Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 31: The murder of Tristyn Tyne Bailey
88 Plays10 months ago
13 year old Tristyn was a very active, dedicated athlete who had a bright future ahead of her. What teenager would take a highschool course in the summer just to get ahead start? That's how dedicated Tristyn was until it was all ripped away from her. No motive other than a thrill kill from 14 year old Aiden. Take a listen but have tissues ready.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Apologies
00:00:00
minorsofmayhem
do do do do do do do du do du do What's up bitches? In case you haven't noticed, I was trying to do our little intro music, but that didn't work out so well. I was wondering what you were doing. Well, I didn't bring my computer today, so we don't have the intro. Oh, okay. I did the best that I could. Did ya? We expected at the end also.
Leland's Mood and Work Impact
00:00:28
minorsofmayhem
Also, We apologize for not releasing the episode yesterday. um Things got quite a little hectic. Leland has been having a rough few days. He's been in a mood. his We're going through some adjustments. My husband is working really long hours and I think it's really affecting Leland.
00:00:59
minorsofmayhem
because he is used to routine. So hopefully now we'll be able to start getting into it. We might have to pick a different day to record for the summertime. We might have to, but we'll discuss that at the end because, you know, banter in the back.
Organizing True Crime Content
00:01:17
minorsofmayhem
Well, you know, I just wanted to apologize to our listeners for not providing what I said we would provide. um
00:01:30
minorsofmayhem
You know how we're putting the banter at the back and you can never remember your questions and you were always wishing for a notebook and a pen. Here you go. I brought it for you. Thank you so much. So you can write your questions down to remember them instead of letting them go out the back door. Perfect.
00:01:49
minorsofmayhem
Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. So welcome back to Miners of Mayhem. We are a true crime podcast focus focusing on minors who become murderers. um Thanks to all of you returning listeners. We love you guys and appreciate
Cincinnati Diet Negligence Case
00:02:04
minorsofmayhem
you. And if you're new to our podcast, hello. And you too should become a returning listener. Right? Right. but We kind of have fun. You got any questions for me? um What do you got for true crime news? Something terrible. Oh, Lord. In true crime news, I have, in Cincinnati, a 53-year-old man will serve at least seven years in prison for giving his young diabetic daughter a diet of Mountain Dew, which played a role in her death. The girl was only four years old, and her cause of death was listed as diabetic ketoacidosis.
00:02:43
minorsofmayhem
which is defined as acid buildup in the blood. It is a life-threatening problem that affects diabetics. It happens when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast. The liver processes the fat into a fuel called ketones, which causes the blood to become acidic. For more information on this and other crimes, you can go to truecrimedaily.com. I heard about that. Oh, it had you? I did, yeah. It was a couple of weeks ago, I think. um nice I was all caught up with all of my podcasts and I just clicked on one and she was covering that and I was just like, are you kidding me?
00:03:28
minorsofmayhem
new
00:03:31
minorsofmayhem
And something.
00:03:36
minorsofmayhem
So I found a shirt that I really, really want. who ah It's it it true crime, so I can talk about it. um It says how to get rid of predators. And it's that Gary Plushon killing the guy that his son was a ah taking like a karate class and the instructor was molesting him. And when he got caught, the dad
00:04:17
minorsofmayhem
went on live TV and killed the predator because he was getting transported. Oh. And he went and just went. So what, what did the shirt say? How to, how to kill a predator. Uh-huh. And it shows the scene of like Gary shooting. Oh boy. I'll
Tristan Bailey's Promising Life
00:04:40
minorsofmayhem
have to show it to you. Yeah, show it to me. That'd be interesting. It's good. So what are we doing today? Well, we're gonna cover a really fairly new case. um We're gonna cover the horrific and brutal murder of Tristan Tyne Bailey. Is that a boy? Nope, that's a girl. Oh, it is a girl. um We've covered some really rough cases and this one climbs right up in the top for me.
00:05:17
minorsofmayhem
um At the end of the case, I'm going to read the victim impact statement of Alexis Bailey to give you an idea of a beautiful soul, brutally taken from her loving family, her cheer family, her friends, and the impact that this had on the community. This case is very, very recent and I'm going to try to tell it with the utmost respect. Yeah, didn't you say this happened in 2021? Yes. I wonder why I haven't heard of it. I don't know. So I'll give you a little bit of Bailey family background. um If you hear snoring, it's not us. Oh, it's our co host. Rain is with us today. And she's napping.
00:06:03
minorsofmayhem
um Forest was the father, married to Stacy. And then they had Five beautiful children. Well, they called themselves the Bailey seven. Cute. They were a close, close, close knit family. Like above and beyond. That's awesome. me So there was Brittany was the oldest daughter. Alexis was the second oldest daughter. And then came the only boy Tegan.
00:06:38
minorsofmayhem
And then another daughter named Sophia, and then the baby of the family, 13 year old Tristan. Oh, wow. So Tristan was described as being the best friend that anybody and everybody would want. Her favorite color was aqua. Oh, and beautiful color. Nice choice. And she was such a, a an athlete. You know, when I speak of cheerleading or a cheer team here, it's more on a rural setting, you know, like we go to basketball games and we cheer. When I talk about her, I'm not talking about small town basketball games. She was a big time cheerleader, like
00:07:35
minorsofmayhem
on her way to the Olympic of cheerleading. She competed in the summit. Oh, wow. And I think one of her goals was to get into the worlds or something. I don't know much about the cheer world, but she was so good and strived so hard to be so good that she actually was the co-captain with one of her best friends of the cheer team. Wow. She put in hours and hours and hours and taught herself how to do back walkovers, splits, all of the above, back bends, all of it. h She taught herself that's how determined she was to prove to her mom that she could be a cheerleader.
Tristan's Disappearance
00:08:16
minorsofmayhem
And thinking of the time, it being 2021, a lot of 13 year olds, they're they're not that motivated, you know, there's a lot of video games, there's a lot of
00:08:29
minorsofmayhem
you know, just being home bodies. So that's that's wild to think that she was that motivated to she become somebody that she wanted to be. Yep. She was very, very driven. I love that. I do too. And she also was, not only was she driven in her cheer, She was driven as an academic, as academically. She, she kept herself, she was on the honor roll. So not busy, busy. Yeah. So not only was she dedicated to her cheer team, she was dedicated to her schooling also. She even went as far as enrolling in one of her high school courses online during the summertime because she wanted to get a head start on high school.
00:09:21
minorsofmayhem
We're talking serious dedication. Wow. Let me take a high school class during my summer. So I can get ahead. I think had. I can never. we We would have heard good things about her if her future wouldn't have been stolen. Oh, absolutely. So they every Sunday the family knew not to make plans with anybody else because every Sunday was bailey Sunday Bailey Family Fun Day, every Sunday. well Like I said, they were- That's rare. They were a tight, close knit, just all around. That's probably why they stuck so close because they made time for the family. Exactly, exactly. So on Mother's Day of 2021,
00:10:20
minorsofmayhem
The Bailey siblings planned on making breakfast for their mom's special day. When the youngest of the Bailey seven, Tristan, age 13, was late for coming to the kitchen to get started, Tien, her brother, went up to get her, but she wasn't in her room. Quickly, the family searched the house, but Tristan could not be located. They made calls to Tristan's cell phone, but all of these calls went straight to her voicemail.
00:10:50
minorsofmayhem
After approximately 20 minutes of searching, Tristan's mom Stacy called the police to report her missing. After calling police Forest, which is Tristan's dad, which I said earlier, he went driving around looking for her, which of course was unsuccessful. While police organized their search, the Baileys were instructed to stay home. And can you imagine how hard that would be? You know what? I know. They were explained to that that was the best place for them and yada, yada, yada. I mean, the police have their reasons. so yeah They do. They don't want you to interfere with have possible evidence or leads. They have their reasons and knowing that they obviously know how to do their job, you listen to what they have to say. yeah But the Baileys wanting to help as much as possible
00:11:45
minorsofmayhem
They jumped on social media to alert people that she was missing. They also started calling Tristan's friends, hoping for information. From these calls, they were told that she may have been with a fellow schoolmate named
Investigation and Aiden Fucci's Lies
00:12:02
minorsofmayhem
Trey, who actually lived really close to the Bailey's. When Trey was questioned, he first stated that he hadn't seen Tristan at all. But soon he decided to tell the truth. And that was that Tristan was actually at his house the previous night. She arrived shortly after midnight. Another friend at Trey's house, 14 year old Aiden Fucci, had made a call to Tristan's phone at or around midnight. And the timelines varied from resource to resource. So I'm going to be saying approximately a lot.
00:12:40
minorsofmayhem
because I'm not gonna say this was the exact time when another site says it was this time. So all the times that I give are approximate estimates, just to make that clear. So Aiden had talked Tristan into sneaking out and coming to Trey's house to hang out. So around 1 a.m. apparently, around 1 a.m., approximately 1 a.m., somewhere in that vicinity, Trey was ready to go to bed. So Aiden and Tristan left and they left together. So police obviously went to question Aiden and upon approaching Aiden he denied talking with Tristan. They at some point let Aiden know that they were aware that he was the last person known to be with Tristan. He then admitted that he was with Trey and Tristan and that he and Tristan left around 1am.
00:13:30
minorsofmayhem
According to Aiden, they walked together and their until their path to their respective homes went separate ways. He then went his way and she went hers and that was the last time he saw her. Police ended their questioning and went on to hunt for more information. You know, that was just the first initial.
00:13:52
minorsofmayhem
Okay. At the Bailey home, their social media post, which I believe was through Instagram, was getting comments, which the police were watching. And after questioning more friends and not getting anything new, it was decided to go back and question Aiden once again. He was questioned at the residence. He told the same exact story about going the separate ways and not seeing Tristan after that.
00:14:21
minorsofmayhem
Apparently one of his parents brought up the question of why he didn't get home until around 3 a.m. Apparently they had home video camera surveillance that showed him arriving home around that time. And with the parents' permission, Aidan accompanied officers to show them the path that they walked. and They wanted to see exactly where they walked, which way they went, where did they go separate ways. And as they were driving the path that they had taken that night, Aidan just started talking and his story changed.
00:14:56
minorsofmayhem
Now he is saying that she did not turn down her street. Instead, there was an incident between the two of them and he pushed her off of him really hard and she fell and hit her head. And instead of checking on her, he just turned and walked away angry. Why was why was she on him? Write it down.
00:15:21
minorsofmayhem
It was at this time that the police made the decision to detain him. As this was happening, things elsewhere were really moving quick. Someone sent an email to officers containing a screenshot of Snapchats. One of these Snapchats, I got to turn my page, was a selfie of Aiden with the caption saying, quote, hey guys, has any anyone seen Tristan lately? Unquote. One of the comments said, quote, you are with her Aiden, you know what happened to her. Unquote.
00:15:57
minorsofmayhem
Among these snaps were Aiden in the back of the police car, making various gestures and, you know, just, just being a ass kid, it's making various gestures and just dumb. Just, I don't even know how to explain it. My mind cannot go back to that age. I don't think. Police were able to collect surveillance from the houses in the area. And one of my resources claimed that almost every house in that neighborhood had some kind of doorbell camera. So the investigators actually hit pay dirt. Hit what? Pay dirt. Meaning? They hit the lottery with the video camera with the video surveillance. Pay dirt? Never heard it. Wrong generation. You all right? You got it?
00:16:50
minorsofmayhem
Yeah. Okay. They hit big. They hit big. They hit the lotto. In the meantime, at 6 PM, a man was searching behind his house on his way out for a run. Apparently his wife had mentioned looking around back there as they had people throwing trash back there and kids fooling around on occasion. And they actually lived in the area where Tristan had went missing, so the wife really wanted him to check back there. Unfortunately, he would discover an obviously deceased body. She was laying on her side in the brush with the ground blood soaked. She was fully clothed with her cell phone and pink vape laying close by along with a ring and some money.
00:17:45
minorsofmayhem
This horrific discovery was in fact, the body of 13 year old Tristan Tyne Bailey. Excuse me. I'm sorry. And she was officially pronounced dead at approximately 6 15 on mother's day, May 9th, 2021.
00:18:06
minorsofmayhem
I got to turn my page. I'm sorry. I didn't have my computer to put all of this in. Not all of the Bayley Seven were at home. The oldest Bayley sibling, Brittany, was on the first day of her honeymoon in Las Vegas. So via FaceTime, Forrest had to tell Brittany the devastating news. And according to one interview that I listened to, Brittany's heartbreaking screams could be heard throughout the MGM. I can't even pretend to understand what this must have been like.
00:18:41
minorsofmayhem
it is unimaginable to me. Brittany and her husband caught the first available flight back to Florida. Now behind the scenes police were working diligently on putting together all the video surveillance they were able to collect. So from all of this footage a timeline was put together along with other gathered information and like I said I'm going to be saying approximately a lot because the times varied quite a bit.
00:19:13
minorsofmayhem
So on Saturday, May 8th at approximately 11, 45 PM, the Bailey family returned home from eating out Sunday, May 9th at approximately 12, 25 AM. Did I say AM when I said 11, 45? That should be 11, 45 PM that the Bailey's got home from eating out on May 8th. I don't, okay. And then on Sunday, and May 9th, approximately 12, 25 AM, an incoming call came from Aiden's phone to Tristan's phone. Approximately 12.30 a.m. Tristan arrives at Trey's house. At approximately 1.10 a.m. Tristan and Aiden leave Trey's house. At approximately 1.24 a.m. community center video
Aiden Fucci's Arrest and Evidence
00:20:03
minorsofmayhem
footage shows two people matching Tristan and Aiden's description walking. At 1.45 a.m. approximate
00:20:13
minorsofmayhem
Two of the same people were seen again walking toward the end of the cul-de-sac. At 3.20 a.m. approximately, one person is seen in running in the opposite direction carrying what looked like white tennis shoes. At 3.30 a.m. approximately, Aiden returns home. At approximately 9.40 a.m., Tristan is discovered missing. At approximately 10 a.m., mom calls 911 after the Bailey searched their house and couldn't find Tristan. And at approximately 6 p.m., the body was found at the edge of the property located at the cul-de-sac near a retention pond. And at 615 p.m., Tristan was officially pronounced deceased.
00:21:09
minorsofmayhem
As you can tell by the timeline, this case was unfolding at a rapid pace. m Everything was just happening. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I think from the time she was missing to the time that most of this was, you know, aside from all the little details and collecting everything, I think it was like 14 hours. I mean, this was going and it was going hard and fast.
00:21:39
minorsofmayhem
So now we're going to jump back to the police station where, remember, they had detained Aiden and he, his mother, and his stepfather were in an interview room. When they were alone in the interview room, Aiden's mother said, quote, you know, they found this girl, right? Unquote. Aiden asks where and his mom replies in our neighborhood down our main street. Aiden asks, quote, is she good? Unquote. And mom says, no, she's not. She's dead. That's why this is important. It's all on you right now. And Aiden says, why is this my problem?
00:22:20
minorsofmayhem
Unquote. Look at the evidence. And so to which this, the parents explained to him because he was the last one known to be with her. And once again, I'm going to reiterate itate that this is happening at a very, very quick pace. A search warrant had been issued for the Fuchi home and some very incriminating evidence would be found to include an empty knife sheath, wet white tennis shoes buried under a pile of clothing that appeared to have what looked like blood on them, clothing worn that evening.
00:22:57
minorsofmayhem
and they also swabbed the bathroom sink and actually collected the drain from that particular sink. With all of the evidence found in Aiden's room, an arrest was made at that time and Aiden was charged with second degree murder. As investigators are going through all of the evidence, apparently the Fuchi family had cameras inside their house and they came across some pretty interesting footage.
00:23:26
minorsofmayhem
This showed Aiden's mom, Crystal, walking into Aiden's room, picking up a pair of his jeans, taking them into the bathroom, grabbing something from the shower, and she starts scrubbing them in the sink. She then takes the jeans, walks out and shows them to a friend. like like looking for something, and she takes them back to the bathroom and starts scrubbing them some more.
00:24:01
minorsofmayhem
On interview on you room video, she was almost coaching and suggesting things. Like like from the video, we all know Aiden was wearing jeans that night and that morning, you know? And in a suggestive manner, she said, You mean your khakis, right?
00:24:24
minorsofmayhem
Basically trying to. Not like. Coach him. Not coach him. Suggestively coach him. Yeah. Like, I know we're being recorded. You catch my drift here. Co-horsed. Co-horsed. Yeah. Because in the West Memphis three, when they were interviewing the one, You mean at this time, right? Yes. That is a perfect example. Yes. Yeah, exactly like that.
00:25:01
minorsofmayhem
Sorry, I had to have a drink. I had to wet my whistle. But we'll touch a little more on Crystal later. Her deeds will not go unpunished. Just let me tell you that because I can see the look on your face. You look like you want to jump through the microphone and choke some butter. This pen might be a trash, by the way. I can see you terrorizing that pen. These are brutal, ma'am. You haven't heard nothing yet. I don't want to. Aside from all of the other stuff going on, Tristan's autopsy had been completed.
Legal Proceedings and Guilty Plea
00:25:33
minorsofmayhem
And the findings are horrific. Tristan fought with all of her might. The findings were Tristan had been stabbed 114 times.
00:25:44
minorsofmayhem
It also showed that Tristan was alive for all of them. That's personal. She had stab wounds to her head, neck, arms, hands, and back. And both of her lungs were collapsed. They also recovered from her scalp what appeared to be the broken tip off of a knife. Unfortunately, the murder weapon had not been found yet. But that would change when it was decided to search the retention pond near where Tristan's body was found. And sure enough, the divers located a knife in the pond and lo and behold, when it was inspected, it also was missing the tip of the blade. It would seem like things are not looking so great for Aiden. And when police interviewed Aiden's girlfriend, things would look even worse.
00:26:41
minorsofmayhem
She told police that Aiden talked about killing people frequently. And about a month prior, Aiden told her he would find a random person walking at night, drag them into the woods and stab them. She also said he liked knives. Two of his favorite knives even had names or nicknames, Picker and Poker.
00:27:03
minorsofmayhem
On a couple of of occasions, he would pretend stab her or come up behind her and put a knife to her throat in a playful manner. Why did she stay? I suppose she was scared. In an interview with one of Tristan's friends, she said she didn't like Aiden and he is a quote textbook definition of what you would call a numb kid. He has no feelings towards anyone, no feelings towards himself, unquote. and that he is, quote, the type of person you would see as a murderer. He just doesn't care, unquote.
00:27:43
minorsofmayhem
Is that your phone making my noise? Oh, okay. So DNA testing results had also been completed and this showed the blood on Aiden's shoes, shirt, and the knife were all a match to Tristan's blood.
00:28:00
minorsofmayhem
The knife was also matched to the tip taken from Tristan's scalp. On May 21st, Aidan had his first court appearance. The judge ruled that Aidan would be held without bail while the investigation continued. He would be tried as an adult and his charges had been upgraded from second degree murder to premeditated first degree murder. Thank God.
00:28:29
minorsofmayhem
On June 3rd, Aiden entered a not guilty plea to the charges, meaning that this would go to trial. Now, on June 5th, Aiden's mother, Crystal Smith, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, to which at her pre-trial hearing, she entered a not guilty plea.
00:28:56
minorsofmayhem
On September 1, Aidan had another court hearing and in true pond scum style, he rocked back and forth in his chair, whispering, quote, I won't let you demons take my soul away. I know you demons killed my soul, unquote.
00:29:16
minorsofmayhem
And yeah he was staring off into space, looking confused and asking to talk to his mom. So you know what he's doing here. Trying to look insane. Yep. He's trying to set himself up for insanity, but there was a smart prosecutor. And just in case that that was one of the defense's strategies, she took it upon herself to watch a video from right before this little trial where he had this episode and then video immediately after and
00:29:56
minorsofmayhem
via that video, both times he was talking to his mom and he was just completely fine. There's nothing wrong with him. That was nine out of 10 people pretty much believed that that was a show and a porous attempt at looking insane. So on July 25th, 2022,
00:30:25
minorsofmayhem
Aiden's defense team asked for the trial to be pushed out further and this was granted and the trial date was set for November 2022. Unfortunately, in August of 22, the trial date was again pushed out further due to the prosecutor who was in the midst of a double homicide death penalty case.
00:30:46
minorsofmayhem
So now the trial was set for February 2023.
00:30:53
minorsofmayhem
because the prosecutor was going through a different trial? Yeah, and they have very limited prosecutors and very, they have such a vast area and they have a lack of, and literally it wouldn't have done justice to Tristan's case to time crunch her into finishing up this one and still doing a good job on this one. i mean What she did was completely justifiable. She wanted to present, she wanted to do both cases justice. And if she had- Did the other one happen before Tristan? I have no idea. I can only assume. That makes sense. Yeah. That's a good lawyer if she wants to.
00:31:43
minorsofmayhem
You know, right. She did. Yes, exactly. She was quite amazing prepared. if If you go further deep in this, which I didn't go that deep, she's one hell of a prosecutor. Good. Um, on February 23rd, jury selection was set to begin the very morning before jury selection started. Aidan Fuchi would change his plea from not guilty to guilty. So this case would not go to trial. and would move right forward into the sentencing phase.
00:32:21
minorsofmayhem
Why? Because he couldn't get insanity? I don't know. I don't know why that was chosen to do. And I think people were kind of shocked by it, especially in the morning of whatever. But if you look at all the evidence they have, he wasn't done. Probably didn't want it all aired out, which Well, it's going to anyway. It's going to anyway in the, in the, yeah. So I got to readjust myself here. My hip is going dead. Sorry guys. So on February, okay. I already read that he changed his plea. It's not going. Okay. So on March 21st, 2023, the sentencing trial began.
00:33:08
minorsofmayhem
This hearing began with testimony from the medical examiners, experts, family, et cetera. The state prosecutor, Jennifer Dutton, testified that this case was extremely different than other youth homicide cases. She stated the crime that Aiden committed was not a crime committed because of lack of maturity. Aiden displayed knowing right from wrong in his actions that he took after he murdered Tristan, sneaking back into the home, hiding bloody clothes and showering off evidence. And she also testified that Aiden and his brothers grew up in a very loving and supportive home. His parents did a great job co-parenting and he had a wonderful stepfather. Aiden's grandmother even said he was very spoiled.
00:34:00
minorsofmayhem
So there was no abuse or trauma to help with the why. This was just a heinous crime done only to satisfy Aiden's want to know how it felt to kill.
Family's Heartfelt Statements
00:34:10
minorsofmayhem
Aiden's behavior in jail was also talked about. He had made threats to other inmates and correctional officers saying he would kill them. He also boasted saying that all of the other inmates used guns in their murders, but he quote, killed a bitch by stabbing her face to face unquote.
00:34:34
minorsofmayhem
Two psychologists testified and their testimony basically backed each other up. They agreed, you know, and and they agreed with each other, which is interesting. Um, I don't think that happens often. Quote, eight
00:34:52
minorsofmayhem
Can you guys hear my dog smiling? Oh my God. um Quote, Aiden Fuchi possesses personal dynamics and personality features that make him extremely unusual and highly dangerous. Unquote. He said Aiden had a problem with authority and the actions he displayed following Tristan's murder were nothing short of cold and callous. And that in their opinion, Aiden was not suffering from any mental health disorders. Nothing. Just authority problems.
00:35:31
minorsofmayhem
He knew right from wrong. He knew what he was doing was wrong. um So this is where it's going to get really tough. I wasn't laughing at what you were saying. I know you're laughing at the snoring dog who actually just lifted her head up. So Bree, this is where we're going to get a little emotional. ah So maybe we should just take a quick little sip and wet our whistles here. I've been doing that. Oh, rain, you're so cute.
00:36:05
minorsofmayhem
um
00:36:13
minorsofmayhem
I'd like to take the time to read Alexis Bailey's victim impact statement.
00:36:21
minorsofmayhem
Pause. Sorry about that. We are resuming now. Okay, I think I left off saying that I would like to take the time to read Alex, Alexis Bailey, what? I hear him whining again. Is he? Do you want to pause again? No. Okay. He stopped. To read Alexis Bailey's victim impact statement. I encourage all of you to look them up and watch them. They're so powerful. I wish I could cover each one as they are so moving and give a picture of what Aidan's actions has done, not only to the friends and family, but the entire community.
00:37:05
minorsofmayhem
Alexis Bailey, with her to this stand, brought a glass jar and 114 aqua stones. I've seen this. One by one, she dropped the stones into the glass jar. Quote, 114, unquote. And then she started dropping the 114 stones in the glass jar in a completely silent courtroom. Quote, this jar now holds 114 stones, one for each of the 114 stab wounds that my sister had to endure.
00:37:44
minorsofmayhem
It was one hour and 42 minutes between when my sister was last seen and when 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. Aiden Fucci could show compassion for his sore feet, yet had nothing to leave for my beautiful sister. The number of questions I have for Aiden Fucci Surrounding that night plagued my mind. Did she see you coming at her with a knife or did you stab her while she was 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 that she could no longer breathe due to her collapsed lungs? What were her last words?
00:38:41
minorsofmayhem
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 answers to any of these questions or were you too caught up in the thrill of the kill? The last time I heard my sister's voice was May 8th, 2021. I have racked my brain trying to remember the last words she said to me. Was it I love you? Was it goodbye or did we say nothing at all? What I do remember is her walking out that door. I have nightmares about that moment. In my dreams, I try to reach out and grab her, beg her to spend the night, anything to prevent what happens just hours later. Yet every time the door closes before I can get to her. The memories of May 9th will forever be ingrained in my mind, body and soul.
00:39:39
minorsofmayhem
To know that I was awake and only 11 minutes away from my sister as she was being brutally murdered, could I have saved her? I remember the vivid feelings of my body collapsing on the ground as the police informed us that they had found a body. Then finding out hours later, it was Tristan's body. I remember becoming physically ill and having a detective grip my hair as my body uncontrollably expelled everything from my stomach between my sobs. The pain I felt in every nerve as I watched my dad lying on the floor screaming in a way no human should ever be able to produce. Our family broke that day and I don't recognize any of us anymore.
00:40:23
minorsofmayhem
I have watched my parents going from believing that they were good parents to believing they were failures. I have listened to my parents question, what did we do wrong? What kind of mother or father was I not to protect my child? I've watched them overanalyze every conversation, every action, trying to figure out what they could have done differently. I've watched my older sister, Brittany, become unrecognizable with anger. I've watched my brother Tegan emotionally shut down and avoid the family due to the pain being home causes. I've watched my younger sister, Sophia, completely lose her childhood and be cast into the role of being a parent and being the resident therapist for my mother. I've seen the changes in myself, the responsibilities and burden that I have to undertake because of the actions of Aiden Fucci.
00:41:15
minorsofmayhem
I am the one who had the responsibility of speaking with the funeral home and forcing my parents to decide which urn to put what remained of Tristan in. I was the one who had to pick her up from the funeral home and make the long drive home with her ashes. I have what remains of her beautiful blonde hair now stained red, sitting in my house haunting me daily. I've had to become the safe place for my parents and hold space for their feelings. I've had to commit every detail of Tristan's murder to memory so that whenever someone has a question they need only ask and not be burdened with looking up the answers themselves through the hundreds of pages of court documents and police records.
00:41:58
minorsofmayhem
I bear the thoughts that one day the trauma we have all been through because of the actions of Aiden Fucci will cost the lives of my other family members. I have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder. I've been um like unable to work at times during this process due to the trauma and PTSD attacks triggered by knives, blood, and open wounds. My relationships had suffered have suffered. My physical and mental health has diminished and my goals for the future have seemingly disappeared. Aiden Fuchi didn't just take Tristan's life that day. He took everything from us, our family's sense of security, laughs, health, and potential for us, and potential. For us, justice does not exist in this case and closure does not exist in this case.
00:42:51
minorsofmayhem
peace, understanding, and forgiveness will never come. The duty of this court today is to determine determine and weigh all of the factors in this case to decide the just sentence for the crimes in Fuchi committed with retribution and potential rehabilitation sadly being considered. The only justifiable sentence in this case is a full life sentence. Anything short of that would be an insult to not only our justice system and community, but to our family and Tristan's legacy. Lastly, I would like to add my own stone to the 114 that I added for Tristan. This white stone represents my trust in people, which died the day that Aidan Fuche chose to kill my sister." Unquote.
00:43:41
minorsofmayhem
Now, it went on. um So each of the family members that did, now, Sophie is the only one that didn't do a victim act impact statement, they the second to the youngest. Who is now the youngest? Yeah. So Stacie actually put in two white stones, but each each one that family member would put in a white stone representing something that they lost the day that he took Tristan. So Stacy placed two white stones in the jar saying, quote,
00:44:17
minorsofmayhem
I am going to be placing two white stones to this. This white stone is for her sister, Sophie, who will never have the opportunity to be a big sister again, and you stole that from her. This last one is for me, and it represents everything that you have stolen from me. My words, my joy, my hope, my future, and my beautiful daughter." Unquote.
00:44:45
minorsofmayhem
On March 24, 2023, the judge would hand down Aiden's sentence, but before he does that, he takes the time to address the Bailey family, and this is what he said, quote, let me address the Bailey family, as well as friends who are here today and who have been here throughout these proceedings. The loss in which you have clearly suffered is unimaginable. The court was certainly moved by the words and the victim impact statements that were presented earlier this week. I have been through these types of proceedings numerous times. Sometimes family members hope or expect that whatever the sentence is that somehow or another
00:45:28
minorsofmayhem
that that is going to heal or provide closure. And I just want to warn you that it's not. That's not how it works. No matter what sentence this court imposes today, it cannot heal you. I cannot bring her back. I cannot provide a closure to this. It may close a chapter of this, but it will not close this for you. You still have a lot of healing to do and I certainly am not going to take the place of any of your counselors or therapists, but my advice to you is simply this. Understand that the healing process takes time and you have to move through the stages and you have to allow each other to move through the stages at your own pace.
00:46:11
minorsofmayhem
Comfort each other, but understand that some of you may reach different phases of this healing process sooner than others. Your daughter and your sister, obviously her body is no longer present on this earth. However, her spirit lives on through each and every one of you.
00:46:29
minorsofmayhem
From what this court can tell, she was quite an energetic, happy child. Some of you have testified to the fact that when you learned of a death, part of you died as well. What I would suggest is that you fill that void with her spirit and her life that certainly lives on through each and every one of you. Allow Bailey Sunday fundays to return to your home. Allow laughter to return to your home because in depriving yourselves of that, frankly, it would continue to victimize Tristan be because it is not what she would want. She would want that happiness and the laughter to return and the joking between her siblings. That's what she would truly want. You have to try to let go of some of the anger that you still feel.
Judicial Reflections and Sentencing
00:47:14
minorsofmayhem
I think that is going to be a big part of this process for you." Unquote.
00:47:19
minorsofmayhem
He goes on, but I just kind of wanted to share that. i What I read, I felt this judge really had some solid advice and and maybe somebody else needs to hear it out there, you know, that's going through something similar or anything. He also went on to say, quote, I would submit that this case is probably the most difficult and shocking case this county in St. Johns County has dealt with. In the 20 years that I have been, 16 years I've been practicing law and the 30 years that I have lived and worked in all of Northeast Florida, this case is one of only a very small few that had this level and this type of impact on the community. This court gives that factor great weight." Unquote.
00:48:08
minorsofmayhem
He goes on to explain more, but it felt that that paragraph cranny hits home as to how the crime had an impact on the community. And now I'm going to jump to the part where the judge discusses the actual crime. This part will shed light on how brutal this was. um If you don't want to hear it, I would skip ahead. Quote, 114 stab wounds, 49 defensive wounds, 35 wounds to the head and neck, 29 to the back and shoulder, and six fatal wounds. This court has reviewed and seen more than its fair share of autopsy photos. so The autopsy photos in this particular case were particularly difficult.
00:48:52
minorsofmayhem
The 49 defensive wounds indicate that Tristan Bailey was conscious, that she was aware and that she was doing everything she could do to fend off this attack. She suffered a painful, a horrifying death from someone that she trusted. Her screams were most likely stifled by her own suffocating lungs. He lured her into a secluded place in the woods near his home, a person that she trusted, and he led her there under false pretenses. There was a heightened level of premeditation in this case. Based on the prior statements that he made to his girlfriend and his friend, he indicated that he was going to kill someone, one at which point he determined that it was going to be Tristan Bailey, I do not know.
00:49:39
minorsofmayhem
but there was going to be a victim. He indicated how he was going to do it, that he would take them into a wooded place, that he would stab them, he would kill them, and then run away so that he could keep on killing. He told his best friend that he wanted to kill someone to see what it felt like, and he wanted to watch them bleed out. This particular crime was committed with the weapon of choice with the weapon of choice as a knife, which he nicknamed poker. That required an up close, personal type of murder that is rare. It's unique. The court accepts that in 2019, of all juvenile arrests, only 7% were violent and only 1% of those were homicides. This crime is clearly an outlier and it was shocking and it is shocking to the conscious." Unquote.
00:50:32
minorsofmayhem
Now the judge talked about the motive or, should I say, lack thereof. He states, quote, what is also very troubling is that this crime had no motive. This was not done out of greed. It was not done in retaliation, 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. It was done for no other reason than to satisfy this defendant's internal desire to feel what it was like to kill someone. It was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense for moral or legal justification, and it was heinous, atrocious, and cruel." unquote
00:51:26
minorsofmayhem
And now for the sentence, which I will quote the judge, quote, Mr. Fuche, if you and your attorneys would please rise. Council, is there any legal reason why this court cannot impose sentence at this time? Unquote. And the counselor says, no, sir. And the judge continues, quote, Mr. Fuchi, having entered a plea of guilty to the crime of first degree murder, I adjudicate you guilty of the premeditated first degree murder of Tristan Bailey. I sentence you to life in prison. Because of your age, you are eligible for review of this sentence in 25 years. Now, for those of you that don't want to stick around for discussion and probably some off topic chatting, now is your time to exit.
00:52:12
minorsofmayhem
For those of you that stuck around, let's get to it. Hit me with some questions, Brianna, but I'm gonna take a drink before you hit me.
00:52:24
minorsofmayhem
How old was Aiden again? 14. And you know what? I probably didn't say it. He was 14 years old. Did Aiden or Trey say why they initially lied when they were first questioned? Aidan did not, but one can only assume it's because he, he was guilty and he knew he was guilty and he was just trying to cover, you know, so let's make a bunch of stupid little lies to try to, you know, deter now Trey, on the other hand. Yes. There's a reason why he lied. Supposedly he was grounded and he didn't tell the truth because he didn't want his parents to find out that he had people over. He actually had snuck them in.
00:53:11
minorsofmayhem
And that was why Trey lied. Now take it with a grain of salt. These kids are 14 years old. Is that really the truth? Hell if I know. Um,
00:53:28
minorsofmayhem
did, did Trey know about
00:53:34
minorsofmayhem
like how Aiden was like how he he told his best friend so Aiden and Trey were best friends yeah so he did tell him like he wanted to kill yep the girlfriend did he know he did Trey know Aiden was gonna do it that night I don't believe so no he acted alone it was no um Did they find evidence of the premeditation or just going off of his girlfriend's statement and hit trees?
00:54:08
minorsofmayhem
um
00:54:12
minorsofmayhem
Oh, what did I have written down? I gotta to go back. The judge said, what did the judge say? Give me a second.
00:54:26
minorsofmayhem
Motive. Is that what you're talking about? No. You want to go to the premeditated part? Yeah. Okay, so premeditated, he said,
00:54:38
minorsofmayhem
based on prior statements. Mm hmm. Yeah, so he going off of prior statements and actions. Yep.
00:54:52
minorsofmayhem
Okay. um My last question is, when you were talking about Aiden's statement, he said that she was on Aiden. And he had pushed her off, making her hit her head, and he just walked off. What was that? Okay, so according to a few different resources, and the only reason that I didn't want to put this in there is because I find it degrading because just from getting to know Tristan throughout the research in this case,
00:55:34
minorsofmayhem
Aiden's full of shit. There's no way that she would. He's claiming that she grabbed his penis. Well, that's that's a lie. So I didn't even want to... that's So he was trying to make it look like it was her self-defense. Her fault and he pushed her down and she accidentally hit her. He's trying to, yeah. I'm sorry, but you don't get 114 stab wounds from falling and hitting your head. And then I think in another Another source, and I don't think I could back that source up. I think that may be why I left it out. He said something like um her being down somewhere probably with her drug dealer. Well, we all know that's a bunch of shit too. That's why I didn't even put that in there. But yeah, he was he was digging words out of his ass to try to come up with something that sounded
00:56:33
minorsofmayhem
Believable. Believable. Yes. Jesus. That was pretty much all my questions. As we were, as you continued on, um I crossed out once. Because you answered them. Okay, cool beans. I don't like you. Well, I love you, so I'm sorry. I love you, but I don't want to like you. I was. As soon as you started that.
00:57:09
minorsofmayhem
ah Victim impacts. My chest got so tight and heavy. Well, I kept having to like. I'm going to encourage you to listen to them all no because that was just Alexis is now she was the second. Oldest. That wasn't Britney's. It wasn't Britney's cheer coach. It wasn't Britney's mom and dad. It wasn't T and her brother. We know Sophia didn't give one, but there's more victim impact statements. And I encourage everybody to just go Google Aiden Fuchi and the videos should pop up. You should see YouTube videos. I was looking up photos of her when you were talking.
00:57:51
minorsofmayhem
She's a beautiful girl. Oh, I know. Holy. Yep. So beautiful. And he looks like a fricking weasel. He's a weasel. Pond scum. Scum. Lower than that. Whatever's lower than that. 14 years old. Just wanted to know what it felt like.
00:58:11
minorsofmayhem
And I'm sorry, but if one of my best friends came up to me and was like, I just want to know what it feels for one. They wouldn't be my best friend anymore. Two, I'd be calling the Popo ASAP. But again, they're teenagers, yeah young adolescents. They don't know anything. If we only knew then what we know now, because as a 14 year old, I don't know that I would say anything back now.
00:58:43
minorsofmayhem
Well, children were heard or seen and not heard back in my day. We didn't tell our parents shit. My brother beat me up out behind the house. I sucked it up because I know if I told mom and dad, he was going to get in trouble. And the next time he got me, I was going to get double trouble. Yeah. You know, so I, I, in this day and age, it was 2021. In this day and age, where we are in the world with feelings and with, you know, with everything, where we're at in the world, it should have been reported. Yeah. Now back in my day. No, no, even back in my day.
00:59:20
minorsofmayhem
Yeah. Like you pretty much just suck it up. Took care of your shit yourself. You didn't go telling your parents nothing, but now we're more open about life. And we can talk about these things, but so like I said, this was 2021. There was absolutely, you know, I, I don't know her side of the story as to why she didn't tell or why the friend didn't tell. Was it because they thought he was kidding and would never follow through with it? There's two sides to every story. I don't know that side of you know the story. Did he threaten him? And what did he say happened to his mom? Oh, yes. So she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation for tampering with evidence.
01:00:10
minorsofmayhem
You're joking. So she knew that he had done something absolutely heinous. And was trying to cover it up. And was trying to cover it up. She got 30 days in jail. And five years probation, yeah. She should be right along i know with her son. But I'm just going to try to weigh both sides here.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
01:00:38
minorsofmayhem
walking her shoes for a little bit and your child did that. Oh, I don't give a F. Right. We say that. We say that now sitting here not facing that problem. Did did she think that he killed somebody or did this happen like and before they knew that he 100% had murdered her, you know?
01:01:06
minorsofmayhem
I think it happened when she was actually still deemed just a missing person. Because remember, everything happened fast. It happened within... Right. so she So at the time that she washed those pants, she probably had no idea what she was washing. That could be very well possible. It could be. But knowing that it was something, because the police at that time that she was doing that were actually questioning Aiden outside. so
01:01:34
minorsofmayhem
Maybe that weighed into it a little bit, and that's why the lighter sentence, she probably had a clean record and and probably didn't have any idea what she was doing. But she had every opportunity to come forward right away. Very true. Once they found her body. She did, but she did not. She kept her mouth shut. Exactly. like but That's where I would like to think that I would draw the line when it when he first when my child first came home and they're covered in blood but okay well what happened oh well I just I slipped and fell and I hurt myself but whatever I'm sure he lied about it it's not somebody else I'm not sure I would have to go back and look at all the videos you know if he tried lying about what he'd done wait a minute now
01:02:35
minorsofmayhem
I seem to think this might have coincided somehow with maybe it was, you know, I don't want to say because I don't, I can't back nothing up right at this minute. I don't want to say, but I'm wondering if I'm trying to figure exactly what was taking place when it happened. What was happening at the police station? What was happening here? What was happening there? Was she just a missing person at that time? And they didn't know Aiden was involved. I'm not sure exactly. I want to know like what he told his parents or what he told his mom. Why she was washing those jeans. I think. Oh, I hear that. Yeah. I don't, I don't know the answer to that right off the table. I mean, like, yes, I do. So in my, in, in that aspect, like.
01:03:32
minorsofmayhem
Maybe he fell. Maybe you told his mom I fell hurt myself. These are my favorite genes. Can you help get them out? Right. That could be, but then once everything started coming about, about her missing and when they find Tristan's body and Aiden being the last person to be seen with her alive, you should, I would come forward. You would think one would think one would hope, but until i cannot tell I would hope that I would do the right thing. But I can't 100% say that until, heaven forbid, until I was faced, I don't know what I would do. it My body and my mind likes to think that I would do the right thing. you ah actually sure would But I bet it would be a battle in my head. I bet it would be a battle though.
01:04:26
minorsofmayhem
it would be it'd be very hard because as a mom you want to protect your kids but you don't want your kids to be shitheads yeah i i can see the conflict but justice should always prevail you should always choose right over wrong yeah that kind and i'm not you know i'm not being um a religious pusher or anything like that but in my own he obviously comes first
01:04:59
minorsofmayhem
I would, I would definitely seek guidance from the man upstairs to help me get through something like that if I were ever presented write something with that. Yep. I agree. Well, um, thanks for that, uh, very brutal
01:05:23
minorsofmayhem
case yeah i was uh i'm never a fan of these brutal cases but they are very deserving to be put out there and um their stories told especially you know when that she got her whole life ahead of her yeah she was determined even the ones that aren't as determined as her they still be deserve they still deserve to be told
01:05:52
minorsofmayhem
So, you're gonna be gone this weekend, correct?
01:05:59
minorsofmayhem
Oh. No? No. Well, and I work. I'll be back and forth. Dad'll be out. Are are you still coming over to record, though, on Sunday? I can. Okay. Are you gonna have a case ready? I will push to get one done. I don't want to say for sure that we're going to do one and then not. So we are officially saying that for the summer, we will record once a week. We just don't know what day. Yeah. We're, we'd like to be consistent, but it's summertime. Camping, fishing, horseback rides, brandings, yeah trail rides. And they usually happen on the weekends and we're not home. And then you work all week. So, work all week you know, it'll be on days that
01:06:47
minorsofmayhem
our light our light and you you know We'll go from there. Once a week, you guys. You're getting it once to a week. You will get once a week. And if you're not going to get once a week, then we will make a post. yeah But um please leave us a rate and review. It helps other true crime nerds like us find us. um If you'd like to contact us, you may do so by emailing us at minorsofmayhematyahoo.com. If you would like updates, case photos, links to the podcast, you can follow us on our Facebook page. Just search minors of mayhem.
01:07:21
minorsofmayhem
We have a YouTube channel, although all episodes are not videoed. Like today, we did not video. We're not at the Pod Lab. But the ones that we have, you can watch on our YouTube channel. Brianna, how can you find that? YouTube dot.com slash at Miners of Mayhem or Miners of Mayhem. I think so. So anyway, or just type it in the bar, you'll find us. And sometimes we post the link on our Facebook page too. Sometimes. Sometimes. When we remember. but Depends upon if we remember or not. We need a checklist. We need a pod we do podcast day checklist. Did you do this? Check, check, check. So in the meantime, please refrain from being pond scum. Life is too short.
01:08:01
minorsofmayhem
and keep your happy asses safe out there. Bye. Bye. You gotta do the Jack and Bob. Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. Pop goes the weasel. Pop goes the range. She popped her head out. Bye, guys. Bye.