The St. Johns County Sheriff has revealed more about the “cold-blooded” killing of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey, who was found dead Sunday evening, hours after her family reported her missing.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, also of St. Johns County, Florida, was arrested earlier this week and charged with second-degree murder in Bailey’s death. The suspect and victim were reportedly seen walking together in the early hours of Sunday morning. Two hours later, the boy was seen walking alone, carrying his white shoes. He reportedly told police he was carrying the shoes because “his feet hurt.”
A local resident found Bailey’s body Sunday evening near a pond in a wooded area, reportedly less than a quarter-mile from Fucci’s home. Fucci and Bailey reportedly attended the same school and grew up in the same neighborhood. In autopsy findings announced Tuesday, a medical examiner determined that Bailey died of sharp blunt-force trauma, with homicide as the manner of death.
In an interview with News4Jax.com, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick indicated that the victim had been stabbed a large number of times, but declined to say how many stab wounds she had.
“… I don’t wanna mention the number of times, but it is horrific. It is horrible,” Hardwick told the news station. “And the word accident is nowhere involved in this case.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Fucci appears to have taken a selfie while in the back of a police squad car, and posted it to Snapchat with the message, “Hey has anybody seen Tristyn lately.” The sheriff’s office confirmed that the photo and social media post are part of the investigation.
In the interview with News4Jax.com, Hardwick said that Fucci is the only suspect investigators have in Bailey’s murder. In a news conference on Monday, Hardwick said that police are interviewing multiple witnesses, though it is unclear if any were present at the scene or scenes of the crime.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive.
”We’re going to look at every aspect, every crime that’s out there. Our guys and girls are going to leave no stone unturned,” Hardwick said. “So those facts will come forward as the office of the medical examiner will actually complete their investigation.”
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