ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns County teenager accused of killing his 13-year-old schoolmate, Tristyn Bailey, has opted to flex his constitutional rights and refuse to say or do several things without his attorney present.
Aiden Fucci’s defense team filed a notice with the court last Friday invoking his constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent and right to counsel.
The document says he will NOT speak with a jail psychologist or jail minister about the charges against him unless his attorney is present.
READ: Court document invoking Fucci’s rights
It also says he won’t take a polygraph test, give any hair, saliva, blood, handwriting or voice samples or consent to any items he has with him in jail being searched.
Fucci, now 15, is charged with first-degree murder in Bailey’s death. She was found brutally stabbed to death on Mother’s Day last year in Durbin Crossing less than a half-mile from Fucci’s home. He was arrested in the early morning hours the next day.
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Investigators say he stabbed her dozens of times and his DNA was found on Bailey’s body.
Fucci, who is being tried as an adult, is expected to stand trial in November.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. As a juvenile when the offense occurred, he is not eligible for the death penalty.
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Fucci’s next court date has been set for Aug. 31.
In addition to invoking his constitutional rights, the defense is also requesting that the court put a gag order on witnesses, which seeks to prevent them from speaking to anyone but lawyers in the case.
Other motions include a request that the state produce any evidence that could impeach witness credibility and that the judge block the state from presenting closing arguments that would prejudice the defendant. All are common pre-trial motions.
Additionally, attorneys for local news outlets, including WJXT News4JAX, have filed a motion to intervene in the case, specifically to contest previous defense motions to close the pretrial process to the media and to bar cameras from jury selection.
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