SAN ANTONIO – A teen accused of killing his mother in her West Side home this spring pleaded guilty in her death on Thursday.
Matthew Dempsey, who was 18 years old at the time of his mother's slaying, was sentenced to 42 years in prison after pleading guilty. He will be eligible for parole.
Matthew Dempsey and Daniel Saucedo, also 18 at the time of the crime, were charged with capital murder in the death of Matthew Dempsey's mother, 53-year-old Mary Helen Dempsey.
READ MORE: Son shares horrific details in mother's killing, records reveal
According to past reporting from KSAT, Matthew Dempsey and Saucedo went to the woman's home in the 7500 block of Stagecoach Lane to rob her on April 9.
They began to gather items to steal when the woman returned home, according to an arrest affidavit.
Matthew Dempsey then attacked his mother from behind and beat her with a baseball bat, records state. One of the teens then grabbed a knife and cut the woman's throat.
She was bound and placed under a blanket by Saucedo as Matthew Dempsey rummaged through her wallet, the affidavit stated.
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Her body was later discovered by her daughter, according to past reporting.
Saucedo is awaiting trial, which is set for December, according to jail records.
The death of Mary Helen Dempsey came as a shock to the San Antonio community.
A neighbor of 20 years told KSAT she had no recollection of friction between Matthew Dempsey and his mother.
"She was an incredible human being," the neighbor told KSAT. "We had a high respect for each other. She was very hardworking and a loving mother."
"Nobody deserves that. Nobody," she said.
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Following the crime, members of the PEACE Initiative, an anti-domestic violence organization, held a demonstration along Highway 90 to protest crimes against women.