Aiden Fucci faces a charge of first degree murder. He is charged as an adult and has not pleaded guilty, but does not face the death penalty.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in the murder case of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey.
Her killer, former classmate Aiden Fucci, is expected to go to court next week. Jury selection begins Monday.
Fucci faces a charge of first degree murder. He is charged as an adult and has not pleaded guilty, but does not face the death penalty.
Only six people will be selected to serve on the jury, rather than 12. According to Florida law, 12 people should form a jury in all capital cases, but six people make up the jury for all other criminal cases . While Fucci is charged with first-degree murder, a motion argues that because he was 14 at the time of Bailey’s death, it is not a capital case. Fucci cannot receive the death penalty if convicted; he can be sentenced to life in prison.
Bailey, a cheerleader from the Durbin Park neighborhood in St. John’s County, was murdered. Johns, Mother’s Day weekend in 2021. Her autopsy report shows she was stabbed 114 times.
According to jail records, Fucci has been extorting and threatening other juvenile inmates at the Duval County Jail, where he is being held although his trial will be held in St. Johns County, and officers have twice pepper sprayed . Fucci’s former cellmate claims Fucci said he was tougher than other teenage inmates who had shot their victims to death, boasting that he had stabbed a girl in the face.
Jacksonville criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson, who is not involved in this case, said Fucci’s alleged confession could be used against him in the trial.
“It’s not a violation of any 5th amendment right,” Johnson said. “It’s not made by law enforcement, it wasn’t made in response to questions, it was an unsolicited statement that can absolutely be used against him.”
Jail records state that Fucci was pepper-sprayed by officers last October when he refused to remove contraband books in his cell. A report from January last year states that Fucci extorted commissioners from other prisoners by threatening and intimidating them. Records also show that Fucci was removed from the general population after making repeated threats against inmates and other officers.
The final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 1:30 Wednesday afternoon in St. Johns County. First Coast News will be covering the Givel to Given trial.
Today: final pre-trial hearing in the case of the murder of 13y/o #TristynBailey
Jury selection for her former classmate Aiden Fucci’s trial begins Monday.
-The jury will be 6 people-Fucci does not face the death penalty-Fucci’s ex cellmate claims he bragged about stabbing@FCN2go pic.twitter.com/HWhxa5htcx
