Teen Murder Suspect Sued by Older Brother

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CN) - The older brother of the Port St. Lucie teenager accused of beating his parents to death with a hammer and throwing a party in their home while their bodies lay locked in a bedroom has asked a state court to block the kid brother from any chance of inheriting any of their parents' money.

Tyler Hadley is accused of beating his parents to death with a claw hammer on the afternoon of July 16 at their home in Port St. Lucie, on Florida's Treasure Coast. Hadley, 17, who faces two counts of first-degree murder, then allegedly changed a post on his Facebook page from "Party at my crib tonight ... maybe" to "Party at my house, hmu."

Hmu stands for "hit me up," or contact me, according to the Fort Pierce Tribune.

Hadley's Facebook invitation included his father's cell phone number for invitees to call for information, according to the Tribune, which reported that a subsequent post stated that about 60 people attended.

A police reportdescribes the scene the arresting officers found at the house.

An autopsy report prepared by Dr. Robert E. Mittleman, chief medical examiner for Florida's 19th Judicial Circuit, says the father, Blake Hadley, received at least 65 blunt trauma injuries, soft tissue bruising, "massive skull fractures," and multiple fractures to his arms and legs.

An autopsy report on the mother, Mary Jo Hadley, has not yet been released.

If convicted, Tyler Hadley faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. Because of his age, he cannot be executed.

In a civil complaint in St. Lucie County Court, Tyler's older brother, Ryan Hadley, who lives in North Carolina, seeks a declaration that Tyler is prohibited from receiving any inheritance from his parents' estate, pursuant to Florida Statute Section 732-802.

"A person who intentionally and unlawfully kills another person is not entitled to reap the benefits of the unlawful and intentional deaths and by virtue of that statute is deemed to have been disqualified from receiving life insurance policy benefit payments, pension plan benefit payments, or any other entitlement that otherwise would vest by virtues of the deaths of Blake M. Hadley and Mary Jo Hadley," according to the complaint.

Ryan Hadley said he is concerned about the payout from his parents' 401K plan because the federal ERISA law may pre-empt the Florida statute. He asks the court to make a determination on that issue as well.

Ryan Hadley is represented by Stephen Navaretta, of Port St. Lucie.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit