Police: Florida teen killed parents, then had party

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Neighbors knew Tyler Hadley as a polite and respectful teen who played basketball with his father in the driveway and built forts of junked wood as a child -- not as someone who could kill his parents and throw a party while their bodies lay tucked beneath towels and other items in a locked bedroom.

The 17-year-old made his first court appearance Tuesday after being charged in the killings of his parents, Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley, whom authorities say he bludgeoned with a hammer Saturday before hosting a party for dozens of friends. A motive remains unclear.

In his brief appearance via video conference from jail, the teen glanced downward and calmly replied, "No, sir," when asked by the judge whether he had a lawyer or any questions. He was ordered held without bail and appointed a public defender.

His politeness was baffling to Tom Bakkedahl, the prosecutor who later viewed the bodies of Hadley's parents as they underwent autopsies at the medical examiner's office.

"His demeanor in court was not consistent with what I saw at the autopsy," Bakkedahl said of the parents, whose heads and torsos were maimed in the attack. "It's absolutely horrific. The injuries were just massive."

On Tuesday, police continued to come and go from Hadley's modest white ranch, evidence still being processed for a third straight day.

Hadley is being charged as an adult in his parents' killings. While he currently is charged with second-degree murder, Bakkedahl said it's all but certain a grand jury will indict him on more serious charges.

He will not face the death penalty if convicted because of his age.

His public defender, Mark Harllee, said he had met with Hadley, but he would not go into detail about the boy's state of mind.

"We will be representing him zealously, and the next step we will take is to enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf," he said.