Mr fui having entered a plea of guilty to the crime of first-degree murder I adjudicate you guilty of the premitted first-degree murder of Tristan Bailey I sentenced you to life in prison the aen fuchi Saga has come to an end as the 16-year-old teenager was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 13-year-old Tristan baly we break down this disturbing case welcome to sidebar presented by law crime I'm Jesse Weber aeden fui the 16-year-old teenage killer was sentenced last week as we've covered on sidebar before Aiden fui was set to stand trial for the murder of 13-year-old Tristan bayy back in the beginning of February but before jury selection began he ended up pleading guilty and because he did that his punishment would then range anywhere between 40 years to life in prison and as you just heard he was officially sentenced to life in prison now before we do dive into all of the details of what happened in court and there is a lot to get into I want to give you a little bit of background on this case because it is ominous and because it is incredibly incredibly sad so let's go back to Mother's Day May 9th 2021 Jacksonville Florida 13-year-old Tristan Bailey disappears her mother had reported her missing she went to wake Tristan up but only to find that she wasn't there the whole neighborhood comes together everybody's trying to find her try to get some answer as to what happened to her but there is no trace of her found that is until the police come across a neighbor's home surveillance video and on that video it shows Tristan bayy and Aiden fuchi walking together down the street on May 9th at around 1 in the morning now nothing else is seen on this video until about 2 hours later when fui is seen running back home alone after seeing this the police bring in fui for questioning and this is when fui does something odd he proceeds to take a Snapchat in the back of the police squad car with the caption hey guys has anybody seen Tristan lately and then he goes on to take a video as well we're we having fun in a cop car yep Tristan what's up guys Tristan if you walk out the damn in a cop car cuz she tripping dude fui clearly wasn't taking this seriously but the police definitely were fui was brought down to the station and he was interrogated about Tristan and that very Snapchat you know they found this girl right where in our neighborhood down our main street is she good no she's not no she's dead that's why this is very important it's all on you right now it my problem you the last one seen with her so right now it's a lot of is facing you right now son so however you talk you breathe you think then you respond this is very serious Aiden you can't act like I don't know I don't I don't I don't know you can't and you can't say understand this is serious clearly you understand right mhm everything you say will affect you that uh Snapchat you did was not very smart not good at all now we have people want to burn our house down and our cars down because of that SnapChat thing you did it's all over you're all over the internet everywhere social media it is on social media you'll probably come stay with me after we get done with this so not only do they interrogate him but they find some other evidence in fact they search his bedroom and they find blood on some pieces of his clothing and the blood was later tested and came a positive as Bailey's blood and not only that apparently fui had told people that were around him his friends that he was planning to kill someone and that if he were to kill someone it was going to be planned and that he would find a random person walking at night drag them into the woods and stab them now let's also talk about Aiden fuch's mom Crystal Smith she's arrested on June 5th 2021 just less than a month after the killing she's arrested for tampering with evidence She's accused of actually trying to clean Aiden fuch's clothes and how do we know that well Smith had security cameras installed in her own house and she's seen visibly going into Adam's room grabbing his bloody jeans and washing them the blood on the jeans and the sink did test positive as I mentioned for Bailey's blood and she was released on $225,000 bail and she's going to have an upcoming case well as you can imagine Aiden fui was officially charged with the first-degree murder of 13-year-old Tristan Bailey and he was only 14 years old at the time investigators determined that Aiden brutally stabbed Tristan to death after they found her body in a wooden area half a mile from fi's home and we're going to get a little bit more into the severity of the killing in just a bit but after being charged judge Howard maltz explained to Aiden fui in his first court appearance what he could face if convicted so let me tell you what you are charged with you have been indicted by the St John's County grand jury on the charge of first deegree premeditated murder that is a capital felony that is normally uh punishable by up to death or life imprisonment in your case because you are not yet 18 years old death is not a possible sentence pursuant to the Florida and United States Supreme Courts but this charge does carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment do you understand the charge against you yes sir all right there is probable cause to detain you on this charge uh pursuant to the indictment issued by the uh St John's County grand jury yesterday as well as the arrest affidavit that I have previously uh reviewed uh the indictment and kpia that followed set your bond at none is the state still asking that he be held without bond Mr Lewis that is correct judge the state request is no bond all right Miss peoples you want to be heard on that issue we that we'll address that issue at a later date your honor with uh appropriate motions and Witnesses okay thank you having reviewed the uh uh appropriate paperwork I will preliminarily make a determination that proof is evident presumption is great so you will be held uh without bond uh Mr fuchi do you have any questions about these proceedings today no sir so fui was never going to receive the death penalty because he was a minor but he was being tried as an adult and the reason that he was being tried as an adult is because of the gravity of this crime not only did fui stab Tristan belly to death but he stabbed her 114 times 114 times and 49 of those stab wounds were considered defensive wounds that is truly horrific to think about so when something like this happens one of the first questions that people have is the mental health of the defendant right is this a case of insanity well fui was being held in juvenile detention after being charged and here's him in a zoom hearing back in September 2021 where he seemed a little out of it oh you team I you take my soul take my soul away I you my soul don't know what's going [Music] on you got going on why am I here I just want to talk to my mom and dad what's going on what's going on what's going on so yeah he doesn't look great there but the question is was he genuinely not well was he mingering or faking it well as you're going to see coming up psychologists and psychiatrists they evaluate defendants all the time to determine issues of insanity and also if they're competent to stand trial now here fuchi was deemed competent to stand trial but when it came time for jury selection fui and his defense team decided to change their play your honor on behalf of Aiden fui we enter a change of plea at this time entering a guilty p as charge so fui finally admits to the brutal killing of 13-year-old Tristan baly and the main reason that we believe he plead guilty is because entering that guilty plea could possibly give him a better chance at facing the minimum sentence of 40 years rather than life in prison as we know that didn't quite work out too well for him now because he is guilty his trial just becomes a penalty hearing and in this case it's somewhat of a mini trial where some people do end up providing testimony and it's all to determine what Aiden Fu's punishment should be well here's judge Ry Smith explaining what has to be considered when determining a defendant sentence pursuant to section 92141 the court in determining whether a life imprisonment or a term of years equal to life imprison is an appropriate sentence the court must consider the following factors a the nature and circumstances of the offense committed by the defendant B the effect of the crime on the victim's family and on the community C the defendant's age maturity and elal capacity and mental and emotional health at the time of the offense D the defendant's background including his or her family home Community environment e the effect if any of immaturity impetuosity or failure to appreciate the risks and consequences on the defendant's participation in the offense F the extent of the defendant's participation in the offense G the effect of any of fam familial pressure or peer pressure on the defendant's actions H the nature and extent of the defendant's prior criminal history I the effect if any of characteristics attributable to the defendant's youth on the defendant's judgment and J the possibility of rehabilitating the defendant okay so that's what's taken into consider ation and as I mentioned before defendants are evaluated before trial to determine if they're competent even to stand trial here's Department of Juvenile Justice employee Dwayne Barton being questioned by the prosecution about his evaluation of Aiden fuchi so these Wellness checks that you were doing with Mr fuchi um I believe you stated you would you were doing them you would make visits to the jail and do meet several kids in the same day right yes okay so he wasn't the only juvenile that you were checking on that was charged as an adult in that jail right no okay and the point of those checks it sounds like you kind of summarized it um you were looking for abuse um any signs of injury General Wellness checks like how they're doing right yes ma'am okay and did you ever see with him or were there any complaints about abuse um um by another inmate let's say no uh he did indicate that he was involved in a physical altercation on one occasion okay so he told you about a fight he had one time but outside that fight any abuse by staff or other inmates you never complain to that okay um and when you met with these kids you described it wasn't like a checklist that you had verbatim but there were all you checked on the same things every time and kind of asked ask the same questions every time is that fair yes ma'am okay and you ask that of all the kids you visit not just Mr fui yes ma'am okay and one of the things you talk about or ask is about are you seeing things and or hearing voices right not necessarily I would to ask you know are you currently taking any medications and uh you know they'll report I'm taking lium for you know hearing voices or depression or bipolar things and then more people would come to testify about what they observed of aen fuchi before he became a killer give you an example of that here's Fu's former teacher explaining what she observed would you say as an adult that Aiden fuchi was respectful to adults from what I've seen yes he was respectful to adults and did you ever see him interacting with other kids at the school I saw him daily so yes yes ma'am um did you personally witness any violence from Aiden fuchi while he was at school I did not did you see any violence towards women from Aiden fui no okay so to summarize Aiden may work poorly alone but he was willing to work one-on-one with what was offered yes to your services thank you now the defense was trying to show that fui was a good kid but he had this Sudden Change of character when he committed this murder on the other hand the prosecution's trying to point out every little instance that showcases fui wasn't a good person and is endangered to society doing everything they can to enforce a life sentence and bring Justice for Tristan Bailey's Family and loved ones so here's the prosecution presenting Patriot Oaks Academy dean of students Chris weten about Fu's bad behavior in school You' described him as uh more mature than his peers uh and very mature in the past correct correct you've also said that Aiden had um one of those attitudes where everything that happens is someone else's fault not his own that was sort of his General attitude when you met him yes that was a big part of our educational piece is to look at himself versus everyone else right easily frustrated at Authority specifically correct yes he did not like to be disrespected okay and you indicated he had a temper which is why you're working with him corre that's correct you stated earlier that he was suspended one time when you refer to that is that um OSS or out of school suspension it was out of school suspension it was a time where he got in school suspension with one of his friends and when they were when they were in the in school suspension room they were rude and disrespectful to the coworker that was in there and so therefore I suspend both of them okay their behavior for that and you kind of oversaw our are you the one making the decision for ISS in school suspension yes okay um and he had several of those um while he was at Patriot Oaks correct no he only had two he had two okay two of those and then one OSS correct correct okay so fuchi seemed to get in trouble at school he had this temper he wasn't the nicest of people and you can imagine there hasn't been much sympathy for Aiden fuchi and for what he did I mean he murdered an innocent 13-year-old girl in old blood but one particular individual that was pleading with the court for leniency on Aiden's behalf was his grandmother is that the boy you knew he's not the boy that I knew I don't know what happened I mean he's always been good and happy so sorry sorry I still need my mom wow this is so hard I'm so sorry he has a good family we don't cond do what happened and U we're very sorry we lost he's always been such a good kid and we don't I don't even know where that came from I mean he doesn't have any bad in his family or around him or I don't I don't know I don't I can't explain I just don't know now in terms of Aiden around the family that included hamsters animals was he ever harm harmful to any of the pets no I mean we all have animals and um no he's never me any animals I just wanted to tell you um I know he has to be punished and um for his actions and I love him and his family love him very much too and I know we're very large Christian family and uh we pray all the time and I just hope you consider that a little bit and please don't take him out of our lives forever I know that I die and not be able to spend time with him sometime before I go I know I am not good at this I'm so sorry I know there's some good in Aiden I don't know what happened to him that that this caused but I know there's some good him it's clear that she loves her grandson right I mean she knows that he has to be punished but she is begging for mercy so as we recap the sentencing of killer Aiden fui the teenager who senselessly took the life of 13-year-old Tristan bayy took her from those who loved her emotions in that courtroom hit another level when her family members delivered their statements in that Florida courtroom here's Tristan's sister Alexis describ driving the gruesome [Music] killing this jar now holds 114 Stones one for each of the 114 stab wounds that my sister had to endure it was 1 hour and 42 minutes between when my sister was last seen and when Aiden fuchi 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 fuchi could show compassion for his sore feet yet had nothing to leave for my beautiful sister the number of questions I have for Aiden fuchi 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 or was she par 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 breathed 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 and more of Tristan's family members delivered statements including her two sisters her brother and her grandmother Tristan's best friend Gia Bower delivered a statement as well and listening to it truly showcases how young and innocent Tristan was my name is Gia Bower and I'm 15 years old Tristan biley 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 over being over Asian sisters we took of we took care of hairless cats all summer watched movies and made Tik toks 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 FaceTime 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 fuchi took her from me since May 9th 2021 I have 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 Frappuccino 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 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 caused 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 causes Mage pain to anyone else this white stone represents my innocence which died the day aen fui chose to murder my best friend but arguably one of the most powerful moments came from Tristan's mother Stacy valy listening to her really shows just how horrifying it must be to lose a child and to lose a child in this fashion and she pleads with the court to hand down a life sentence for Aiden fui 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 win Summit or worlds I will never have 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 will spend the rest of my life grieving our beautiful daughter longing to hear her voice and hold her in my arms Aden Fuji 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 aen 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 Justice is an empty word for our family as it can never 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 really hard choices in front of you I'm going to be placing two rocks into to this this rock this white star St 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 and it represents everything that you have stolen for me my words my joy my hope my future and my beautiful daughter finally Tristan's father Forest biley spoke up and he showed no remorse for Aiden fuchi and directed his statement directly at the defendant himself you know to Mr fui uh February 6th you finally admitted to your guilt in murdering my daughter Tristan uh after you clearly sat in this room and agreed to all of the questions and statements that were read by the judge and in admitted that you knew what you were pleading to um at the end of that you turned around or you didn't even turn around you made an apology uh 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 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 um I loathe your very existence and know that there is nothing within you that reflects the smallest amount of of goodness or human decency and just like Tristan's father having no sympathy for Aiden fuchi judge Ry Smith didn't either Mr fuchi if you and your attorneys would please rise council is there any legal reason why this court cannot impose sentence at this time no sent Mr fuchi having entered a plea of guilty to the crime of first-degree murder I adjudicate you guilty of the premitted first-degree murder of Tristan Bailey I senten you to life in prison because of your age you are eligible for review of the sentence in 25 years I order the department of corrections to notify you when you are eligible to apply for your review hearing Madam clerk if you will please impose the minimum fines and court costs so there you have it Aiden fui sentenced to life in prison with an evaluation in 25 years and as I said this all comes back to the victims of this case it comes back to Tristan baly it is incredibly tragic what happened to this very young person who was at the really start of her life all happened on Mother's Day 2021 and in the end nothing can bring Tristan back but her family can now rest knowing that her killer is locked away and that's all we have for you here on sidebar everybody thank you so much for joining us please subscribe on Apple podcast Spotify YouTube wherever you get your podcast I'm Jesse Weber I'll speak to you next time