Neighbor prays for deceased neighbor's son who confessed to mother's murder

SAN ANTONIO – The news of a hardworking mother being allegedly killed by her 18-year-old son who confessed to her murder has rocked a West Side neighborhood.

The mother, Mary Helen Dempsey, 53, was found dead on Stagecoach Lane earlier this week. One of her closest neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said it was a big nightmare.

“Yesterday, I was coming home from a meeting and I saw the police and detectives here,” the neighbor said. “I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it was something very, very bad because everything was roped off.”

She said she was petrified by what had happened to her neighbor of more than 20 years.

“When my other neighbors broke the news to me, I went into shock and I just broke down,” the neighbor said. “You don’t ever know that something that horrific is going to happen to a good person like she was.”

She remembers Dempsey as a woman for whom she had a lot of respect.

“She was an incredible human being,” the neighbor said. “She was very respected. We had a high respect for each other. She was very hardworking and a loving mother. She was just a beautiful person. Nobody deserves that. Nobody.”

The neighbor said she had no idea there was ever any friction between Dempsey and her children, who she has known since they were babies.

“She always put them first, always taking them to school, attending school events with them, being there for meetings. She was always there for them," the neighbor said. "There are no words because you think of the mother that she was and then the way she died is just horrific.”

The neighbor said Matthew Dempsey, Mary Dempsey’s 18-year-old son who is now being charged with capital murder, always seemed like a good kid. 

“I remember when he was just a tiny, little boy. When he got bigger and started riding his bike, he would ride over here and would laugh and say hey," the neighbor said. "I seldom saw him once he graduated and I didn’t see him very often after that, but from what I did know of him, he was a good kid that she would do anything for.”

Daniel Saucedo, 18, was also charged with capital murder in the case. 

The neighbor said seeing Matthew Dempsey being taken into custody for this crime was appalling.

“When I saw them taking him in, he just seemed like he was in a state of shock,” the neighbor said. “I think it was sinking in, the severity of what had happened. Now, and I can only assume that now, he is thinking, ‘Why did I do that?’”

The neighbor said she could only pray now for Matthew Dempsey and the other teens who find themselves caught up in deadly situations.

“If I could talk to Matthew, I would tell him to seek the Lord and give it all to God, because at this point, that is all he can do so he can try to find some type of peace in his heart and in his life. I also ask the community to pray for our community because all of us are in shock.

"As a Christian woman, I would tell all of our children to seek the Lord first and always because that is the right path to go. As parents, we need to have the lines of communication open with our children. One place we can go together is to seek the Lord and help these parents and children facing these really bad situations.”


About the Author:

Japhanie Gray joined 10 News as an anchor in March 2022.