A 14-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Tristyn Bailey, 13, on Sunday, May 9.
St. Johns teen was in custody Monday, May 10, and was being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Predrag Bulic determined that the cause of death was sharp force trauma by stabbing.
Bailey, who lived in north-central St. Johns County, was reported missing by her family at about 10 a.m. Sunday. She had last been seen around midnight.
The Sheriff’s Office sent out a mass notification to the public, the media and community partners. The school district was also notified.
A resident of the community, hearing the report, began to look around the wooded area near his home and, at about 6 p.m., discovered a body later confirmed to be that of Tristyn Bailey. The body was found at the south end of a retention pond just to the east of the cul-de-sac of Saddlestone Drive.
Based on this and other information, authorities refocused their investigative efforts. They obtained numerous search warrants, which led to the location of multiple items of evidentiary value at the suspect’s home, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The decision to charge the teen with second-degree murder was made in cooperation with the State Attorney’s Office. St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick said during a press conference Monday that there were no other suspects in the slaying.
Both Bailey and the suspect attended Patriot Oaks Academy, but there was no information Monday whether they shared any classes there.
Hardwick thanked members of the community who helped in the search for Bailey. He said people were lining the roads and walking the wood line. Some offered to donate food to the effort.
Hardwick said Monday the investigation was still in the earliest stages and that any new information would be shared with Bailey’s family first and then become available to the public afterward.
In a statement, Hardwick asked people to keep the Bailey family in their thoughts and prayers.
