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.
Victims
- Hailey Megan Dempsey, 27: Shot on May 3, 2026, near the 300 block of West Tever Street in Plant City, Florida. She was transported to a hospital and later died.
- Belle Dempsey, 4: Hailey’s daughter, found fatally shot on May 3, 2026, near West Tever Street in Plant City.
- Kelsey Dempsey, 4 months: Hailey’s infant daughter, found fatally shot on May 3, 2026, near West Tever Street in Plant City.
- Valerie DeBoe, 55: Hailey’s mother and the children’s grandmother, found shot to death on May 3, 2026, inside a residence in the 900 block of North Burton Street in Plant City.
Domestic-Disturbance Call Before the Killings
Search-warrant documents revealed that Hailey had contacted police on May 1, two days before the murders, concerning a domestic disturbance involving her husband, Jay Dempsey. Publicly available records did not provide a detailed account of the disagreement or indicate that an arrest resulted from the call.
A neighbor later told reporters that there had been a heated disagreement at the residence. The neighbor also reported seeing a man wearing a bulletproof vest and loading a large duffel bag into a vehicle on the night before the victims were found. These statements became part of the public discussion surrounding the case, but police have not announced that the observations establish who committed the murders.
Jay Dempsey’s Detention and Release
Jay Dempsey, who was 27 at the time, was detained near the area during the initial investigation. Photographs and witness accounts showed officers taking him into custody for questioning. He was later released without being charged.
Some early reports described him as a person of interest, but Plant City police subsequently emphasized that no suspect had been publicly identified. Dempsey’s attorney stated that he cooperated with investigators. His temporary detention did not amount to an arrest for the murders and does not prove criminal responsibility.
Evidence Seized From the Residence
Newly unsealed search warrants showed that investigators collected a substantial amount of potential evidence from the North Burton Street residence shared by Hailey and Jay Dempsey. Items reportedly seized included firearms, ammunition, blood swabs, electronic devices, documents, clothing, cash, and other materials that could undergo forensic examination.
Detectives also sought surveillance recordings and digital information that might establish the movements of the victims and other individuals during the hours before the shootings. Police asked residents near West Tever Street and North Burton Street to examine doorbell cameras and security systems for footage recorded between approximately 5:30 and 7:00 a.m. on May 3.
The seizure of weapons or other property from a residence does not, by itself, establish that an owner or occupant committed a crime. Investigators must compare firearms with ballistic evidence, analyze biological material, examine digital records, and establish a reliable timeline before prosecutors can consider filing charges.
An Unresolved Investigation
The killings devastated a family and left the Plant City community searching for answers. Valerie was remembered by friends and relatives as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, mentor, and community figure. Hailey and her daughters were mourned together, while relatives were left to care for the surviving child and arrange four funerals.
Police have stated that local, state, and federal authorities are assisting with the investigation. Detectives have continued examining physical, digital, ballistic, and surveillance evidence. Authorities have also said that they do not believe the murders represent an ongoing threat to the general public, suggesting that investigators consider the violence targeted rather than random.
Despite the disturbing circumstances surrounding the deaths, no publicly announced evidence has resulted in an arrest or criminal charge against Jay Dempsey or anyone else. Until investigators identify a suspect and prosecutors establish probable cause, the person responsible for killing Hailey Dempsey, Belle Dempsey, Kelsey Dempsey, and Valerie DeBoe remains officially unknown.
