Tyler Hadley of Port St. Lucie is charged with twin counts of first-degree murder in the deaths, which authorities say happened Saturday. He is being held without bond at a juvenile detention center in Fort Pierce and it was not immediately known whether he has an attorney.
The parents — Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley — were believed to have been struck with the hammer in their heads and torsos sometime after their son posted on Facebook around 1:15 p.m. Saturday alerting friends to an evening party at his house, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach.
Investigators believe the parents were attacked outside their master bedroom and the bodies were moved into the bedroom and the door locked.
As many as 60 people attended the party that night, according to Port St. Lucie Police spokesman Tom Nichols. They were loud enough to prompt a noise complaint and a visit by police officers. When they arrived at 1:30 a.m. Sunday to warn about the noise, the party was already breaking up, Nichols said.
Then, police said, they received a tip that murder may have taken place. They returned to the home at 4:20 a.m., finding the bodies covered with towels, files, books and other household items, and the hammer between them.
The mother, 47, was an elementary school teacher. The father, 54, worked for Florida Power and Light.
Autopsies were underway, but police said they believed they died of blunt-force trauma.
Hadley had attended St. Lucie West Centennial High School, according to police, but had not graduated. They said they did not know what the motive was.
