Tristyn Bailey’s family speaks after guilty plea of her killer

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The family of Tristyn Bailey issued an emotional statement Monday following the guilty plea of the St. Johns County teenager who stabbed her to death.

Aiden Fucci’s murder trial was set to begin Monday morning with jury selection. Fucci, who was 15 at the time of the crime, is accused of murdering Tristyn, 13, in May 2021. 

Because Fucci pleaded guilty to murder prior to jury selection, there will be no trial and sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

“Foremost, we would like to give thanks to God. Since this nightmare began, we have had the love and support of so many,” said ‘The Bailey 7’ in a statement. “We know so many have lifted Tristyn, our family, and her friends up in prayer. The members of our community have been simply exceptional in the support they have given us.”

The statement continues, “This morning’s surprise change of plea brings our family significant relief. With the detailed and exemplary investigative work of the Saint Johns County Sheriff’s Office, along with the trial preparation by the 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, we are confident that the jury would have returned a guilty verdict. Just as Tristyn fought for her life, we equally fought for her and would not agree to any plea deal. We were fully aligned with the Prosecutor in rejecting the proposed plea deals mentioned by the Public Defender during the plea hearing.” 

(You can read the full statement from the family below.)

“Today was a major event in this case,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said of the case. “We still have work to do and we will be diligently preparing for the sentencing hearing to hold the defendant accountable for his actions. We will be seeking the maximum sentence available under law – a life sentence.” 

There is a status hearing scheduled for Feb. 23 at 9 a.m. At that time, the Honorable Judge Lee Smith is expected to set a sentencing date. 

Fucci still faces up to life in prison for the crime. 

Tristyn was reported missing on May 9, 2021. Her family noticed she was missing when her siblings came to wake her up for Mother’s Day breakfast and discovered she wasn’t there. 

The last time her family saw her was shortly after midnight, but surveillance video had picked up video of what appeared to be Tristyn as late as 1:45 a.m.

By the evening of May 9, her body was found near a retention pond by a neighbor who was on a run in a wooded area. 

It was later revealed that Tristyn was found with 114 stab wounds. Many of them were defensive — “she was fighting for her life,” he said.

RELATED: What we know about Aiden Fucci: 10 essential facts about the accused teen killer

Full statement from ‘The Bailey 7’:

Foremost, we would like to give thanks to God. Since this nightmare began, we have had the love and support of so many. We know so many have lifted Tristyn, our family, and her friends up in prayer. The members of our community have been simply exceptional in the support they have given us.

This morning’s surprise change of plea brings our family significant relief. With the detailed and exemplary investigative work of the Saint Johns County Sheriff’s Office, along with the trial preparation by the 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, we are confident that the jury would have returned a guilty verdict. Just as Tristyn fought for her life, we equally fought for her and would not agree to any plea deal. We were fully aligned with the Prosecutor in rejecting the proposed plea deals mentioned by the Public Defender during the plea hearing.

Today is an important milestone in the journey of Justice for Tristyn. As mentioned, we would not be at this point without the dedicated efforts of so many. 

We know that it has been a team effort to which so many have contributed. On behalf of Tristyn and our family, thank you. We cannot say enough about R.J. Larizza’s team at the State Attorney’s Office. Your tireless efforts, professionalism, and support demonstrate your commitment to justice for our community.

We wish we could thank everyone by name, and there will be a time for that, but there are a few people we want to thank individually. 

To begin, we are blessed to have Jennifer Dunton as our lead prosecutor. Throughout the process, she has been extremely respectful of our family whilst being keenly focused on delivering Justice. Mrs. Dunton – thank you for all your efforts to this point. We never questioned what the outcome would be with her thorough preparation. Along with fellow prosecutor Mark Johnson, we have no doubt that Mrs. Dunton and Mr. Johnson would have been successful in getting a guilty verdict in any Florida courtroom. We have faith in their abilities in the upcoming sentencing phase.

This case was built off the exceptional work of the Saint Johns County Sheriff’s Office led by Sheriff Rob Hardwick. We were immediately given confidence in the case being built by Sergeant Kurt Hannon who was the lead during the criminal investigation. We know his updates were representative of the entire SJSO: our sincere thanks to them all. In addition to Sergeant Hannon, we cannot express enough thanks to our victim’s advocate, Ashley Mitchell. We don’t know how we would navigate this without you.

The partnership between the SJSO and 7th Circuit SAO, along with the collaborative efforts of the FDLE and Duval Corrections office, have reflected amazing cooperation between government agencies. Again, we are thankful for everyone that has contributed in the journey of getting Justice for Tristyn. Of special note, we extend our thanks to the families of these agencies as we know they have made many sacrifices as well.

For the incredible community support we have received, we remain committed to reflecting on the kind and good deeds in honor of Tristyn’s spirit. With the backing of our community, neighborhood, counselors, friends, and family, we have been able to endure the nearly two years since Tristyn was taken from us while managing to share her cheer: “We got this!”

This is obviously not over yet. There is still a sentencing phase that our family must endure. Make no mistake, the most important things to our family at this time are justice and Tristyn’s legacy. As the judicial process continues, we will have more to say publicly. However, we must respect the judicial process so we ask that the media and the community continue to respect that process and our family’s privacy. On this note, we would like to express our thanks and gratitude to attorney Matthew H. Hinson who has stepped in to serve as our representative for all media contacts and inquiries. Thank you all, again.