The Tragic Tale of Tyler Hadley: The Florida teen who killed his parents so he could throw a Party

In the annals of true crime, few cases are as chilling and disturbing as the story of Tyler Hadley. This young man’s name became synonymous with the unthinkable when he brutally murdered his own parents in 2011. The Tyler Hadley case raises numerous questions about the human psyche, the influence of social media, and the factors that can drive a seemingly ordinary teenager to commit such a heinous act.

The Background

Tyler Hadley was born on February 16, 1994, in Port St. Lucie, Florida. By all accounts, he had a relatively normal upbringing. He attended high school, had friends, and was, by outward appearances, an average teenager. However, beneath the surface, something dark was brewing.

The Crime

On July 16, 2011, Tyler Hadley did the unthinkable. He bludgeoned his parents, Mary Jo Hadley and Blake Hadley, to death with a hammer. After committing this gruesome act, he threw a house party with the bodies of his parents lying lifeless in a locked bedroom.

At 1:15 p.m. on July 16, 2011, Tyler Hadley, a 17-year-old living in Port St. Lucie, Florida, posted a status on Facebook: “party at my crib tonight…maybe.”

There was only one problem. Hadley’s parents were home. And since they’d recently grounded Hadley for drinking and drug use, they weren’t about to let their teenage son throw a party. Some friends knew this and were incredulous. When one asked if it was really happening, Hadley wrote back, “dk man im workin on it.”

But by 8:15 p.m., the party was on. Tyler posted again on his wall to confirm: “party at my house hmu.” When one of his friends asked, “what if your parents come home?” Hadley responded, “they won’t. trust me.”

That’s because Hadley had just murdered both his parents. When he posted on Facebook, their bodies were barely cold. And the high schooler wanted to throw a party at the crime scene.

The Brutal Killing Of His Parents Blake And Mary-Jo Hadley

Before inviting 60 people to his house for a party, Tyler Hadley calmly killed both his parents.

Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley had worried about their son for years. They’d taken Tyler to a psychiatrist and turned to a substance abuse program for help.

Nothing worked. So when Tyler drove home drunk one night, Mary-Jo took away his car and phone as punishment.

Tyler fumed. He told his best friend Michael Mandell that he wanted to kill his mom. Mandell brushed off the statement as something an angry teenager would say. He never thought Tyler would go through with it.

But on July 16, Tyler made a plan. First, he took his parents’ phones. That way, they couldn’t call for help. Then he took some ecstasy around 5 p.m. Tyler worried he couldn’t go through with his plan sober.

Tyler found a hammer in the garage. While Mary-Jo sat at the computer, Tyler stared at the back of her head for five minutes. Then, he swung the hammer.

Mary-Jo turned and screamed, “Why?”

Blake, hearing the screams, ran into the room. Blake echoed his wife’s question. Tyler shouted back, “Why the fuck not?” Then Tyler beat his father to death.

Tyler’s parents, Blake and Mary Jo Hadley.

After killing his parents, Tyler Hadley dragged their bodies into their bedroom. He cleaned up the crime scene, tossing bloody towels and Clorox wipes onto the bed. Finally, he invited his friends over for a party.

The “Killer Party” At Tyler Hadley’s House

Tyler Hadley put out the call to come party shortly after he’d cleaned up the crime scene — right around sunset. By midnight, more than 60 people had shown up to Tyler Hadley’s house. None of them knew that the dead bodies of Hadley’s parents were in the other room.

High schoolers played beer pong in the kitchen, rubbed cigarettes into the walls, and urinated on the neighbor’s lawn.

At first, Hadley tried to stop the teens from smoking inside, but eventually, he relented. As he explained, his parents were in Orlando. Then Hadley changed his story about his parents. “They don’t live here,” he told a partygoer. “This is my house.”

Later in the night, Hadley pulled aside his best friend, Michael Mandell. “Mike, I killed my parents,” Hadley said. In disbelief, Mandell responded, “No you didn’t, Tyler. Shut up. What are you talking about?”

Hadley insisted they were dead. “Look at the driveway,” he told Mandell, “all the cars are there. My parents aren’t in Orlando. I killed my parents.”

Mandell thought it must be a prank. Then Hadley led his friend to the bedroom where he’d stashed the bodies.

“The party’s going on over here, and I turn the doorknob,” Mandell remembers. “I looked down, and I [saw] his father’s leg against the door.” Mandell suddenly realized his friend was telling the truth.

hock, he took a selfie with Hadley, figuring it would be the last time he would see his friend.

Then, Mandell left the party and called Crime Stoppers to report the murders.

Tyler Hadley and his Michael Mandell at Tyler’s party shortly after he’d told Mandell that he had just killed his parent

The Arrest And Conviction Of Tyler Hadley

Michael Mandell left an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 4:24 a.m. on July 17, 2011. He said that Tyler Hadley had murdered both his parents using a hammer.

Police rushed to the Hadley house. When they arrived, the party was still going on, and Hadley claimed his parents were out of town and refused to let police in the house. But they made an emergency entrance despite Hadley’s protests.

“Tyler appeared nervous, frantic, and very talkative while speaking to the officers,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The police found beer bottles all over the house. Unrolled cigars littered the floor, and the furniture had been tossed around. They also found dried blood on the walls.

When police forced open the bedroom door, they found dining chairs and a coffee table tossed on the bed. Under the furniture, they discovered the body of Blake Hadley. Nearby, they found Mary-Jo’s body.

Police arrested Tyler Hadley for murder. Three years later, a court sentenced Hadley to life in prison.

If the police hadn’t shown up, Hadley had considered taking his life. He had a stash of Percocet pills hidden in his room.

But for the time being, whether it was the ecstasy, the party, or the murder, he was feeling good. He even posted one last time on his wall at 4:40 a.m., right as police were on their way to his house: “party at my house again hmu.”

Tyler Hadley resentence hearing in 2018, 7 years after the murder of his parents

25 year old Tyler Hadley walks into the courtroom on Thursday, December, 20,2018 for a sentence hearing

In court, Hadley was chained at the hands and feet and stared ahead at the defense table as the judge spoke. He showed no emotion when he was told he’d be serving life.

This is the second time he’s been sentenced to life in prison. The first time was in 2014 when he pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon, but that punishment was overturned on appeal.

The judge Thursday ordered the new life terms to be served at the same time. By law, the sentence automatically will be reviewed after 25 years. For Hadley, who turned 25 Sunday, that will be in about 17 years.

The judge read aloud his sentencing order that listed in gruesome detail the homicides and how Hadley plotted for months before initiating his deadly attack.

The judge rejected all defense arguments, raised during Hadley’s October hearing, that his age, immaturity or troubled youth — marked by anxiety, depression and drug use — influenced his decision to kill.

“While casually talking to his friends about killing his parents a month and a half before the actual crimes, he revealed that he would wait until after his brother moved to North Carolina,” the judge noted. “And wait he did.”

The judge noted Hadley took his parents’ phones and hid them, “so if his plan went awry, they couldn’t call for help.”

The judge seemed incensed that after the murders, Hadley hid the bodies, tried to clean up the blood “and sent word out that the party was on.”

“The defendant displayed perverse premeditation, heartless cruelty and savagery, extreme violence, a willingness to mutilate and absolute depravity,” the judge declared. “Considering the victims were blood relatives and were killed up close and personally with a handheld tool, it’s obvious the defendant was fueled by a long, simmering, passionate hatred toward those who loved him the most.”

The judge said the crimes were not done on impulse, weren’t triggered by any one event and were carefully planned.

“Hadley did what he had long wanted to do,” the judge concluded.

The case of Tyler Hadley is a haunting reminder of the depths of human depravity and the complexities of the human mind. It serves as a chilling cautionary tale about the consequences of untreated mental health issues, drug addiction, and the potential dangers of social media. It’s a stark reminder that even the most ordinary-seeming individuals can harbor dark secrets and commit unimaginable acts.

As we reflect on this tragic story, we must strive to understand the warning signs and seek help for those who may be struggling with similar issues. The Tyler Hadley case should serve as a call to action for communities to support and intervene when necessary to prevent such devastating tragedies from occurring in the future.