Authorities say the mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy accused in a teenage girl’s slaying is facing a charge of evidence tampering.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a news release that Crystal Lane Smith, 35, was arrested Saturday morning in St. John’s County. She was later released on $25,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if she has an attorney.
An arrest warrant claims that Smith scrubbed a pair of jeans belonging to her son, Aiden Fucci. He is being tried as an adult on a murder charge in the death of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey, whose body was found May 9 in a wooded area. She had been stabbed 114 times.
The arrest warrant says a surveillance camera inside the home recorded Smith washing her son’s jeans, which later tested positive for blood. Traces of blood were also found in a sink drain.
Fucci has pleaded not guilty to Bailey’s slaying and is being held without bail. The knife believed used in the killing was found in a pond near the crime scene.