Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Party Fouls: House Party Horror

Episode Date: August 30, 2023

In 2011, 17-year-old Tyler Hadley threw a wild house party in Port St. Lucie, Florida. What his guests didn’t know was that on the other side of a locked door, dead bodies lay hidden. A jarring confession ignited a race against time to end the revelry for good. This episode originally aired in August 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of drug abuse, assault, and murder that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. In 2011, Port St. Lucy paled in comparison to its neighboring Florida cities. It wasn't glitzy like Miami or touristy like Orlando. Surrounded by wetlands, Port St. Lucy was a sleepy, Atlantic Coast City, known for being boring. It had little to entertain adults, let alone reckless teenagers looking for the next hot hangout.

As a result, they created their own fun in the form of the classic house party. Whenever someone's parents were away, the kids raged. And that's why July 16, 2011, seemed like just another Saturday. The latest party invite spread across the cell phones of teens throughout Port St. St. Lucy. It was from 17-year-old Tyler Hadley. He messaged his friends and posted about the bash on Facebook. Tyler's parents were gone, and he wanted everyone at his house for a blowout no one would ever forget. But as the Port St. Lucy youths raged inside the Hadley family home,

no one knew the real reason behind the party. The teens had no idea about the bloody horror lurking just on the other side of the door. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host Carter Roy. And I'm your host Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of Solve Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is the second episode of our four-part special, Party Fowls.

We're peering inside parties that went terribly wrong. We'll follow police as they investigate some of history's most frightening party murders and try to figure out what turns a celebration into a violent altercation. This week, we're covering a wild teenage house party in suburban Port St. Lucy, Florida. As debauchery filled the home, no one knew about the dead bodies hidden inside. That is, until a startling confession ignited a race against time to end the revelry for good. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. On the night of July 16, 2011, 17-year-old Tyler Hadley welcomed about 60 teenagers into his family's home in Port St. Lucy, Florida.

And if Tyler was throwing a rager, his best friend was definitely going to be there. For the sake of privacy, we'll call him Ben. Around 10 p.m., 17-year-old Ben walked into the Hadley home, wondering what was going on with his oldest pal. Ben knew Tyler better than anyone else. They became buddies at age eight, trading Pokemon cards, and skateboarding together. As they grew older, they remained close and told each other everything. Earlier that day, Tyler even told Ben he was thinking about having a party, but Ben was a little shocked to hear that the bash was actually happening.

Ben knew the Hadleys had been strict with Tyler, especially after some recent trouble at school. But it wasn't out of the ordinary for Tyler, or anyone in their friend group, to, well, act out like teenagers. Ben himself was on probation due to a recent trespassing charge. And with Tyler's parents' sons, of town, it produced the perfect excuse for a rager on a random Saturday in July. So, like a typical adolescent, Ben took the opportunity to blow off some steam at Tyler's house.

Teenagers high on drugs and buzzed from alcohol filled the Hadley home. Kids played beer pong on the dining room table, devoured all the food in the kitchen, and tossed beer cans onto the front yard. For most of the night, Ben hung out with his friends who kept wondering where Tyler parents went, because his story kept changing. I think Tyler said they went to Orlando. Yeah, Tyler told me his parents don't live here anymore. This is his house now. Oh, he killed his parents.

Ben knew the last one had to be a joke. In frustration, Tyler often claimed he'd murder his parents one day, so much that everyone just laughed it off. No one ever took Tyler seriously. because all teens resented their parents at some point. But still, Ben hated the thought of Blake and Mary Jo Hadley being reduced to a punchline. When he argued with his own parents, the couple was always there for him. Ben believed they genuinely cared for him and Tyler, even if Tyler didn't always get along with him.

And Ben doubted that Tyler would ever hurt Blake and Mary Joe, but he didn't understand why Tyler had so many different answers to a simple question. question. Ben wanted to ask Tyler himself, but the party host didn't talk much. Ben mostly saw Tyler staring into the distance. He was distracted, despite all the excitement happening at his house. Ben watched Tyler calmly observe his friends trashing the home, with no reaction at all. Ben had a hard time believing that Tyler would be fine with his parents finding such a mess. But oddly, his pal just seemed numb to everything. By 1 a.m., Ben finally got some one-on-one time with Tyler.

Tyler asked him to go on a walk, and Ben said, sure, because he knew exactly what his best friend wanted. Tyler often pulled Ben aside for a heart-to-heart chat. They took their usual stroll down the street's end and stood by a stop sign. Ben thought Tyler probably needed to vent some frustrations about the party and his parents. He had no idea his childhood pal was about to tell him a horrible secret. I did something stupid. I killed my parents. Yeah, right.

No, you didn't. Shut up. Ben, I'm being real. I'm not lying to you. If you look closely enough, you can see signs. Look at the driveway. All the cars are there. My parents are dead.

I killed them. As Tyler and Ben walked back to the house, Ben paid special attention to the cars parked by the garage. As they got closer, Ben realized two vehicles looked very familiar. Blake's pickup truck and Mary Joe's SUV. Ben thought that was odd, but he still didn't believe, Tyler. He thought his friend was playing a sick prank and that this had to be another one of his weird jokes about murdering his parents. Ben refused to be fooled by such a grim gag. Ben returned to the party, but he started seeing the Hadley House with fresh eyes.

Family photos and artwork were missing from the walls. Looking even closer, he noticed small blood stains. As Ben walked around, he noticed blood spatter and smears where he hadn't before. On the ceiling, on the computer playing the party's music, the master bedroom's door and the garage. Ben thought it had to be fake. This had to be a cruel prank, and Ben wanted to skip to the punchline,

so he pulled Tyler into the garage and confronted him. I want to see them dead. If you really did it, I don't believe you. Stay after the party's over, and I'll prove it to you. Tyler exited the garage and went back to the party. Suddenly Ben feared that Tyler was telling the truth, and he needed to find out if his friend really was a cold-blooded murderer sooner than later, because if he killed his own parents, Tyler might hurt him,

and the rest of the people at the party. Ben looked around for any evidence and noticed the master bedroom door remained closed. Teens tried to get in there, but Tyler always shooed them away. Ben knew Tyler's house like the back of his hand. He was well aware the room also had an exterior entrance. Ben walked around the house to the master bedroom's backyard door. He turned the knob. Inside the dark master bedroom, Ben saw chairs, framed photos, and magazines on top of towels soaked with blood.

Below that, he spotted a man's blood-covered leg, cladding cargo shorts. Blake's usual cargo shorts. The site shook Ben to the core. He did it. This is real. Ben exited the room as fast as he could, unsure of what he should do or think. He panicked. His best friend was a murderer. Next, Tyler Hadley's party comes to a crashing halt in the harsh light of day. And now, back to the story. Around 1 a.m. on July 17, 2011, Ben discovered two bloodied corpses during Tyler Hadley's house party in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Florida. 17-year-old Tyler had murdered his own parents, Blake and Mary Jo Hadley.

Ben was in total shock. His best friend was a merciless killer, and he could barely wrap his head around it. He knew he needed to leave the rager and call the police, but he couldn't. At least not yet. Instead, Ben pulled Tyler aside for another heart-to-heart. Ben wanted to get as much information as he could out of Tyler. But that was easier said than done. The boy's dynamic had changed, and their exchange was tense. You really murdered your parents. You did it.

Yep. I guess I won't be seeing you for a while. I guess I should take a picture. Take a bunch of pictures. Ben held out his cell phone to take a selfie of Tyler and himself. They both made stern poses that usually teen boys make when trying to look tough and cool. But in this photo, Tyler looked worried. Well, Ben's expression was a mix of anger and sadness.

Ben snapped the pick, knowing that it was the last time he'd see Tyler. Once Ben could leave the party, he planned on calling the police. But first, he returned to the main house and talked to another close friend, Jesse Durye, Ben filled Jesse in about what Tyler did, showing Jesse the blood stains around the house and told him that the bodies were in the master bedroom. Ben hoped that all of this information would prompt Jesse to leave and maybe even report the crime. Ben didn't want to be the only one phoning the police because he was scared Tyler might seek revenge if he was the sole caller.

With this plan in place, Ben left the party around 3 or 4 a.m. and went home. When he arrived at his house, he searched the internet for how he could anonymously report a crime. Finally, he decided to call an Orlando-based crime stoppers hotline. But before Ben could dial the number, his cell phone rang, and it was Tyler. The party's still happening. Tyler, I'm tired. It's four in the morning.

I'm going to sleep. Okay, man. Well, I'm having a party tomorrow. Are you going to come? Yeah, I'll be there. Once Ben hung up, he immediately dialed the crime stoppers hotline number and left a panicked message, detailing what Tyler had done. Around the same time, Jesse called 911 and told them what he knew.

Both voicemails prompted a dispatcher to contact the Port St. Lucie Police. Within minutes, two cops pulled up to the Hadley home. officers Charles Green and Adrian Zamoyski knocked on the front door. There was no answer, but suddenly the house lights turned off. Green didn't know what to expect from Tyler, so he radioed for backup and then rang the doorbell.

This time, Tyler answered the door and hid his left hand behind his waist. Officer Zamoyski immediately thought Tyler had a weapon and ordered the teenager to lie prone on the ground. Tyler was placed in handcuffs as Green kept an eye on the teen. With Tyler apprehended, the officers went inside the house to investigate. Seeing this, Tyler screamed. You can't go in there! Don't go in there!

But they did anyway. While looking through the house, they saw distinct remnants of a party. Soon they approached the lock. master bedroom door. The officers looked closely at it and noticed the blood spatter. They knew they needed to check inside. Green turned the doorknob so hard that it eventually snapped the door open. He slowly walked inside the bedroom, tiptoeing around the mess. Green examined the pile of chairs, photo frames, and magazines, ultimately noticing the blood-soaked towels. He looked further down and caught sight of Blake Hadley's bloody leg.

One officer moved a few items from the junk pile and discovered another limb, Mary Jo's arm. It was enough evidence for the cops to take Tyler into custody. By 5.30 a.m., Port St. Lucy detectives descended on the Hadley House crime scene, and they needed to work fast. In order to charge Tyler with the murders, the investigators needed to begin gathering as much evidence as they could. They examined the crime scene, taking DNA samples from the house. But they'd have to deal with one major distraction, a media frenzy. As the sun rose in Port St. Lucy, news of the massacre at the Hadley family home spread quickly. Local and national journalists swiftly chased details about the most heinous.

crime to ever happen in the quiet Florida city. Stories about Tyler, Blake, and Mary Joe dominated the news cycle. Neighbors told the press about the dead-eyed and troubled Tyler, while TV news anchor Nancy Grace called Tyler a popular teen. While the public perception of Tyler varied, Detective Kristen Meyer wanted to talk to the boy face-to-face. Around 8 a.m., she tried interrogating Tyler, but he refused to give any information beyond the basics.

I want a lawyer. It was a reasonable request from Tyler that halted Myers questioning immediately. But this meant investigators needed to focus on gathering enough evidence to charge him. At the crime scene, police cleared the debris and uncovered Mary Jo and Blake's bodies. She had a left side skull fracture,

along with bruises on her arms and deep wounds on her back. Blake had similar profound wounds on his head and body. Between the corpses, police found the murder weapon, a 22-inch framing hammer. This type of hammer is longer, heavier, and sharper than your typical household tool. Soon the cops had a theory about how the murder occurred. Later that morning, a Port St. Lucy police captain told her

reporter. The crime scene was certainly a merciless killing. Mary Jo and Blake experienced blunt forced trauma to the head and torso with a 22-inch framing hammer. That can affect a considerable amount of injury. There was a deliberate attempt to conceal the bodies inside the room. With that evidence in tow, Detective Meyer also started speaking to Tyler's friends who were at the party. Those interviews and Tyler's Facebook activity gave police a startling portrait of what happened on the day of the party. And how Tyler had been planning his parents' murder for far longer than anyone thought. Up next, we'll dive into Blake and Mary Joe Hadley's murder and find out Tyler's fate. Now back to the story. In the early hours of July 16th, 2011, 17-year-old

Tyler Hadley was about to kill his parents, Blake and Mary Joe. He stood over their bed holding sharp hedge clippers. But he couldn't bring himself to go through with it. So he retreated back to his room and lay in bed, hoping this horrible desire would go away. And it really did start as a joke. A few months earlier when venting to friends, he once said in jest that he was so frustrated with his parents and that he wanted to kill them. Tyler was annoyed at Blake and Mary Jo's efforts to help him with his depression, self-esteem, and drug issues. Nothing seemed to fix how he felt.

He started skipping school, abusing drugs, and joking about their murder. But soon the joke took root in his mind. As his friends laughed, Tyler kept thinking about getting rid of Mary Jo and Blake for good. The idea evolved into a compulsive, thought that haunted him every single day. Tyler didn't know why it kept popping into his mind, but he wanted it to finally go away on July 16, 2011. Although Tyler's late-night murder attempt failed, he spent the morning considering his next move. Hours later, Blake and Mary Joe went out to run errands and Tyler stayed behind. The couple didn't think anything was amiss. But Blake and Mary

Joe had no idea what Tyler had been planning. Later that day, Tyler announced his big party in a Facebook status update. His friends immediately responded to it with a terrible inside joke. Party at my crib tonight, maybe. Party, party, party! If I kill your mom, will you put the Lincoln in my name? Just kidding. No, I'm going to do it. Even on that fateful day, Tyler's friends laughed it off, and were just excited to have some fun. While his parents were still out,

Tyler invited some friends over to his house to hang out. There, Tyler joked again that he was going to kill Blake and Mary Joe, then throw a rager that night. His friends chuckled like they usually did, so Tyler followed it up with the story they were more likely to buy. Mary Jo and Blake were going to Orlando that night, and the party would start right after they left. Around 4 p.m., the group dispersed in time for Blake and Mary Joe's return. As his parents settled in, Tyler hid his parents' cell phones so they wouldn't be able to call for help.

To pump himself up, Tyler took three ecstasy pills and blasted a rap song, Feel Lucky by Little Boozy. When the drugs took effect, Tyler wasn't in terms. decisive anymore. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and this time he was going to follow through with it. Tyler walked to the garage and removed the framing hammer from his dad's toolbox. He returned to the main house and lurked behind Mary Jo. She sat at the family's computer in the living room and had no idea her son was there. After five minutes, Tyler pulled out the hammer and faced its sharp claw toward Mary Jo.

He took a step forward and struck her. Mary Jo fell to the floor as Tyler kept swinging at her. She tried crawling away as he attacked her, screaming. Why, Tyler? Why? Hearing Mary Joes screams, Blake ran down the stairs and into the room. He looked at his bloodied, bludgeoned wife. then at his hammer-wielding son. Blake and Tyler's eyes met for a second.

And Tyler attacked his father. They had one final exchange. Why not? Dripping with blood, Blake tried to escape his son's wrath, but it was too late. Tyler struck the weapon against his father's back. Blake fell, lifeless, as Tyler continued to bludgeon him. After Mary Jo and Blake died from the wounds,

Tyler saw his parents bloodied corpses. Finally, his compulsive thoughts were gone. He felt free. But he was still left with two cadavers and a house spattered with blood. So Tyler started cleaning up for the party. He dragged his parents' bodies into the bedroom. He took family photos and artwork off the walls, piling it on top of the bodies. Tyler even threw furniture on top and any other stray items like

magazines and books. He couldn't bear to look at their battered faces. And once he hid the corpses, he spent the next few hours cleaning up the blood. He scrubbed the floors and the walls, then tossed the blood-soaked towels onto the bodies. Three hours later, he was satisfied with the state of the house, even if he couldn't get to all the stains. He took a shower to wash off the blood and then logged onto Facebook. Tyler posted another status update, confirming that the party was definitely happening. Then he used his parents' ATM card to withdraw cash from his trust fund. By 10 p.m., the party was fully underway, and for hours, he didn't say much until confessing

the crime to his best friend Ben. With that narrative piece together, police had the evidence they needed for Tyler's arraignment when court was back in session. On July 19, 2011, the 17-year-old was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Even though he was a minor, he would be tried as an adult due to the severity of his crimes. On that day, Tyler stood with his assigned public defender, Mark V. Harley, and pleaded not guilty. There is a very long, significant documented history of mental illness in young Mr. Hadley, and this is going to be a major issue in the young man's case. Mark tried to pursue an insanity plea for Tyler, among other strategies,

but they just didn't work out. So instead, Tyler hoped for a plea deal. While in jail, Tyler wrote to Ben regularly, even after finding out his best friend turned him into the police, In a November 2013 letter, Tyler told Ben, I pray every day that I get a good plea deal. I'll take 25 or 40 years. If I go to trial and get found guilty,

then I get an automatic life sentence. That's what keeps me awake most nights or has me waking up in cold sweats. But the prosecution never offered Tyler a deal. There was too much evidence against him and a jury conviction was a near-swexed. certainty. As 20-year-old Tyler's trial loomed in 2014, the defense needed to do something drastic to avoid an automatic life sentence. So on February 19, 2014, Tyler changed his plea to

Nolo Contenderay, or No Contest. Legally, it was the same as pleading guilty, but it let Tyler avoid a full trial that would show all the evidence gathered against him. And it skipped the need for a trial. Instead, the state of Florida held a mitigation hearing to determine Tyler's jail sentence. He faced a maximum of life in prison, but Tyler and his legal team hoped that his youth could lessen the severity. But they were wrong. After eight days of testimony, the judge came to a decision on March 20, 2014. He determined that Tyler committed brutal, horrific crimes that deserved a harsh punishment.

These attacks on his parents were very painful, both physically and emotionally. I say emotionally because they realized their own son was killing them. Additionally, the judge accused Tyler of manipulating the trial's experts and lying to them about hearing voices. Taking this into account, the judge sentenced Tyler to serve two consecutive life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole. By 2015, his parents' former home where he threw the infamous party had been torn down. As for Tyler's friends, they lived with the trauma of attending his infamous house party, along with the regret of not taking a gross inside joke seriously. In 2014, Ben told ABC News,

I can't go to school without people saying, That's Ben and relating me to something this sick. and that's what everyone knows me as, the best friend of a murderer. And that reputation stuck with Ben when it came to his own troubles. In September of 2018, police arrested and charged the 24-year-old with violating probation for a previous gun theft conviction. At one point, Ben even ended up in the same jail as Tyler, but authorities made sure to keep them separated.

Ben's arrest made local headlines in Port St. Lucy's Treasure Coast newspapers because of his association with Tyler. The publication identified Ben as Tyler Hadley's star witness and posted his selfie with Tyler from the fateful party in the piece. Like it or not, Ben's association with Hadley lives on, even if the party has long been over. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part three of the Party Fowl special.

For more information on Tyler Hadley, amongst the many sources we used, we found the book, See How Much You Love Me by Amber Hunt, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time.

If we live till next time. Solve murders, true crime mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner with production assistants by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly

and Freddie Beckley. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Mallory Kara with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef, fact-checking by Amber Hurley, and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Joe Hernandez, Kai Jordan, and Drew Lawn.

Solved murder, stars Wendie McKinsey and Carter Roy.