News4Jax is learning more about Aiden Fucci, the teen accused of murdering 13-year-old schoolmate Tristyn Bailey in her St. Johns County neighborhood over the weekend.
Aiden Fucci, 14, was arrested early Monday on suspicion of second-degree murder and booked into the St. Johns County jail. Fucci was transferred to the Volusia County Regional Detention Center, where a judge on Tuesday ordered him to be held in Department of Juvenile Justice custody for 21 days.
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St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said Fucci, a schoolmate of Bailey’s at Patriot Oaks Academy, is the lone suspect in her murder. No information about a possible motive in the case has been released.
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Bailey’s body was found Sunday evening near a retention pond in a cul-de-sac in the Durbin Crossing subdivision, less than a half-mile from Fucci’s home, according to his arrest report. The discovery was made by a neighbor out for a walk around 6 p.m., roughly eight hours after Bailey’s family called 911 to report her missing.
The medical examiner’s office determined Bailey, who had what investigators described as a “significant injury to hear head and other trauma,” was stabbed to death. Her death was ruled a homicide.
According to Fucci’s arrest report, the 14-year-old gave an initial statement to detectives but his story changed several times. Despite those inconsistencies, a deputy noted in the report that Fucci “ultimately made several admissions.” Exactly what Fucci told investigators was redacted from the report.
Based on Fucci’s statements and the discovery of Bailey’s body, investigators got a warrant to search his home, where they recovered “several items of evidentiary value,” the Sheriff’s Office said. According to the report, those items included articles of clothing, some of which tested positive for blood.
The report also shed light on surveillance video detectives reviewed as part of the investigation. Among the clips was footage from Durbin Crossing’s North Amenity Center, which showed two people matching Fucci’s and Bailey’s descriptions walking about 1:14 a.m. Sunday.
Detectives also recovered surveillance video from a home along Saddlestone Drive, which showed the pair walking east on Saddlestone about 1:45 a.m., according to the report. A little less than two hours later, the camera captured only one individual walking west and carrying a pair of shoes.
It’s not yet clear if Fucci will be charged as an adult in the case. A spokesperson for the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office said the agency will be working with the Sheriff’s Office to determine which charges are appropriate and whether Fucci will be treated as an adult.
Saying investigators are continuing to work the early stages of what is still an active investigation, Sheriff Hardwick said the Sheriff’s Office would limit the details it released in an effort to preserve the integrity of the case.