The 14-year-old Florida boy charged with viciously murdering a teenage girl he allegedly stabbed 114 times pleaded not guilty, court documents show.
The boy, who NBC News is not naming because he’s a minor, entered the plea Thursday for a charge of first-degree murder. The boy, who is being charged as an adult, remains jailed without bond.
The girl, Tristyn Bailey, 13, was found dead in a wooded area on May 9 in St. Johns, a suburb of Jacksonville.
Authorities said that of the 114 stab wounds, 49 of them appeared to have been defensive wounds to Bailey’s hands, arms and head as she tried to fight off her attacker. The tip of the knife broke and got stuck in her head, according to investigators.
The suspected murder weapon with the tip “broken off” was found in a pond near Bailey’s body, officials said.
“Every time that arm went back and every time that arm went down, that was premeditation,” 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza previously said.
He said that calling the murder “horrific” would be an understatement.
“Bottom line, premeditation can be inferred certainly from just the sheer number of stab wounds that Tristyn Bailey had to suffer,” Larizza said.
According to authorities, the suspect had told his friends that “he intended to kill someone.”
“He didn’t say who that was, but he indicated to witnesses that he was going to kill someone by taking them in the woods and stabbing them, which are certainly the facts of this case,” Larizza said.
The boy also posted a selfie to social media of him flashing a peace sign as he sat in the back of a police vehicle. He captioned the photo: “Hey guys has inybody seen Tristyn lately.”
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said the teen snapped the picture while Bailey was still missing and he was only considered a witness.
The boy’s attorney did not immediately return NBC News’ request for comment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
