2 Dead in Florida Elevate Facebook Fiascos to New Level

COMMENTARY | Facebook has made it easy to invite friends over to have a party. Maybe it is too easy to plan and invite guests to parties using Facebook. With alarming regularity we see young people making the news for Facebook party invite-related fiascos. I was shocked to see a teen who sent a Facebook party invitation to 14,000 people for his 17^th birthday party, as reported by the Bunbury Mail. I cannot imagine how one person gets 14,000 friends in the first place. It is even harder for me to imagine why someone would want to host a party of 14,000 guests, even if the host was friends with them all.

Even more disturbing is a teenager in Florida, Tyler Hadley, who is suspected of killing his parents, hiding their bodies in a bedroom, and then hosting a party that was advertised earlier on Facebook, according to CNN. The party was scheduled and posted on Facebook prior to the teen allegedly beating his parents, Mary-Jo and Blake Hadley, to death with a 22-inch framing hammer. I have to wonder if the alleged beating occurred because they disapproved of his party. It is a sad day when parents have to worry about being killed by their children if they are to set their foot down and say no.

The Associated Press reports that as many as 60 guests showed up at the party. The police did come to the party, prior to discovering the bodies, in response to a noise complaint . Little did they know at the time that there were dead bodies locked in the master bedroom . There were rumors that Tyler might have killed his parents during and after the party, reports CNN. If the guests thought it was strange that the parents were not there and there was a rumor they had been killed, why did they stay at the party? Why were police not notified by an anonymous source until after the party?

The motive for this tragic incident is not known. Tyler is a suspect in this case, but has not been proved guilty. I can only hope that the next news article we read about Facebook party invites has nothing to do with murder.