Aiden Fucci pens letter of remorse for killing Tristyn Bailey – but doesn’t apologise directly to her

Tristyn Bailey’s classmate killer wrote a letter expressing remorse to the family for fatally stabbing her 114 times but in it never apologised directly to the teenager he brutally murdered.

Aiden Fucci, who is now 16, knifed the Florida cheerleader to death on Mother’s Day 2021 and her body was found dumped in woods near his home south of Jacksonville, Florida.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February and on 24 March was handed life imprisonment by Judge R Lee Smith for her brutal killing. His sentence can be reviewed after he spends 25 years behind bars.

Fucci, who is now 16, was a juvenile when the killing occurred and was not eligible for the death penalty.

“This was not done out of greed. It was not done in retaliation or retribution or revenge. It was not a crime of passion. It was not a crime that was committed because he felt rejected by her. It was not done in a fit of uncontrollable anger. There was no reason. There was no purpose,” Judge Smith told St Johns County Court.

“It was done for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant’s internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone,” Smith said. “This leads this court to the conclusion that there is only one appropriate sentence in this case.”

During his sentencing hearing this week, Tristyn’s mother, father and siblings all addressed the judge to describe their heartbreaking loss and what Fucci had taken away from them.

Rather than appeal to the judge directly, Fucci instead wrote him a letter.

“First off I want to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the pain I caused to the Bailey family. I(’m) sorry to the friends, brothers, sisters, mom, dad and any other family relatives. I’m sorry that you didn’t get to know her that long. You did not have any long relationships with (Tristyn) and for that I’m sorry,” he wrote.

In the letter, he also apologised to his own mother and father, as well as the community that was left devastated by the murder.

And he added: “...I know my (apology) will not fix anything or bring her back but I hope it help(s) in some way.”

Tristyn was reported missing to St Johns County Sheriff’s Office by her family at around 10am on Sunday 9 May, which was Mother’s Day.

She was last seen at the family home at around midnight and although it is unclear when she left a friend told investigators that Tristyn and Fucci were both at a friend’s house together.

Investigators said she and Fucci were seen on surveillance cameras leaving the house together at around 1am, with Fucci spotted by the same camera walking back alone two hours later.

Her body was found at around 6pm that night near a retention pond near Saddlestone Drive, outside Jacksonville.

Fucci, who lived around half a mile from where the body was discovered, was arrested just hours after Tristyn’s body was discovered.

As he sat in a police car, he posted a selfie to Snapchat that read, “Hey guys has anybody seen Tristyn lately.”