Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Teen Killer's Mom Jailed for Washing Jeans Worn During Murder

Episode Date: July 15, 2023

Surveillance photos show the mother of teen murder suspect Aiden Fucci washing his clothes the day teen girl Tristyn Bailey was murdered. Crystal Smith was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence in connection to the  girl's death -year-old's death. Fucci, 14, has been charged with Bailey’s Mother’s Day murder. Investigators believe he stabbed Bailey 114 times. The former classmates had grown up in the same neighborhood but it does not appear that Fucci targeted Bailey specifically, though friends later said Fucci claimed he would kill someone in the near future. Surveillance video appears to show the pair walking together early the morning of May 9. Fucci is later seen running, alone, from the same area. Teen Aiden Fucci pled guilty to Tristen Bailey's murder. Crystal Lane Bailey pleaded no contest to tampering with evidence. She was sentenced to 30 days and has now been released.   Joining Nancy Grace today: Troy Slaten - Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, Slaten Lawyers, APC, Twitter @TroySlaten Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, www.drbethanymarshall.com, New Netflix show: 'Bling Empire' Dr. Tim Gallagher - Medical Examiner State of Florida www.pathcaremed.com, Lecturer: University of Florida Medical School Forensic Medicine. Founder/Host: International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference Karen L. Smith - Forensic Expert, Lecturer at the University of Florida, Host of Shattered Souls Podcast, @KarensForensic, barebonesforensic.com Ray Caputo - WDBO     Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. In the last days in the murder case of Tristan Bailey, the gorgeous Florida cheerleader found dead. We all know that teen boy Aiden Fucci was convicted for murdering Bailey on Mother's Day 2021. But Aiden Fucci's mother agreed to plead guilty for washing the blood out of her son Aiden Fucci's jeans after he murdered Tristan Bailey. That's right. Crystal Smith, 37, pleads no contest to tampering with evidence. That's a third degree felony. She'll go to jail, all right right but just for 30 days followed by five years probation for intentionally washing the blood out of her son's jeans crystal smith has now been released

now according to crystal smith's lawyer smith had no idea why her son's jeans were so bloody when she washed them. Do you believe it? I don't. What happened the night Tristan Bailey went missing? Her body was found in a wooded area near her neighborhood. The medical examiner says she was stabbed to death. Later that day, a jogger in the neighborhood found a young girl's body bloody in the neighborhood's woods. The medical examiner's report released Wednesday indicates Bailey had been stabbed 114 times and had defensive wounds. That report also revealed the suspected weapon, a knife, was found in a pond only 140 feet from the body. The knife missing its tip. The tip found in Tristan's scalp. The knife so violently used to murder this little cheerleader, just 13 years old, the tip of the knife is still embedded in her scalp and skull.

Oh, yeah, somebody is going to jail. Guys, you were just listening to our friend Jennifer Reddy at First Coast and WJXT News for Jacks. Let me introduce you an all-star panel joining us. First of all, you know him well, a veteran defense attorney, Troy Slayton, joining us out of LA. Slayton lawyers, Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst to the stars, joining us out of Hollywood. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com, star of a brand new series on Netflix, Bling Empire, Dr. Tim Gallagher, the medical examiner for the entire state of Florida at pathcaremed.com. Karen Nell Smith joining me, forensics expert, lecturer at University of Florida and host of Shattered Souls podcast. But first, to Ray Caputo, lead news anchor, Orlando Morning News at WDBO.

Ray Caputo, before you say a word, listen to this. Surveillance video spotted what appears to be Tristan Bailey walking north from the amenity center at 1.14 a.m. 31 minutes later, two people are seen walking east along Sallistone Drive at 1.45 a.m 31 minutes later two people are seen walking east along sattlestone drive at 1 45 a.m one is wearing shorts a hoodie and white shoes with the black nike logo the other wearing black pants and a black shirt that same camera then capturing one person walking back west wearing shorts a hoodie and this time carrying white shoes with the black Nike logo. That was around 3.27 a.m., one hour, 42 minutes later. Police found clothing with blood on it. This video at 12.15 a.m. on May 9th shows two people believed to be teens walking east on Saddlestone Drive.

This was on Mother's Day, the same day investigators say Tristan Bailey was found dead. The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office investigators say this video shows Fucci running at 1.52 in the morning, so over an hour after two teens were spotted walking in the neighborhood. Guys, you're hearing our friends at First Coast News and WJXT News Jax. You know, the shadowy images caught on surveillance video shows the 13-year-old cheerleader, Tristan Bailey, walking with another person. Then later, you see a young boy, Aiden Fucci, age 14, running. And you also see someone matching the same outfit, carrying a pair of white Nike shoes. First of all, Ray Caputo, again, thank you for being with us, WDBO. Where is 13-year-old Tristan Bailey that evening?

Where had she been? Well, she was hanging out in her neighborhood in Durban Crossing, Nancy. That's in St. John's Gorge, just south of Jacksonville. It's an upper middle class neighborhood and it was late at night before any of this happened. But if you're wondering why a 13 year old girl be out late at night on a Saturday night, it was just that type of neighborhood. It was tree lines, surveillance cameras everywhere. I mean, people didn't anticipate problems there. It was in St. John's Florida, beautiful place where a lot of people are moving these days. I understand, Ray Caputo, that there was like a community center where they had been. Do you recall that, Jackie? All the teens.

And we had one of those, believe it or not, out in the middle of nowhere. And when I was little, it seemed so big. Now I drive by it, I think, I can't believe that was the huge community center. It's very small when I look at it now. But we would have bands in there and dance and play games and just all sorts of fun, have Halloween carnivals inside bobbing for apples, and everybody would go there. And it's my understanding that Tristan had been to a community center event with a whole neighborhood and a lot of kids coming in and out that night.

This shadowy surveillance video we're seeing, where are those cameras, Ray Caputo? Well, the surveillance video cameras you're seeing are actually doorbell cameras, I believe, are ones that are attached to homes. So they're on these homes on Saddlestone Court. So you're seeing, you know, somebody's looking out their window. That's what they may have seen at that time of night in the one o'clock hour. So how in the world does a teen boy's mother get tied into all of this? You've got a little cheerleader, age 13, stabbed about 114 times to the tip of a knife in her skull. Now you've got an unrelated teen boy's mother charged.

Why? Jackie, please play the new sound. We received a series of videos late this afternoon, including those from inside Poochie's Durban Crossing home, which show what detectives say is Poochucci's mom washing blood off of his jeans. On your sides, Robert Bradfield is live tonight in the newsroom looking through that video as prosecutors build a first-degree murder case against the St. Johns County teenager. Robert. Well, good evening. That video inside Pucci's home is about 16 minutes long,

but we're going to show you just the first part, which shows his mother, Crystal Smith, walking into an upstairs bathroom. And that is where the state's attorney says Smith is seen cleaning her son's bloody jeans. When officers went into the home, they found a pair of wet jeans in Fucci's bedroom. And as we reported earlier this summer, the jeans and a drain in a bathroom tested positive for blood. Smith was arrested in June. She is charged with evidence tampering. Now, other video released today shows who detectives believe are Fucci and Bailey walking in their neighborhood on the morning of May 9th, the last time Bailey was seen alive. Okay, Troy Slayton, veteran defense attorney. If mommy had just thrown a lot of clothes into the wash, that would have been one thing because I've actually thrown

a shoe, a cell phone, a coat hanger into the washing machine with no idea what I was doing. Okay, just like Jodi Arias when she threw her digicam in there with accidental photos of the murder scene. I could get that. It's an accident. But for mommy to pick up her son's blue jeans and then go in the bathroom and wash the blood out by hand. Good luck, Slayton. Well, I know Nancy when I was a kid and I'd play some soccer and I'd roll on my knees on the soccer field and big green stains would be down my pants. Those wouldn't just come out in the normal wash. And my mom, God bless her, would scrub those things to get those stains out. So maybe she was just acting like a good mom, saw some really dirty jeans thinking that wouldn't come out in the regular wash and scrubbed them to make sure

they got the stain out. What we don't know is that the mother knew that this was blood from a potential crime scene and was intentionally trying to destroy evidence. That's what we don't know. How can I slice up everything he just said? Jackie, could you play that new sound one more time? We received a series of videos late this afternoon, including those from inside Poochie's Durban Crossing home, which show what detectives say is Poochie's mom washing blood off of his jeans. On your sides, Robert Bradfield is live tonight in the newsroom looking through that video as prosecutors build a first-degree murder case against the St. Johns County teenager. Robert. Oh, good evening. That video inside Fucci's home is about 16 minutes long, but we're

going to show you just the first part, which shows his mother, Crystal Smith, walking into an upstairs bathroom. And that is where the state's attorney says Smith is seen cleaning her son's bloody jeans. When officers went into the home, they found a pair of wet jeans in Fucci's bedroom. And as we reported earlier this summer, the jeans and a drain in a bathroom tested positive for blood. Smith was arrested in June. She is charged with evidence tampering. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Teen boy Aiden Fucci convicted in the murder of a beautiful young girl.

But what does his mom have to do with that? Well, believe it or not, the convicted teen killer's mother behind bars. But why? For washing the blood out of her son Aiden Fucci's jeans after he murdered Tristan Bailey. Dr. Bethany Marshall, I'd really like to see the timestamp on when mommy is cleaning the jeans in the bathroom. There's no doubt she knew it was blood. Because there's still blood in the drain.

And it's Tristan Bailey's blood, the cheerleader's blood. So she knew it was blood. She knew he hadn't been out playing soccer the night before. But Slayton has a valid point. But if she was doing that at, say, 3 o'clock in the morning, that's extremely surreptitious, Bethany. Nancy, let's look at it this way this is not the first time mommy has tried to cover up bad acts um that her son fuchi has undertaken you know mothers know their sons you you know your son you know your daughter you know their character you know what

they're capable of bethany you darn right go ahead you know who their friends are you know whether or not to let them have sleepovers at certain people's houses. He is a young tween. He's barely a teenager. He's out at this community center until I think it's 340 in the morning. Mommy has to be aware that her son is just a little bit strange. Okay. So I don't think it's a good thing that mother is watching blood off of her son's jeans and what she should be doing if she's a good mom is sitting down with

him and saying, where did this blood come from? What were you doing out till 340 in the morning? What was going on at that community center? She should be parenting him, not covering up for him. You know, another issue I'm gonna throw to you, then I'll circle back to Karen Smith and Dr. Tim Gallagher. Dr. Bethany, let me go to Ray Caputo first. 14s female friends tells police he frequently talked about killing people that he would take his knife out and pretend to stab her with it and that he would draw graphic pictures of depicting mutilated bodies you forgot to mention that yeah well you know some people like their guns nancy this kid liked knives one of his friends even said that he had a nickname for his knife he called him

picker and poker and stop stop yeah drinking from the fire hydrant too much too fast i gotta write that down he named his knives yes ma'am pickerer. Are you saying Picker and Poker? Okay, I'm sure we'll need to bring the shrink in on that. Go ahead. Name his knives, Picker and Poker. Did you know that? I didn't know that. Go ahead. Yeah, well, I mean, this kid liked his knives. They found many more in his home, too. Aiden Pucci clearly had a thing for sharp objects, Nancy.

He talked about killing people. He collected knives. I mean, talk about the writing being on the wall. You know what? It is just so ironic that when we throw around the phrase, the writing is on the wall, that actually came from the Old Testament. And now it's being used, rightfully so, Ray Caputo, in the gruesome murder of a 13-year-old little girl. This little girl was stabbed 114 times with a knife tip still in her skull. Ray Caputo, WDBO, that's not all that was found in the home of the bloody clothes. I understand that the cops recovered a notebook filled with violent drawings of women, including a woman with red X's on her breasts and severed arms with blood pouring out. Oh, that's correct, Nancy.

I mean, this kid had some really disturbing things going through his head. And it makes you wonder, getting back to the mom, why she was so interested in helping him out after he got in trouble. But again, how can you not notice that this is your child and all these things are going on in their lives? He had the knives, he had the drawings, he was even telling people about what he did, or what was going to do he was a clearly a disturbed young man who needed help and he was crying out for for quite a bit of time but those cries didn't go answered rey caputo i hardly think that naming your nice picker and poker and drawing mutilated women and keeping the drawings in your room. I would call that the devil.

Evil, hate, misogyny. And I think he knew exactly what he was doing. I really don't know which way to go, but thankfully I've got a panel of experts. Dr. Bethany, do not start up second verse, same as the first, with he's insane. If he were insane, he would not know to run away and lie. Well, thank God, Nancy, sociopathy, which this young man surely suffers from, is a personality disorder, not a psychiatric disorder, meaning that it affects, it's an affliction of the mind,

not the brain. So certainly he knew right from wrong. Nancy, this is a budding serial killer in the making. You know, the love for the knives, picker and poker, the drawing of the woman with the red X's on her breasts, the severed arms. This guy got, this young man derived great thrill and satisfaction from thinking about stabbing and dismembering. And you know, mothers fall into two categories when it comes to having a child like this. The first category is a mother who knows there's a problem and seeks help, gets a psychiatrist and a psychologist, gets social services, and wants to help their son have a better life. And the second category we see all too often is the mother who aids and abets the child, covers up, looks the other way, will do

anything to save the child, even if it means that there are other victims out there in society. And surely, surely this mother falls into the second category with washing the blood off her son's jeans. This mother knew what was happening, Nancy. She saw this all unfolding for a long, long time. Why does she even let him out in the community past midnight? To Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner for the state of Florida. This occurred in Florida, St. John's County. Dr. Gallagher, would you explain what happened to this 13-year-old little girl? Because we're talking a lot about what may or may not be going through the mind of a killer.

But what about her? What happened to her? Well, first of all, I want to mention that Dr. Bulek in St. John's County, which is District 23 in Florida, is probably one of the most intelligent physicians that we have in the state. He is Yale educated and trained in Fort Lauderdale. Wonderful, wonderful man but going getting back to her what was his name uh bulick b-u-l-i-c okay go ahead so you've got a great man you've got a great doctor on the case go ahead wonderful wonderful man um i can't say enough about him but getting back to her um you know

so initially you know there was the surprise of the stabbing i'm sure there was an argument leading up to it um but when i don't know about that i don't know about that dr gallagher because this was not boyfriend girlfriend they were just you know in the same grade they knew each other uh there was no romantic interest like they had an argument so i don't know if if there was an argument or if he led her out there in order to kill her i mean he had a knife with him but that said go ahead right but you can see there was a struggle that she had defensive wounds on her forearms. And what defensive wounds are is she was actually holding up her arms to defend herself against the knife. And he was slashing at her arms on her forearm.

I've got to tell you something, doctor. I just saw out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to do it myself as you were talking. But Jackie here, as you were saying, held her hands up like that. How many times have I done that in front of a jury? When you say defensive wounds, trying to cover your face or your body, and this little 13-year-old girl, as Dr. Tim Gallagher is telling us, was covered in defensive wounds, trying to save her life. Right. So she was conscious and aware of what was going on at that point. You know,

she knew at that point she was fending for her life, but eventually she became overpowered. And these stab wounds to her head, oftentimes, if the knife is sufficient, will penetrate through the skull and into the brain. And we see that could have been the case here when a tip of the knife broke off and lodged itself into the skull. So she may have died from the brain injury, or she may have had other stab wounds on her chest organs, that being the heart and the lungs. Either way, it was a very protracted assault and had gone on for at least a minute or two. Karen Nell Smith, joining me, forensics expert, lecturer, University of Florida and host of

Shattered Souls podcast. You've seen so many homicides as well. Agree or disagree? And why? I do. I've seen it. Unfortunately, just like Dr. Gallagher said, it does happen.

Whether or not it's a rage or like you said, a sexual release, whatever the motivation is, multiple stabbings are more common than a single stabbing. And Nancy, there's something that I need to talk about a sexual release, whatever the motivation is, multiple stabbings are more common than a single stabbing. And Nancy, there's something that I need to talk about regarding not only what Tori Slayton said, but what everybody else has been saying about these genes.

Mommy can try to clean them all she wants, but they tested positive for blood. And that tells me they did a simple color test. After a visual inspection the blood was still on those pants now if the blood was still on the pants there's a possibility that patterns can still be discerned even after they've been cleaned if that blood was allowed to dry on the fabric first and if there were small blood droplets on those jeans that put the wearer which would be aidan fucci in close proximity to the victim at the time the crime was committed. It is absolute 100% proof that he was there, that the blood broke up into droplets while he was there.

It can also help position him over the victim. His DNA was found on her body, which means he probably injured himself since he used the knife. That's very common as well. So I just want to commend the St. John's County Sheriff's Office for their wonderful work on this. They really did a great job processing this, plus finding the weapon as well. Guys, there's more. Take a listen to Hour Cut 25.

This is Heather Crawford, First Coast News. So let's talk more about these new documents. They are also shedding light on the night Aiden Fucci and his parents were inside of an interrogation room after Tristan Bailey's body was discovered. Aiden's parents questioned him with no detectives in the room, but the audio and video devices they were rolling. According to the report, his mother told him that Bailey was found in their neighborhood. The report says Aiden then asked, is she good? The mother's response, no, she's dead. It's all on you right now. The report says Aiden asked, how is it my problem? They reportedly said because he was the last one seen with her. The report also says the mother asked where Bailey went after they parted and

Gucci stated that she probably kept walking. His father asked, according to the report, he didn't turn around to see where she went and he replied no. Now, according to the report, Aiden's parents told him to find his story and stick to it. He was arrested at 3.30 the next morning. His mother, Crystal Smith, would later be arrested, accused of tampering with evidence in this case. Troy Slayton joining me, L.A. veteran criminal defense attorney, Slayton Lawyers, APC. Troy, so the recording devices are still rolling, and this Aiden Fucci, age 14, says, how's it my problem when they tell him Tristan is found dead? So firstly, there is no parent-child confidentiality privilege known to the law. they may have thought that they were speaking privately, the parents and the child suspect,

the police were perfectly in their right to be recording inside that police interrogation room. And so anything that he said to his mom and dad can be used against him. And even though he would say to his parents, and he's probably experienced in deflecting his parents off of things that he's done wrong over his past 14 years, that doesn't protect him in this case. I want to get your thinking, Dr. Bethany Marshall, of what you have heard that audio recording that we've gotten of the parents talking to 14-year-old Aiden Fucci. Well, I think this is not their first rodeo. I think he's done all kinds of things that they have aided and vetted in covering up.

Maybe not a homicide. Maybe this is the first catastrophic violation of the law he's done, but I'm sure there's been lesser infractions. I'm sure he has tortured animals, gotten bad grades, hit people, poked at people, maybe stabbed people, even in a non-homicidal way, but in a threatening way. So these parents are well-skilled and well-schooled in covering up for their child. And Troy Slayton said something I think is so fascinating, and we see this with parents, is that from the time our children are born, they teach us how to accommodate to them. They teach us how to cover up.

They also teach us that we can't look past their flaws, and we have to take the hard road of reprimanding them and punishing them and disciplining them to make them better human beings. And if this young man was born as a sociopath, he really needed his parents to discipline him and to try to override those tendencies. And apparently, he just never got the memo. Well, Dr. Bethany, I want you to hear something. And that is how this guy, Aiden Fucci, behaved in the cop car.

Take a listen to our cut 27, our friends at Action News Jacksonville. New Snapchat videos show Fucci in the back of the cop car before he was a suspect. Having fun in a cop car. Tristan. What's up, guys? Tristan, if you walk out out when you see this in a month another video from inside fuchi's home appears to show his mother cleaning the jeans police say aiden wore the night of the murder she's been charged for tampering with evidence to those

jeans investigators say both the jeans and the sink she washed them in tested positive for blood. Not only that, in that cop car, he made a statement, having fun in an effing cop car. This guy is in the back of the car mocking everything and everybody. I'm having fun in an effing cop car. And then he makes some comment like, hey, anybody seen Tristan? She's dead. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. After Tristan Bailey went missing that night, Aiden Fucci even volunteered to show sheriff's deputies where he had last seen his little middle school classmate. What happened the night Tristan Bailey.

To me, Nancy, it shows the elements of not guilty by reason of insanity, which in Florida uses the McNaughton rule. If I were to use the evidence from the medical examiner on this show and the testimony of Dr. Bethany Marshall from this show, we clearly establish by clear and convincing evidence that he was not guilty by reason of insanity at the time that he committed this act. Well, I couldn't disagree more because here he is in a cop car saying, hey guys, has anybody seen Tristan lately? Shooting a peace sign, having fun in a cop car, being a snarky brat. That's what's happening. Somebody 114 times running from the crime scene,

throwing a knife into the water, and then... Why do you think he threw the knife in the water, Troy? So nobody could find it. Why is that? Because it's a murder weapon with his blood on it. But brings the sheath home. But comes home and just throws his bloody... He threw away the murder weapon and just the only one on this panel that believes

that shows evidence of guilt i mean somebody jump in from pete nancy he knew he knew what he was doing and mocking tristan from the police car is the same mo as the murder we were talking about it earlier in the show show that he wanted to triumph over her, control her. He likely got sexual satisfaction from killing her. I doubt this was a frustrated rage. I think he was romancing the idea of killing somebody for a long, long time. I think his family knew that. I think it was sexually exciting to him. That's why he had the red crosses over the woman's breasts and her arms severed. You know, he's going to disable her so he can rape her.

That's what that picture is all about. Well, you know, that's what we call, Troy, we call malingering. It's when you make up a fictitious illness to look ill when you're not. I've got more for you guys that bears on state of mind. Take a listen to Our Cut 26. This is Dani Bozzini, Action News Jax. New evidence giving us a glimpse into the moments before and after beloved 13-year-old Tristan Bailey was brutally murdered.

Police say in this video, Tristan is walking with her accused killer, 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, just after midnight Sunday, May 9th, Mother's Day. 90 minutes later, another surveillance video shows Fucci running in the opposite direction with what appears to be his shoes in hand. The state attorney's office releasing another clip, time-stamped at 3.30 a.m. that same morning. You can see Fucci walking up to his home, heading

to the front door and going inside. Fucci initially told investigators that he left a friend's house with Tristan and they walked together until she turned onto her street. That story changed a few more times. Okay, let me capsulize this. Karen Smith, we've got him running from the scene,

carrying his shoes that were likely bloody, throwing away the murder weapon, slowing down when he gets to his own home, walking in, changing his story multiple times and continuing to lie about it. To me, all of that shows he knew what he did was wrong. And that is,

as Troy Slayton throws around the technical term, the McNaughton test, it's very simple. Did you know right from wrong at the time of the incident? It shows me. That's right. Evidence of guilt, hiding, running, destroying evidence. That's right.

And guess what? Found, found, found. Knife was found 140 feet away. The shoes were found in his room, likely bloody. That's why he was carrying them. They found his jeans. They found his jeans. They found his clothes. They found her DNA all over it.

They found blood patterns. They found his DNA on her body. They found the tip of the knife embedded in her skull. Every single step, every single thing that has been seen in the forensics of this case shows me that he had a premeditated murderous mind and he knew what he did was wrong he's running from the crime scene with evidence in his hand dr tim gallagher joining me out of florida medical examiner um dr gallagher so he throws the murder weapon into a body of water how can they still get both his and her dna off

the murder weapon well that's a really good question you know um water does tend to degrade dna so if they recovered it very quickly then it would certainly be possible especially if not only blood was on it but the flesh of the victim and flesh of the assailant was on there, then DNA could be recovered from that quickly. Yeah, Nancy, I have to jump in here. There was another case out of Jacksonville, the Cherish Periwinkle case, where one of my coworkers recovered an entire full 13 loci profile from Cherish Periwinkle's neck after she was submerged in water. So it is absolutely possible to find both sets of DNA on that murder weapon. After Tristan Bailey went missing that night, Aiden Fucci even volunteered to show sheriff's deputies where he had last seen his little middle school classmate. And it was there. Home surveillance video picks up his mother

picking up a pair of blue jeans from her son's room, then scrubbing them in a bathroom sink. Tristan Bailey's mom, Stacey Bailey, said in a very emotional victim impact statement, the choices the mom, Crystal Smith, made back on Mother's Day 2021, quote, will haunt me for the rest of my life. She went on to say, I've tried to put myself in your shoes on that fateful day a thousand times, but I can't. She says the damage you caused by your actions will forever be etched in our lives. The judge in the courtroom described Tristan's horrific injuries, including 49 defensive wounds and 35 wounds to the little girl's head and neck,

29 wounds to her shoulders and back. What was so upsetting to many is that Tristan Bailey was conscious. She was aware and she was doing everything she could to fend off the attack. When the family spoke, they pointed out that Tristan suffered a painful, horrifying death from someone she trusted that her screams were most likely stifled by her own suffocating lungs. The attack was so violent, the tip of the hunting knife Fucci used to murder her broke off in her skull. The judge noted that the crime had no motive. The judge says, quote, there was no reason. There was no purpose. It was done for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant's internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone.

Convicted killer Aiden Fucci's own mother sentenced for tampering with evidence and cheerleader Tristan Bailey's horrific murder. Crystal Smith has now been released. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.