Teen locked dog in cupboard and bludgeoned parents to death before throwing party

One Florida teen started joking about killing his parents with his friends - then followed through on it in a prolonged violent outburst which left him covered in his own parents' blood.

Tyler Hadley was just 17 when he locked his family dog in a cupboard and bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer before his father, Blake uttered his final devastating question to his son: 'Why?'

Tyler's father was a nuclear power plant operator, and Mary Jo, his mother taught at the local school. Tyler also had a brother - Ryan. His aunts recalled that Tyler was "cute" calling him an "adorable little boy," according to Crime and Investigation. They added that "he was constantly hugging his mom."

At High School Tyler stopped playing sport and started experimenting with drugs before his behavior became erratic and concerning. His alcohol and drug use escalated and he was known to police before he was involved in a $15,000 civil suit after injuring a child while driving his father's car in June 2010, reports Mirror US.

In a final attempt to save their son before he turned 18, his parents sent Tyler to rehab but the teen was not happy. His uncle said: "That kid wanted his freedom, and he wanted to party... his parents were in the way, and he felt there was no way out."

Then the sinister jokes began. Tyler told a close friend exactly what he was planning to do. The idea was horrific, he wanted to throw a party after murdering both of his parents. On the day of the murders, he posted an ominous message on Facebook: "Party at my crib tonight... maybe."

Tyler hid his parents' phones and locked the family dog in the cupboard, then took three ecstasy pills and picked up a claw hammer. He killed his mother first, attacking her from behind while she was on her computer. Hearing her screams, his father asked his son "Why?" in shock. Tyler replied: "'Why the f*** not?" before attacking him.

Tyler then moved their bodies to the master bedroom and cleaned up the blood, which was splattered all over the house and his body. He then invited around 60 people over to party - after placing an assortment of objects over the dead body.

Tyler told several people at the party he had killed his parents and even showed his best friend, Michael Mandell, their bodies. But others there that night reported odd smells and sightings of spatters of blood around the house. Michael would eventually alert the police but not until the party had finished.

Tyler was also caught on CCTV using his parents' stolen credit cards to buy alcohol and other supplies.

Tyler was arrested early the next morning. His lack of remorse led prosecutors to argue his desire to throw a house party meant more than his parents' lives. Tyler pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree murder. He was initially sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In 2018, he was resentenced as an adult to life in prison.

Tyler continues to brag about his horrific crimes in prison, regularly signing autographs for fellow inmates with his self-proclaimed nickname, Hammer Boy.

A prison guard also reported finding a hammer the 'Hammer Boy' had fashioned himself behind bars. Prison guard D. Johnson wrote in his report of the April 6 incident: "I discovered a homemade weapon fashioned from a piece of metal approximately 6 inches in length, sharpened to a point with a piece of cloth wrapped around one end to be used as a handle."

Tyler was ordered to spend 60 days in disciplinary confinement, living in a solitary cell with limited privileges. State prison records show Tyler was also given an additional 30 days of confinement after a disciplinary hearing found that he had 20 unauthorized absences from a teaching assistant job. He refused to participate in his disciplinary hearings and refused to sign the violation forms, according to prison reports.