Mom of 13-YO Cheerleader Who Was Stabbed by Her Classmate Confronts Killer | “You Have Destroyed My Family”

The family of the 13-year-old cheerleader who was murdered is pleading with the judge to sentence the killer to life in jail. On Mother's Day 2021, Tristyn Bailey, a pupil at Patriot Oaks Academy in St. Johns, Florida, was discovered dead in the woods close to her home. She had endured violent, horrific stabbings - 114 of them. Aiden Fucci, a classmate, admitted to killing her last month, pleading guilty, per PEOPLE.

The family made impassioned statements, testifying with a jar of 114 hearts, symbolizing the number of times their little girl was stabbed. Tristyn's mother requested that Judge R. Lee Smith of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court give Fucci the maximum punishment, which is life in prison, during a hearing for Fucci's sentencing on March 22. Stacy Bailey, the victim's mom, addressed the killer and said, "Aiden Fucci, you have destroyed me, you have destroyed my family, you have destroyed Tristyn's friends, you have destroyed the community we live in."

She added, "Your Honor, I plead with you, please consider everything he has done to our daughter and our family. Aiden Fucci made a heinous decision on May 9, 2021, and took the very life that I brought into this world. Please do not for one second think that he could be rehabilitated at any point. He is beyond saving."

"Visions flood my head how terrified she must have been," she said, according to The Florida Times-Union. "He continues to strike, over and over and over. These visions are embedded in my mind. I pray she passed out, but honestly with the number of defense wounds, I know she did not. She fought, and our beautiful daughter suffered for so long as he took no mercy in the 114 times he stabbed her."

Tristyn's father Forrest Bailey told Fucci at the hearing, "I want to be clear, your insincere apology is not accepted. At no point in time have I seen any remorse." Alexis Bailey, Tristyn's sibling, asked Fucci several questions while delivering her victim impact statement. "Did she see you coming at her with the knife or did you stab her while she wasn't paying attention? Did she beg you to stop? What were her last words? Did you stay to watch her die?" she reportedly asked.

Teegan Bailey, her brother, remembered spending Mother's Day weekend at their house. Since Tristyn's death, he has felt "guilt" because the siblings were viewing TV and he was in bed. "Every single day I can't help to wonder if had I slept on that couch instead or I had stayed up later, there's a possibility my little sister could still be alive today."

Fucci confessed to the crime several times after his arrest on May 10, 2021. Authorities claimed they discovered a hunting knife thought to be the murder instrument in a nearby pond along with his bloodied clothing. Crystal Smith, Fucci's mother, is accused of tampering with evidence in her son's homicide case by purportedly washing blood off his pants. A friend of the family has also set up a GoFundMe to aid the family in this "senseless tragedy." 

On Friday, March 24, 16-year-old Aiden Fucci was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of 13-year-old cheerleader, Tristyn Bailey.

References:

https://people.com/crime/mother-cheerleader-tristyn-bailey-who-was-stabbed-to-death-says-family-was-destroyed/

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2023/03/22/tristyn-bailey-family-describes-torment-aiden-fucci-has-caused/70028989007/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/tristyn-bailey-memorial-fund

Cover Image Source: GoFundMe