Was Aiden Fucci tried as an adult for the murder of Tristyn Bailey?
A 16-year-old boy was charged for stabbing a classmate to death in Florida in a brutal 2021 murder.
On Friday, March 24, 2023, Aiden Fucci was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.
Was Aiden Fucci tried as an adult for the murder of Tristyn Bailey?
Fucci was initially charged with second-degree murder on May 10, 2021, one day after Tristyn's body was found.
However, he was ultimately charged with first-degree murder in a decision that came from a grand jury, which met in secret on May 27, 2021.
The teenager was tried as an adult.
The State Attorney called the decision to charge Fucci as an adult a "sad, but not difficult" choice in a press conference that took place on May 27, 2021.
that urged the State Attorney’s Office to charge Fucci as an adult gathered more than 700,000 signatures.
In May 2021, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said that "spontaneous statements" made by Fucci may be used against him when deciding whether to charge the teenager as an adult.
Was Aiden Fucci sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Tristyn Bailey?
On Friday, March 24, 2023, Fucci received a life sentence for the murder of Bailey, who was stabbed 114 times.
For years, Fucci insisted he was not guilty of the grisly crime.
Most read in The US Sun
However, on February 6, 2023, he plead guilty to Bailey's murder.
After admitting to killing Bailey, Fucci issued a short apology to her family.
He said in court: "I'm sorry to the Bailey family and to my family."
Fucci will be eligible for review in 25 years due to his young age when he committed the heinous crime.
Where was Tristyn Bailey last seen before her murder?
Bailey was last seen in St. Johns, Florida on the morning of May 9, 2021, and was reported missing by her family.
Her body was found that same day.
Fucci was a fellow student at her school.
Hardwick said during an interview with Fox News that "the suspect in the very beginning was very cooperative" when the situation was being dealt with as a missing person case.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The sheriff's office said that Bailey's body was found at the end of a retention pond and that she appeared to have significant injuries to her head and other trauma.