“I just want to say I plead guilty and I’m sorry for the Bailey family and my family,” 16yo Florida girl confessed killing her friend

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — A Florida teen admitted Monday that he killed a 13-year-old classmate by stabbing him 114 times in 2021.

Aiden Fucci, who was 14 when Tristyn Bailey was killed, was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said that Aiden Fucci’s trial for first-degree murder was set to start on Monday morning, when a jury would be chosen.

Fucci, who is 16 years old, told the judge in St. Augustine, Florida, on Monday morning, “I just want to say I’m sorry to the Bailey family and my own family, and I’m sorry I did what I did.”

The judge agreed to the deal, and Fucci will be sentenced at a later date. He could go to prison for life.

On Mother’s Day in 2021, the girl’s family reported her missing. Her body was found in the woods after a day-long search. Evidence, including video surveillance, led investigators to Fucci. He was first charged with second-degree murder, but because the crime was so bad, the charge was changed.

After Fucci was caught, the state attorney for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit, R.J. Larizza, said at a news conference that Bailey had been stabbed 114 times. He said that at least 49 of the wounds were self-defense wounds to the hands, arms, and head.

In a statement sent out Monday, Sheriff Robert Hardwick of St. Johns County praised the work that investigators did on the case.

In a statement, the sheriff said, “This was a full-court press by the agency.” “The process of getting ready for a trial is just as time-consuming as the investigation itself. Since the first call, the detectives have not stopped working on this case.”

Hardwick said that investigators and the office of the state attorney worked together to try to solve the case.