The Murder of Tristyn Bailey — A Mother’s Day Nightmare
13-Year-Old Girl Found Murdered by 14-Year-Old Schoolmate — But Why?
On Mother’s Day 2021, the mother and father of Tristyn Bailey experienced a parent’s worst nightmare. Their 13-year-old daughter was missing. Tristyn was last seen shortly after 1 a.m. at the Durbin Amenity Center in St. Johns County, Florida. At dawn, the family, friends, neighbors, and police began searching the area around the recreation center and a nearby veterans park.
At 10 am that same morning, the family formally reported her missing to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department. Shortly after 6 p.m., the sheriff’s department called off the search. A body that appeared to be Tristyn Bailey had been found at the end of a retention pond in a wooded area near St. Johns. Tristyn had suffered substantial injuries to the head and other trauma. The cause of death has been noted as “sharp force trauma by stabbing.”
Sheriff Rob Hardwick, speaking to television station WJXT, had this to say:
“This is a cold-blooded murder of a 13-year-old young girl who did not deserve to die. That being said, I don’t wanna mention the number of times but it is horrific. It is horrible. And the word…
