Mother of Aiden Fucci, teen who stabbed cheerleader 114 times, sentenced for evidence tampering

A Florida mom pleaded no contest to evidence tampering after washing blood from the jeans of her 14-year-old son who’s now serving a life sentence for stabbing a cheerleader 114 times.

Crystal Smith, 37, was charged with a third-degree felony and sentenced to 30 days in jail, plus 5 years probation, the state attorney’s office for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit said Friday.

Home video cameras caught Smith washing the blood out of son Aiden Fucci’s jeans after he killed 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey on May 9, 2021.

“What the defendant did was not protecting her child — she was assisting him in avoiding responsibility for an extraordinarily vicious and merciless crime,” said State Attorney R.J. Larizza.

Smith did not address the court during her hearing, but her attorney, Matt Kachergus, argued she did not know the jeans were covered in blood as she washed them and only learned of the murder after the fact.

“She was a frantic mother trying to determine what was going on with her son,” he said, according to NBC affiliate WTLV of Jacksonville.

Fucci reportedly told friends he wanted to kill someone in the time leading up to the incident.

Before being considered a suspect in the crime, Fucci took a selfie in the back of a police vehicle while flashing a peace sign. He then posted the image on social media with the caption, “Hey guys has anybody seen Tristyn lately.”

During the hearing, Tristyn’s mother, Stacey Bailey, said Smith’s attempt to cover up for her son “will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“I’ve tried to put myself in your shoes on that fateful day a thousand times, but I can’t,” she said to Smith.

Tristyn’s body was reportedly found in the woods outside Jacksonville, still in her cheerleading uniform from school.

Fucci was ultimately arrested and tried as an adult, and indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder.