Murdered cheerleader Tristyn Bailey's family breaks silence and blast her killer Aiden Fucci's mom for 'aiding crime'

FAMILY of a murdered cheerleader has blasted the mother of her killer who they say has "continuously failed to take responsibility."

Tristyn Bailey, 13, was stabbed 114 times by her classmate Aiden Fucci on May 9, 2021, near a retention pond in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Teen Fucci confessed to the murder in court and received a sentence of life in prison on March 24, 2023.

At sentencing, the Bailey family spoke out against the convicted teen's parents, Crystal Smith and Jason Fucci.

Smith, 35, was arrested on June 5, 2022, for allegedly "tampering with evidence," the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said at the time.

Surveillance footage from inside the mother's home showed her scrubbing a pair of her son's pants, which later tested positive for traces of blood, along with the drain in the sink, police said.

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Smith was in court on Tuesday for a motion hearing alongside her attorneys as the prosecution demanded that her defense team be barred from telling the jury that she would "have needed to destroy or damage evidence to be convicted," local NBC affiliate WTLV reported.

In response, Smith's attorneys filed a motion seeking to bar expert testimony claiming that it’s possible Smith's actions could have covered up DNA evidence.

The defense claimed that some samples taken from the jeans didn’t show sufficient DNA evidence.

Judge R. Lee Smith ruled that expert testimony regarding the possibility that Smith’s washing of the jeans could have covered up DNA evidence is permissible in court, WJXT reported.

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The judge did not issue a ruling regarding the prosecution's initial motion about whether the state must prove Smith destroyed DNA.

Overall, the Bailey family was disappointed at how the hearing went ahead of jury selection for Smith's trial on May 15, Court TV reported.

The said in a statement that the day in court had been "antagonizing, to say the least, and anger ridden as [Smith] has continuously failed to take responsibility.”

“We were hoping that a plea deal would be reached," the family said.

"This obviously would be a benefit to our family so that we can take our next step forward in focusing on the life and legacy of Tristyn."

The Baileys added: "We also strongly feel this would benefit the community, particularly the children who have had to endure these years of lost innocence replay over and over in their mind."

Fucci's father, Jason, has a criminal past and was in trouble with the law in the early 2000s.

It was reported that in January 2003, he was accused of child abuse, injury, and neglect.

In October of the same year, he was also arrested for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl at his home.

A year later, he was found guilty of the child abuse charges and was sentenced to one year and two months in prison.

Jason was also found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with the teen but was only sentenced to two years of probation.

Then, in 2016, the dad was arrested for battery following a fight at a gas station with a couple while his son was present.

Aiden initially pleaded not guilty to Tristyn's murder.

After years of maintaining his innocence, the 16-year-old killer reversed his not guilty plea on the first day of jury selection on February 6.

He also apologized in court.

“I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family,” he said.

Fucci was set to be tried as an adult on a first-degree murder charge after a grand jury met in secret on May 27, 2021.

HEARTBROKEN MOTHER

At the sentencing hearing in March, Bailey's mother, Stacy, spoke about how everything has changed since her daughter's death.

"I have watched the depression, the PTSD, the anxiety take over so many…I carry the weight of this on my shoulders every single day," she said in court.

Stacy went on to say that visions of what happened that fateful night on May 9, 2021 haunt her.

"These visions are embedded in my mind. … I pray she passed out, but honestly, with the amount of defense wounds, I know she did not," the mom said.

"She fought, and our beautiful daughter suffered for so long as he took no mercy in the 114 times he stabbed her."

She added: "My home, which was once where we all gathered in comfort, is now a place of hurt."

The mother later said that Fucci was "beyond saving" after his actions toward her daughter.

"Please do not think for one second he can be rehabilitated," Stacy said while turning to face the judge.

Bailey's older sister, Alexis, also took the stand in March to drop 114 stones in a jar in a heartbreaking act to represent the number of times Fucci stabbed her younger sibling.

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