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The House Party Killer | The Horrific Case of Tyler Hadley
Coffeehouse Crime's 19-minute overview: the quickest complete way into the case.
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Overview
On July 16, 2011, Blake Hadley, 54, and Mary-Jo Hadley, 47, were killed in their home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, by their 17-year-old son, Tyler Hadley. According to Wikipedia's account of the case, Tyler had decided how he wanted to carry out the killings weeks in advance and had reportedly told a friend that holding a large party after killing his parents "had never been done before."
The killings
On the afternoon of the murders, Tyler posted on Facebook that he might have a party that night. After his parents returned home, he hid their phones and locked the family's dog in a closet. Shortly before 5:00 p.m., after taking three ecstasy pills, Tyler attacked his mother, Mary-Jo, with a claw hammer while she worked at her computer. His father, Blake, ran out upon hearing screams and asked "Why?" before Tyler fatally attacked him as well. Tyler then moved both bodies into the master bedroom and spent approximately three hours cleaning the scene and piling household items and furniture on top of the bodies.
The party
Tyler had begun inviting people to a party at his home at 12:15 p.m. that day, hours before the killings. He funded the gathering using his parents' credit cards, withdrawing cash that was captured on an ATM camera. Around 60 people reportedly attended the party that evening, and some attendees later said they noticed a smell associated with the bodies. During the party, Tyler told several people what he had done, including a close friend he confided in during a walk away from the gathering. That friend later found the bodies in the master bedroom but did not leave immediately, remaining at the party for about 45 minutes and taking a selfie with Tyler before eventually departing roughly four hours later and calling a local crime tip hotline to report the killings. Hadley was arrested the following morning.
Background and legal proceedings
Tyler had a history of skipping school, drug use, and prior legal trouble, including arson, vandalism, theft, and aggravated battery, and had recently entered an outpatient drug treatment program that had not succeeded. His parents had arranged for him to enter an inpatient treatment program before he turned 18, which was later reported as a motive for the killings.
Tyler pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder. Because he was a minor, he could not face the death penalty. In 2014, he was initially sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole; that sentence was overturned on appeal because the lower court had not properly considered the required alternative sentencing review under Miller v. Alabama. In December 2018, Hadley was resentenced to life in prison with the appropriate judicial review mechanism in place. He is imprisoned at Liberty Correctional Institution. The family home was demolished in April 2015.
