14yo Florida boy charged with murder of 13yo girl

Tristyn Bailey (left) and Aiden Fucci.
Tristyn Bailey (left) and Aiden Fucci. Photo credit: GoFundMe/St Johns County Sherrif's office

A 14-year-old has been charged with the murder of a 13-year-old cheerleader whose body was found in a Florida woodland.

Aiden Fucci was named as the suspect in the death of Tristyn Bailey less than 12 hours after she was reported missing on Sunday morning (local time). 

Fucci has been taken into custody on second-degree murder charges but prosecutors have not yet decided if he will be charged as a juvenile or adult.

On Sunday night, Fucci photographed himself sitting in the back of a police car and posted it on Snapchat with the caption, "Hey guys has inybody [sic] seen Tristyn lately".

It's believed he took the photograph after Bailey died, but before her body was found. 

The 13-year-old had disappeared in the early hours of Sunday morning - she was last seen at 1.12am, and reported missing hours later at 10am. Her body was discovered at around 6pm the same day by a local man who had joined in the search effort for the teenager.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said in a statement the discovery of Bailey's body and remarks made by Fucci led investigators to zero in on the teenager, who attended Patriot Oaks Academy with Bailey.

"Based on the discovery of the body and admissions during questioning, we refocused our investigative efforts," it read... "we were able to obtain numerous search warrants which led to the location of multiple items of evidentiary value at the suspect's home."

It is unclear what those items are.  

Fucci will appear in court on Tuesday.