Aiden Fucci sentence: How many years for first-degree murder?
AIDEN Fucci, who was convicted of murdering 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey, was sentenced on Friday, March 24, 2023.
The 16-year-old learned his fate in court less than two years after Bailey's death.
How many years will Aiden Fucci serve?
Aiden Fucci was charged as the only suspect in the murder of his classmate.
The 16-year-old’s upgraded charge of first-degree murder was first announced on May 27, 2021, after a grand jury met for a secret meeting earlier in the day.
The first-degree murder charges automatically moved the case to an adult court.
Fucci faced a preliminary hearing and later plead guilty.
He was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, March 24, 2023.
He had previously been charged as a juvenile with second-degree murder in Trystin's death.
On May 27, 2021, a judge also allowed Fucci's original attorney to withdraw from the case.
The move came after his father, Jason Fucci, a convicted child abuser, was granted indigency status by a judge, having initially been rejected.
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Jacksonville attorney Anwar Snober withdrew as Fucci's counsel.
The teen was then represented by the public defender's office.
Why were the charges against Aiden Fucci upgraded?
On May 27, 2021, Florida State Attorney RJ Larizza held a press conference to confirm that Fucci will be tried as an adult.
He said it "brought him no pleasure to charge the then-14-year-old" with first-degree murder, but said the law and facts in the case "made it an easy decision to make".
The state attorney said it "would be an understatement" to describe Tristyn's murder as "horrific."
Among other grizzly details, he confirmed that Tristyn was stabbed 114 times, with 49 of those wounds sustained to her hands and arms.
Larizza described those wounds as "defensive", and said that Tristyn suffered them as she "fought for her life".
Larizza also confirmed that investigators recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon: a folding buck knife, which was recovered in a pond near Tristyn's body.
He said the blade was "missing a tip", which medical examiners found lodged in Tristyn's scalp.
Explaining the state's decision to charge Fucci with premeditated first-degree murder, the state attorney alleged that the teen earlier told friends he was planning to "take someone into the woods and stab them".
On the night of Tristyn's death, Larizza revealed that the pair had been hanging out with a few friends before they were eventually left alone together.
Will Fucci be up for review during his life sentence?
A person convicted of first-degree murder usually faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
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Fucci will likely be housed in an adult jail - though he'd be held separately from the general population.
Given that Fucci is a minor he will be eligible for a review at age 25.