THE teenager accused of slaying Tristyn Bailey allegedly stabbed the cheerleader 114 times and will now be tried as an adult, prosecutors have revealed.
Aiden Fucci, 14, is now facing charges of premeditated first-degree murder in the brutal killing of 13-year-old Tristyn, Florida State Attorney RJ Larizza announced on Thursday.
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The decision to charge Fucci with first-degree murder came from a grand jury, which met in secret Thursday morning.
First-degree murder charges automatically move the case to adult court.
Fucci will now face adult penalties if convicted and even be housed in an adult jail - though he'd be held separately from the general population.
During Thursday's press conference, Larizza said it "brought him no pleasure to charge a 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."
He harrowingly announced 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 to 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, Larizza 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 says the pair had been hanging out with a few friends, before they were eventually left alone together.
Currently, prosecutors say that have no evidence suggest that Fucci specifically targeted Tristyn.
"This could just be a case of wrong place, wrong time," Larizza said.
None of the others who were with the pair the night Tristyn died are suspected of wrongdoing.
But the prosecutor voiced frustration that Fucci's alleged plans to commit homicide were "not taken seriously" when he confessed them to "several" of his peers.
"Could this have been prevented? We can't be sure," he said, adding that the murder should serve as a cautionary tale to parents that they "need to know what your kids are doing and saying."
Larizza refused to disclose whether the killing was sexually motivated, or whether Tristyn had been sexually assaulted during the murder.
He did however disclose that investigators found Fucci's DNA on Tristyn's body.
They also found Tristyn's DNA on shoes and a t-shirt found in Fucci's bedroom, Larizza said.
"Premeditation can be inferred from just the sheer number of stab wounds that Tristyn Bailey had to suffer. Every time that arm went back, and every time that arm went down, that was premeditation ... it happened 228 times," Larizza said.
"It's not just the fact she was stabbed 114 times - it's also information that we were able to glean from witnesses.
"The defendant made statements to several people that he intended to kill someone. He didn't say who that was but he indicated that he was going to kill someone by taking them into the woods and stabbing them which are certainly the facts of this case."
He later added of Tristyn: "She was fighting for her life. It's just sad that we even have to talk about that."
Fucci, 14, had previously been.
He was arrested on May 10 just hours after her body was found by a pond.
More than 700,000 people had signed an online petition urging prosecutors to try Fucci as an adult for the brutal attack and upgrade his charges to murder in the first degree.
Prosecutors had until May 31st - or 21 days after the date of his arrest - to decide whether to try Fucci as an adult.
Had prosecutors declined, he wouldn't have legally been allowed to be held in jail past the age of 21.
Now Larizza says prosecutors will seek a life sentence without parole but added that Aiden would likely be able to appeal it due to a state-wide effort to reduce sentences for juveniles.
Should he be convicted and sentenced to life, Larizza said Fucci's case would be reviewed after 25 years where a judge could either decide to reduce his sentence or release him.
Tristyn Bailey’s family released a statement shortly after Larizza’s press conference, saying they “appreciate” the new charges against Fucci.
“We [also] greatly appreciate the tremendous community outpouring from all parts of the world. Particularly for those in St. Johns that have helped from the Mother’s Day search, the vigils, remembrances and memorials.
“With the press conference sharing details of this heinous crime, the caring and love shown from the people and businesses to raise up the memory of Tristyn and the resolve of our community serve as a beacon of light in the darkness.”
The family continued: “We do ask for your continued respect for our privacy as well as of Tristyn’s teammates and her school. As we move forward, we will seek to keep Tristyn’s memory alive and the spirit of the community.”
On Friday, a judge allowed Fucci's original attorney to withdraw from the case.
The move came after his father,, was granted indigency status by a judge, having initially been rejected.
Jacksonville attorney Anwar Snober withdrew as Fucci's counsel. The teen will now be represented by the public defender's office.
Bailey wasin a wooded area near her home in St. Johns County on May 9.
The country sheriff called her death a "cold-blooded murder", and said "the word accident is nowhere near involved in this case."
Within eight hours, Fucci, a classmate of Bailey's, was arrested by police.
Investigators say his story has changed multiple times since the beginning of the investigation, but claim he's made a number of admissions that were verified using surveillance footage and other pieces of evidence.
As news of the murder made headlines across the US, , appearing to show him holding up a peace sign in the back of a police car.
The caption to the image, which appeared to have been posted on Snapchat, read: "Hey guys has inybody (sic) seen Tristyn lately.”
Police confirmed the image was being reviewed as potential evidence in the case.
According to Fucci’s arrest report, surveillance footage shows two people matching his and Bailey’s description walking together at about 1.14am on Sunday.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera also reportedly shows the same pair walking along Saddlestone Drive, close to where Bailey’s body was found, about 30 minutes later.
One of the people in the footage was wearing black pants and a black shirt, the same clothes Bailey was wearing when her body was found in the pond the next day.
The other person was wearing shorts, a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, and white shoes with a black Nike logo.
The arrest report said only this person was seen walking away from the area at around 3.27am carrying the white shoes in their hand.
A search of his home also yielded "multiple items of evidenciary value" at Fucci's home, police said, including items of clothing that tested positive for the presence of blood.
The sheriff’s office has declined to release new information in the case.
“This is a cold-blooded murder by an individual who, I’m not even gonna give his name. He doesn’t even deserve for his name to be mentioned,” Sheriff Rob Hardwick said during a press conference earlier this month.
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"“This is a cold-blooded murder of a 13-year-old young girl who did not deserve to die.”
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Fucci currently remains in a state-run juvenile detention facility in Volusia County.
He is being held without bond.