To his family, 19-year-old Tyler was just a heartbroken teenager going through a rough patch.
But when he discovered his high school sweetheart was secretly sleeping with his childhood best friend, a broken heart morphed into a calculated plot for revenge.
Tyler didn’t just key a car or send an angry text. Instead, he waited until the two of them were hanging out at his former best friend’s apartment. In the dead of night, Tyler barricaded the only exit door from the outside, doused the hallway in gasoline, and set the building ablaze.
Miraculously, neighbors woke up to the smoke alarms and firefighters were able to rescue the trapped teenagers just before the roof collapsed—but both suffered severe smoke inhalation and third-degree burns. When investigators pulled the neighborhood security footage, they saw Tyler calmly walking away from the inferno with a gas can in his hand.
In court, Tyler’s defense tried to paint him as a victim of temporary insanity, driven mad by the ultimate betrayal. When the judge handed down a staggering 35-year sentence for double attempted murder and arson, Tyler broke down sobbing, begging the court for mercy. “She cheated on me!” he wailed. “She betrayed me with my friend, I couldn’t take it!”
The judge wasn’t buying the “broken heart” defense, noting that a breakup—no matter how painful—is never an excuse to try and burn two people alive.
Was 35 years the right call for a teenager acting out of a broken heart, or did the punishment fit the horrific crime? Let us know your thoughts below!
