HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Three months after four members of a Plant City family were killed, investigators have not announced an arrest. This is leaving neighbors with questions about who is responsible and whether the suspect is still out there.
The deaths of 27-year-old Hailey Dempsey, her two young children. And her mother shocked the quiet Plant City neighborhood where they lived.
On May 3, police responded to a 911call and found Hailey Dempsey and two of her children with fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators later went to the family’s home on North Burton Street, where they found Hailey's mother, the children’s grandmother, also dead from a gunshot wound.
Since then, neighbors said they have been waiting for answers.
Dan Smith said, “What is going on? You know we haven’t heard a thing.”
Fred Newman lives just a few doors down from where the mother and children were found. He said he heard the gunshots and has been hoping for justice.
Newman said, “Anytime something this close happens, especially in a really quiet neighborhood, it is disturbing.”
Search warrants obtained by Tampa Bay 28 revealed officers responded to a domestic disturbance at the home just two days before the killings.
According to those documents, the call stemmed from an argument involving Hailey Dempsey's husband and allegations of infidelity.
Police have not named a suspect in the case, and no arrests have been made.
Tampa Bay 28 reached out to the Plant City Police Department for an update but has not received a response.
The Plant City City manager provided the following statement: “The Plant City Police Department and partner agencies on this case continue to actively investigate this tragic incident and are pursuing every lead and detail necessary to bring the case to full closure.”
Tampa Bay 28 will continue following the case and provide updates as they become available.
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