Attorneys for Tyler Hadley began their defense Wednesday with a relative who has never wavered in her love for the then teen murderer.
Maggie DiVittorio, Tyler Hadley’s grandmother, recalled Tyler was born premature, and that he struggled as a pre-teen.
“Never seemed to be able to find the right niche or stay with it long enough or whatever the problem was," said DiVittorio.
DiVittorio said Tyler had self-esteem issues growing up, recalling his reaction to a doctor’s remark.
"He once said ‘no you’re not fat, you’re sturdy.' Of course, he took that as being fat.”
As a 17-year-old in 2011, Hadley killed his parents with a hammer, then threw a party with their bodies still buried underneath piles of household items in the bedroom of their Port St. Lucie home.
DiVittorio said before that night, he was never violent with his parents.
“Never saw him pick up his hand to them or anything. Why would he?”
The defense then called a medical expert who specializes in the effects of alcohol and drugs on the adolescent brain.
Dr. Jodi Gilman, from Harvard, says the brain has a greater capacity to heal at younger ages.
She did not study Hadley specifically.
“I don’t know what state his brain was in when he committed the crime, I have no idea, I wasn’t there. But just because he performed normally in a building, low-stress environment, with a neuropsychologist doesn’t mean in a real-world setting he would act the same way," said Dr. Gilman.
In the afternoon, Ron McAndrew, a former state prison warden, said Hadley has been a compliant inmate who has put his best foot forward.
Under cross-examination, it was revealed Hadley was caught once with a small, sharp weapon, and that he had smoked pot in prison.
Thursday, a behavioral psychologist is expected on the stand, who will recall his first-hand interactions with Tyler Hadley.
