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Moment Aiden Fucci, 16, learns he will spend the rest of his life in prison for stabbing 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey 114 times to death
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office / First Coast News

Moment Aiden Fucci, 16, learns he will spend the rest of his life in prison for stabbing 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey 114 times to death

A Florida 16 year old was sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of a 13-year-old girl.

On May 10, 2021, then-14-year-old Aiden Fucci was arrested for the murder of 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey.

Bailey and Fucci were schoolmates at Patriot Oaks Academy in Saint Johns, Florida. Less than a mile from Fucci's home, the seventh-grade student's mutilated body was found near a retention pond on Mother's Day, May 9, 2021.

Before his arrest, Fucci posted a photo on social media of himself near a police vehicle with the caption: "Hey guys has anybody seen Tristyn lately."

Bailey was stabbed 114 times. Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith said the teenage girl suffered 49 defensive wounds, 35 wounds to her head and neck, and 29 to her back and shoulder.

Smith told the courtroom, "Tristyn Bailey was conscious, she was aware and she was doing everything she could to fend off this attack. She suffered a painful, horrifying death from someone that she trusted. Her screams were most likely stifled by her own suffocating lungs."

On Wednesday, Bailey's family detailed the heartache they have endured following the murder of Tristyn. Siblings of Tristyn dropped 114 teal-colored stones into a glass jar to represent each time Fucci stabbed their younger sister.

Tristyn's sister Alexis Bailey told the courtroom, "Aiden Fucci didn’t just take Tristyn’s life that day, he took everything from us."

"I have nightmares about that moment. In my dreams, I try and reach out and grab her, beg her to spend the night, anything to prevent what happened just hours later," Alexis Bailey said. "Yet, every time, the door closes before I can get to her."

She added, "Our family broke that day, and I don’t recognize any of us anymore."

Tristyn's sister Brittney Bailey Russell – who was on her honeymoon when her sister went missing – said during the hearing, "Agony isn’t painful enough. Shattered to the core doesn’t crumble like how I feel. Infuriated doesn’t even come close to touching the amount of rage I find myself trapped in. And let me tell you, justice is just a word for comfort. It doesn’t bring her back,” she said.

Forest Bailey, Tristyn’s father, said on Friday, "Tristyn, I wanted to let you know we are so extremely proud of the person that you were in your time here. We have seen that when you went out into the world, you gave it your very best. You should be proud of the friend that you were, the teammate that you were, and what you left behind and the people that knew you that we trust will go forward and continue to make the world a better place."

Slain Cheerleader’s Siblings Tear Apart Aiden Fucci in Powerful Victim Impact Statementswww.youtube.com

In February, Fucci pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Fucci faced a minimum 40 years.

On Friday, Judge R. Lee Smith sentenced Fucci to life in prison. Fucci was not eligible for the death penalty because he was a juvenile when he committed the crime. Fucci's case may be reviewed by a judge in 25 years, according to Florida law.

Smith said, "This crime had no motive. There was no reason. There was no purpose. It was done for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant’s internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone."

A stone-faced Fucci stood in the courtroom as the judge informed him that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

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Moment Aiden Fucci learns he will spend the rest of life in prison for murder of Tristyn Baileywww.youtube.com

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