Man who killed parents with hammer gets new sentence chance

Published:
MGN Online

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – A Florida man who killed his parents with a hammer and then threw a party with their bodies still inside the house is getting a new sentencing hearing.

The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that because Tyler Hadley was 17, he could not be automatically sentenced to a pair of life sentences without parole. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 determined such mandatory sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.

Now 22, Hadley was convicted of the 2011 killings with a claw hammer of Mary Jo and Blake Hadley in their Port St. Lucie home. Trial testimony showed Tyler Hadley threw a party with his parents’ bodies still in a bedroom.

Hadley could still get the same sentence, but a judge must consider potential alternatives at a new hearing.

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