Crystal Smith, the Florida mother who allegedly scrubbed the blood off her son’s jeans after he murdered a 13-year-old cheerleader, has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that could land her a short stint in prison, according to a report.
Smith is expected to plead guilty to evidence tampering Friday — nearly a year after she allegedly tried to cover up Aiden Fucci’s brutal murder of Tristyn Bailey — sources familiar with the case told Action News.
The exact details of the plea deal are unknown, though it could include up to 5 years of probation and a “small amount of jail time,” the outlet reported.
Smith’s attorneys declined to comment, telling The Post it is the firm’s policy to only “speak in the courtroom.”
Smith is accused of cleaning her 16-year-old son’s bloody jeans after he brutally stabbed Tristyn to death 114 times on Mother’s Day weekend in 2021.
The St. Augustine mother was caught on surveillance camera yanking Fucci’s stained jeans from his bedroom and washing them in the bathroom sink, according to an arrest warrant.
Both the jeans and the sink drain later tested positive for blood.
Crystal Smith is accused of tampering with evidence to help cover up the brutal murder her son committed in 2021. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
Aiden Fucci was sentenced in March to life in prison for stabbing Tristyn Bailey over 100 times until she died. WJXT
Prosecutors claim Smith was caught on video yanking Fucci’s stained jeans from his bedroom and washing them in the bathroom sink. 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorneyâs OfficeFucci was sentenced to life in prison in March after admitting to the heinous murder and ditching the teenager’s body in a wooded area near his home.
Tristyn’s heartbroken family said in a statement this week that they hoped Smith would “take responsibility” for her alleged role in their daughter’s death and accept a plea deal.
“This obviously would be a benefit to our family so that we can take our next step forward in focusing on the life and legacy of Tristyn. We also strongly feel this would benefit the community, particularly the children who have had to endure these years of lost innocence replay over and over in their mind,” they said.
Tristyn Bailey’s family hoped Smith would “take responsibility” for her alleged role in their daughter’s death and accept a plea deal. St. Johns county SherrifOn Tuesday, Smith’s legal team tried to argue that expert testimony about whether Smith could have damaged DNA evidence when she washed the pants was inadmissible.
The judge shot down the argument and weighed the state’s request that her team be prevented from arguing that the prosecutors must prove that Smith altered or destroyed genetic evidence in the case.
Jury selection for Smith’s trial was set to begin May 15, with court proceedings scheduled for Wednesday.
If a plea deal isn’t reached and Smith is convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of five years behind bars.
