Jay Dempsey and the Unsolved 2026 Plant City Family Murders
Important Case Status
Jay Dempsey has not been arrested, charged, or publicly identified by police as the person responsible for the May 3, 2026, murders of his wife, two young daughters, and mother-in-law in Plant City, Florida. Although investigators questioned him and searched the family residence, authorities had not publicly named a suspect as of the latest available reports. Describing Dempsey as a convicted mass murderer would therefore be inaccurate. The deaths remain part of an active and unresolved quadruple-homicide investigation.
The Plant City Quadruple Homicide
Shortly before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, 2026, Plant City police responded to the area of the 300 block of West Tever Street after a caller reported hearing screams. Officers discovered 27-year-old Hailey Megan Dempsey and her three children near a yard and fence line. Hailey had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was found lying over one of her daughters. Her other daughter was beside her, also suffering from a fatal gunshot wound.
Four-year-old Belle Dempsey and four-month-old Kelsey Dempsey were pronounced dead at the scene. Hailey remained alive when emergency personnel arrived and was transported to a hospital, but she later died from her injuries. A third child found with the family had not been shot and survived physically unharmed.
Investigators later learned that Hailey and the children had been captured on neighborhood surveillance footage shortly before the shooting. The footage reportedly showed them walking through the neighborhood and knocking on a resident's door. No one answered, and the family moved away from the residence. Audio recorded by the surveillance system captured the children crying. The footage suggested that Hailey had left or fled her home with the children during the early morning hours, although police have not publicly explained exactly what caused them to leave.
The Discovery of Valerie DeBoe
As detectives worked to identify Hailey and reconstruct her movements, the investigation led them to the family residence in the 900 block of North Burton Street. A vehicle belonging to Hailey's mother, 55-year-old Valerie DeBoe, was reportedly parked at the property. Valerie's husband told investigators that she had gone to Hailey's home to help her move but had stopped responding to him.
Officers entered the residence and found Valerie dead on the second floor. She had also suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Her death established that the violence had unfolded at two separate locations and that four members of the same family had been killed within a relatively short period.
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