Law&Crime Sidebar - 7 Powerful Moments from Aiden Fucci’s Sentencing for Stabbing Cheerleader 114 Times

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

Teen killer Aiden Fucci sat emotionless in court this week as he learned about the mountain of evidence against him for stabbing 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey to death in May 2021. The convicted murderer then heard hours of heartbreaking victims' statements from the cheerleader’s loved ones. Fucci faces a minimum of 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering Bailey ahead of trial. The Law&Crime Network’s Angenette Levy breaks down the seven most powerful moments from Fucci’s sentencing hearing.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:What is it like to face death and make it out alive? Based on the groundbreaking A&E television series, I Survived documents harrowing stories of human endurance. In their own words, survivors recall how they overcame unbelievable circumstances that changed their lives forever. Check out I Survived podcast here!LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergWriting & Video Editing - Michael DeiningerGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Vanessa Bein & Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller

that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. She was my best friend. She was my only friend. I spent more than a month trying to figure out who this boy was. It turned out to be the same boy that we had talked about so often. The sentencing hearing for teenage killer Aiden Fucci is underway for the 2021 Mother's Day murder of 13-year-old Tristan Bailey. We get into the very emotional victim impact statements from Tristan's family and friends.

Welcome to Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. I'm Ann Janette Levy. Thanks so much for joining us for this latest edition of Sidebar. The sentencing hearing for Aiden Fucci, started earlier this week. And we want to give you a little bit of background for those of you who may not be familiar with the case. It's incredibly sad. 13-year-old Tristan Bailey and 14-year-old Aden Fucci went to school together in St. John's County, Florida. On Mother's Day, May 9th, 2021, Bailey goes missing. Her mother reported her missing to police. The community comes together to try to find her. Police eventually come across a neighbor's surveillance video that shows Tristan Bailey and Aiden Fucci walking together on May 9th at around one in the morning. Nothing is caught

on the camera until a little more than two hours later where the video shows Fucci running back home without Tristan Bailey. Police bring Aden Fucci in for questioning and he really does not take it very seriously at all. He takes a Snapchat video and puts a caption on it that says, Hey guys, anyone's seen Tristan lately? He then takes another video as well. Take a look. We're having fun in a fucking cop car. Yep. Tristan. What's up, guys? Tristan, if you fucking walk out the damn...

It's in a fucking cop car, guys. She's tripping, dude. So as you can see, Aiden Fucci really was not taking this seriously, as I mentioned, but police certainly were. They brought him in for questioning. You know they found this girl, right? Where? In our neighborhood. Down our main street.

Is she good? No, she's dead. That's why this is very important. It's all on you right now. That's my problem. You were the last one seen with her. So right now, it's a lot of, it's facing you right now, son. So however you talk, you breathe, you think, then you respond.

This is very serious, Aidan. You can't act like, I don't know, I don't, I don't know. You can't, and you can't say nothing that's going to make sure. Clearly. You understand, right? Everything you say will affect you. That Snapchat you did. It's not very smart.

Not good at all. Now we have people wanting to burn our house, not in our cars down. Because of that Snapchat thing you did. It's all over. You're all over the internet and everywhere. Social media. It is on social media. You'll probably come stay with me after we get done with us.

Aidan Fucci was then charged with the first-degree murder of Tristan Bailey. When Bailey's body is found in the woods nearby her neighborhood, it is clear that she was stabbed to death. And the gruesome detail about her death is that she was stabbed 114 times. All of the evidence pointed to Aden Fucci. When it came time for Fucci's trial last month, he decided to plead guilty to the murder. Fucci faces a minimum of 40 years in prison all the way up to life. Family members of Tristan Bailey were able to give victim impact statements earlier this week. Here's Tristan's sister, Alexis, commenting on the disturbing details of Tristan's death. This jar now holds 114 stones, one for each of the 114 stab wounds that my sister had to endure.

It was one hour and 42 minutes between when my sister was last seen and when eight. Aiden Fucci was next seen, running out of the woods holding his shoes because his feet hurt. It's funny that such a simple statement can bring such anger. Aden Fucci could show compassion for his sore feet, yet had nothing to leave for my beautiful sister. The number of questions I have for Aden Fucci surrounding that night plague my mind. Did she see you coming at her with the knife, or did you stab her while she wasn't paying attention. Did she scream out for help or was she paralyzed with agony? Did she cry for my mother? Did she beg you to stop? Did you hear her lungs gargling with blood? Or did you see it in

her face when she realized she could no longer breathe due to her collapsed lungs? What were her last words. Did you stay to watch her die, or did you leave her there in agonizing pain as you ran away? How long did she suffer? Did you watch the life leave her eyes? Do you know the answer to any of these questions, or were you two caught up in the thrill of the kill? Tristan's older brother, Tegan, was up next. He says he wishes he had stayed up later that night, so Tristan may have never left the house. Your Honor, on Saturday, May 8th, 2021, I came home to spend time with family

and to celebrate Mother's Day the following day. When I arrived home that afternoon, we quickly made plans to go to dinner. My dad, mom, Sophia, Tristan, my niece and I went to dinner. There wasn't a single sign that this would be our last night together and what I believe was Tristan's last meal. Shy of my older sisters, Brittany and Alexis being present, The dinner was perfect.

My niece was playing with her food, trying to crawl under the table. We talked about when we lived in Singapore. My dad supplied ample comedy and smiles in a way that only siblings can. Tristan and I silently made a pact and messed with Sophia during dinner, the way only siblings know how to do.

It was perfectly imperfect. I would give anything to either stay at the table a few minutes longer or to have had Britney and Alexis there as well. Following dinner, we visited and then went home. I went on a late walk with Sophia to reach my exercise goal for the day, which I talked with Tristan about when we got back. Finally, Sophia, Tristan, and I started to watch TV. I began to fall asleep on the couch until I finally excused myself to go to bed.

Every single day, I can't help but wonder what would have happened had I slept on that couch and said, or if I had stayed up later. Tristan was a 13-year-old. She had a personality brighter in the fireworks, in the fireworks and she was being a teenager. But had I slept on that couch that was within earshot of our front door, there's possibility my little sister could still be alive today. I've lived with that question, that weight, and that guilt since I went to wake up Tristan on Mother's Day and found her room empty. As you can see, Tristan's murder has clearly affected her family members, her oldest sister Brittany then explained how difficult it has been to grieve her sister's

death. As later we learned that friend, Tristan thought she had, ambushed our youngest Bailey by stabbing her 114 times over and over and over to the point where you know, we all know, she fought her fight and had nothing left in her body to give. And yet he continued like an absolute coward. You, Aden Fucci, decided to overpower a five-foot-three innocent, 13-year-old girl. How much more of a coward could you possibly be? Those feelings that took over my body that day, I could go my whole life without feeling again. I can promise you one thing. I do not ever want to be that brave in my lifetime yet.

Here I am, standing in front of this courtroom, exposing my vulnerability, peeling back layers in my PTSD in this unsafe and very overwhelming environment. While I sit here publicly reliving tad bits of our worst nightmare, I recognize that none of these horrific memories will bring Tristan back. It truly just pains me more to have to relive them to talk about it, to feel those feelings all over again like it happened yesterday. So often we hear about people not making it out of dangerous situations alive, but what about those who do. The I Survived podcast is back with a whole new season telling harrowing stories of some of the most unsettling circumstances people have ever faced. Based on the groundbreaking

A&E television series, this season of the podcast features survival stories from people who face serial killers and live to tell the tale. These are stories all about the human condition, the courage and strength it takes to fight your way back from the brink of death. And in most circumstances, the survival of one, means justice for many more who were not as fortunate. Check out new episodes of I Survived Every Monday and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Tristan's grandmother addressed the court by directing her statement directly at Aden Fucci, explaining how he not only robbed Tristan of her life, but robbed her family and friends

from all that Tristan had to give. I am very grateful for the years I had with her here and Florida, but it wasn't enough. You stole from me the lifetime I was supposed to have with her. You stole that from all of us. Because of you, life for my family and me has been a living hell since Mother's Day of 2021. From the moment my daughter called me that morning stating that they couldn't find Tristan,

that she was not in her bedroom and was missing, my reality and the reality for all of us has shifted on its axis. Life has become a non-stop nightmare because of you. In the hour it took me to drive to Tristan's home, I had convinced myself I would arrive to see her being lectured by her parents. Instead, I arrived to a war zone. Police cars, a helicopter circling overhead,

bloodhound searching, and dozens of people from the community trying to find Tristan. It was chaos. It was insanity, and it made me. no sense. None of this has made any sense. You made the deliberate decision to destroy our lives. Why? And to what end? As a mother and a grandmother, my only desire has been to take this pain away from my family. I've watched every member of my family literally drop to their

knees and utter despair, and I can't fix it. I can't do anything to help them, and they can't do anything to help me. You are the one that did this to our family. I literally can't comprehend the evil in you. You have completely destroyed not only my life, but also the lives of Tristan's mom and dad, her siblings, her paternal grandparents. You have irreparably damaged Tristan's friends, her cheer family, and even the people who have never had the opportunity to have her incredible spirit in their lives. I do not forgive you and I don't accept any pathetic apology you might offer. In my opinion, you apologize only when it became abundantly clear that the consequences of your actions

were imminent. I hope these consequences truly are inscapable and that you are sentenced to life in prison. In 25 years when your case is reviewed, I pray that people looking at it realize there is literally no other justice than to keep you behind bars until they're end of your life. This is the least of what you deserve. This white stone represents the loss and happiness and emotional stability for me and my family, which died on the day this defendant chose to murder our granddaughter. Thank you. Now after, after Tristan's family, her siblings spoke. Her best friend, Gia Bauer, gave her statement. Listening to her 15-year-old friend really emphasized how young and innocent Tristan really was.

My name is Gia Bauer and I'm 15 years old. Tristan Bailey was my best friend. She's the person I'd call when I had a bad day or had something exciting to share. Tristan was born in Singapore and since I'm from Korea, we bonded being over Asian sisters. We took care of hairless cats all summer, watched movies, and made TikToks. We loved to listen to music. We shared the love of cheer. We traveled together and had countless sleepovers, and when we were not able to go to each other's homes, we would face time all night and have virtual sleepovers. Her family called me their bonus child. We went to our first concert together, and she's also the one who gave me my first concussion doing unauthorized

cheer stunts. I talk to Tristan every day. We had a connection that cannot be explained. We were always on the same page. She was my person, and Eden Fucci took her from me. Since May 9, 2021, I've carried a sadness that never goes away. I've been lost. There's not just one part that is sad, but all of me. I no longer have my best friend. She won't be able to experience life. We won't be able to go to dances together, we won't be able to be bridesmaids at each other's weddings, and we won't be there to experience having children together. Initially, it was a surreal feeling, and I could not believe she was no longer here. The person I needed to get through such a tragedy with was not here. I would think about texting her for comfort and remember I would never

receive any words back from her. Losing Tristan has changed the way I see the world. I once believed people were good and that the world was a happy and safe place. Now I struggle to see the good in the world. A sense of security has been taken. I no longer trust the way I once did and a sense of joy is missing. I fight not to be a negative or bitter person. I used to love cheer and now without her here, it will never be the same. I changed my Starbucks order because I could not bear to get the double chocolate chip rappuccino we used to drink together.

We had a playlist called Rock and Roll and I've not been able to listen to it since she was taken. I avoid so much now, even people. I used to be known as Tristan's best friend, and now my identity has changed. It's hard to be in public because people come up to me and want to talk to me about tea. It is always with kindness and people have the best intentions, but for me it's just another reminder. She is no longer here, and she never will be. Aiden, you ruined so many lives. You took away my beautiful, joyful, loving friend. She is never coming back, and the pain you cause so many will last the rest of our lives.

You still get to live. She doesn't. I ask the court that you spend the rest of your life in prison, so you never have the opportunity to hurt another person and cause this mage pain to anyone else. This white stone represents my innocence, which died the day Aiden Fucci chose to murder my best friend. Perhaps the most emotional moment of this entire hearing came when Tristan's mother gave her victim impact statement. Stacey Bailey talked about how horrific it is to lose a child. No parent should ever lose a child. She pleads with the court to give Aiden Fuchin nothing less than a life sentence.

You have taken away my baby girl, my past, my present, my future, by your calculated vile actions. I will never be able to watch her perform on stage with her cheer team. I will never see her wind summit or worlds. I will never have our special weekends away just the two of us. she will not be able to graduate high school or college and her father will never be able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding you have taken this all away from us

I will never understand the heinous choice you made that day or why my kind daughter was the one that you chose I would spend the rest of my life grieving our beautiful daughter longing to hear her voice and hold her in my arms. Aiden Fucci, your deplorable actions are unforgivable, and I will pray every day that you stay in prison for the rest of your life and never be able to harm anyone else in this world again. Your Honor, I plead with you.

Please consider everything that he has done to our daughter and to our family. It in 15 made a heinous decision on May 9th, 2021, and took the very life that I brought into this world. Please do not for one second think that he could be rehabilitated at any point. He is beyond saving. He should have to pay for his crime against my daughter. an empty word for our family as it can never bring Tristan back but justice is for society and he should have life without for without parole thank you for everything that you've done in this case and I know that you have a really hard choices in

front of you I'm gonna be placing two rocks into to this This rock, this white stone, is for her sister, Sophia, who will never have the opportunity to be a big sister again, and you stole that from her. This last one is for me. It represents everything that you have stolen for me. My words, my joy, my hope, my future, and my beautiful daughter. my beautiful daughter.

Finally, Tristan's father addressed the court. Forrest Bailey directed his statement at Aden Fucci, spoke directly to him, and he had no sympathy for the sentence he will face. You know, to Mr. Fucci, February 6th, you finally admitted to your guilt in murdering my daughter, Tristan. And after you clearly sat in this room and agreed to all of the questions and statements that were read by the judge and admitted that you knew what you were pleading to, at the end of that, you turned around or you didn't even turn around, you made an apology. I want to be clear saying that your insincere apology is not accepted. In no part did I sense any glimmer of any true remorse felt in your apology.

Without question, I know that statement was for some self-serving purpose that you have during all of the proceedings in which we've been present, including these past couple days. At no point in time have I seen anything from you that is any type of remorse. I loathe your very existence and know that there is nothing within you that reflects the smallest amount of goodness or human decency. It goes without saying that Tristan Bailey's death was incredibly tragic, a beautiful young girl, a 13-year-old child, her life taken so viciously and savagely. And at the time of this recording, Aiden Fucci's sentencing hearing was ongoing. Now, be sure to stay with Law and Crime and the Sidebar podcast as we continue to follow this story, and we will let you know what judge decides on that sentence.

And that's it for this edition of Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. You can listen to Sidebar on Apple, Spotify, Google, and wherever else you get your podcast. And of course, you can always watch it on Law and Crimes YouTube channel. I'm Ann Janette Levy, and we will see you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus.

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