Tyler Hadley's resentencing for 2011 beating deaths of his parents scheduled for September

FORT PIERCE — A judge presiding over the Tyler Hadley murder case Tuesday scheduled his resentencing for September.

An exact date wasn't announced, but the hearing is expected to begin after the Labor Day holiday, and could last at least 10 days.

Hadley has been waiting since 2016 for a sentencing do-over he was granted on appeal.

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He avoided a trial by pleading no contest to the July 16, 2011, murder of his parents inside their Port St. Lucie home when he was 17.

After he beat his parents to death, he hosted an alcohol-fueled party attended by dozens of his friends, with the bodies of Blake Hadley, 54, and Mary Jo Hadley, 47, hidden in a bedroom.

During Tuesday’s status hearing, St. Lucie County Circuit Judge Gary Sweet told lawyers for the state and defense they had until Aug. 15 to finish sharing evidence expected to be used during the hearing.

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Later, Chief Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl said they've been hearing from Hadley's family members, who want to know when his second sentencing hearing will finally happen.

"We've had some contact with the family and they want to know where we're at and what's going on," Bakkkedahl said. "And letting us know what their summer schedules are, so we're trying to work around that, as well."

Sentencing do-over

When Hadley won his appeal, the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach concluded that during his 2014 sentencing, Circuit Judge Robert Makemson “did not consider the correct alternative to a life sentence.”

Makemson ordered Hadley to serve two life prison terms following a nine-day hearing the court held to ensure the punishment complied with U.S. Supreme Court orders that have ruled toward restricting extreme sentences against juveniles.

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After court, Bakkedahl said the state will again seek two terms of life in prison for Hadley. State law requires he serve a minimum of 40 years, and he'll receive an automatic review after 25 years.

His lead lawyer, Public Defender Diamond Litty, said for his resentencing, she’s hired four experts in the field of neuropsychology, including Boston-based juvenile brain expert Robert Kinscherff, a psychologist affiliated with William James College and Massachusetts General’s Center for Law, Brain and Behavior.

Litty said Hadley's defense experts will testify about juvenile brain development, and will address the effects of drugs and alcohol on the juvenile brain.

It’s too soon to tell, she said, whether Hadley will testify on his own behalf.

“Oh, I don’t know at this time,” she said after court.

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He could make a statement to the judge just before his sentence is imposed, called an allocution, Litty said, which doesn’t include cross examination by state prosecutors.

“He can basically say anything he wants to at that point,” Litty said. “But most clients, most defendants before they are sentenced, don’t make an allocution.”

She said they haven’t discussed whether he will take the stand.

Hadley wasn't in court Tuesday, and Litty said he’ll remain at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution until shortly before his resentencing. During his hearing in September, he'll be temporarily housed to the St. Lucie County Jail.