk around 6 p.m., roughly eight hours after Bailey’s family called 911 to report her missing.
Earlier this month, thousands of community members signed change.org petitions, asking the State Attorney’s Office and Gov. Ron DeSantis to charge Fucci as an adult and with first-degree murder.
After Larizza’s announcement Thursday, Bailey’s family issued a statement:
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May 28, 2021 at 06:42PM
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No bond for Aiden Fucci on first-degree murder charge in Tristyn Bailey case - WJXT News4JAX
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