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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who killed his parents with a claw 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 as an adult in the 2011 killings 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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