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Florida mom of teen accused of murder is charged

Girl Slain Boy Charged Florida
This photo provided by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office shows Crystal Lane Smith. The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy accused in a teenage girl’s slaying is facing a charge of evidence tampering, authorities say. State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a news release that Crystal Lane Smith, 35, was arrested Saturday morning, June 5, 2021, in St. John’s County. She was later released on $25,000 bail. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

(Augustine, FL) — The mother of a Florida teen, who allegedly stabbed to death a classmate, is being charged for tampering with case evidence. Fourteen-year old Aiden Fucci is accused of stabbing 13-year old cheerleader, Tristyn Bailey, 114 times. A police report released Saturday says Fucci’s mother, Crystal Smith, took a pair of jeans from his room, and appeared to scrub them before returning them to her son’s room, according to an arrest warrant.

According to the warrant, Crystal Lane Smith, 35, was arrested Saturday after investigators reviewed video surveillance obtained from the home on the day the 13-year-old girl was reported missing that showed Smith going into the boy’s room to get a pair of blue jeans and took it to the bathroom to scrub them in the sink. She then took the jeans to the master bedroom “for a period of time,” according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

Fucci is being charged with first-degree murder in the case. Smith surrendered to authorities on Saturday afternoon.