Man 'accidentally' stabs mom, 55, to death as she tried to break up his fight over drug debt

Karen Dempsey died after she was fatally stabbed in the heart by her son

PUBLISHED FEB 21, 2023

Jamie Dempsey accidentally stabbed his mom in the heart when he was trying to knife another person he got into fight with outside a bar (Getty Images)

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM: A man "accidentally" killed his own mother by stabbing her in the chest outside a Liverpool pub while attempting to stab another person. While Karen Dempsey was attempting to break up a quarrel between him and another man outside The Brambles bar in Kirkby, Jamie Dempsey stabbed her with a knife.

Dempsey's knife pierced his mother's heart all the way, exited out the other side, and ended up 1.5 cm into her liver. Little over an hour after arriving at Aintree Hospital, she was pronounced dead despite the best efforts of the hospital's medical staff.

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Dempsey brought a huge knife to The Brambles

As per The Daily Mail, the 32-year-old defendant from Kirkby's Brechin Road is on trial for allegedly killing his mother, Karen Dempsey, on August 22, 2022 in Liverpool Crown Court. Peter Glenister, KC, told the jury that the defendant maintains that his conduct was lawful and that he accidently stabbed his mother, 55, while defending himself.

He claimed that at around 7.pm, he and Karen had planned to meet for drinks at The Brambles. According to Glenister, Dempsey was upset with Brian Flynn because he owed him $2,400 for drugs and was prepared with a huge knife in case they happened to cross paths at The Brambles. Flynn twice threw glasses at Dempsey inside the bar before being led onto Cherryfield Drive and out of the building.

Dempsey confessed to stabbing his mom

A short while later, they ran into each other on the street and got into a fight. He fatally killed Karen Dempsey while she and another guy were trying to intervene after he seriously injured Flynn with his knife.

After returning to the bar, she passed out and the mother died less than two hours later. Dempsey left his aunt's house after changing his clothes there and confessing to stabbing his mother. He called the police and informed them that he was wanted for using a piece of glass to defend himself by stabbing a man. He was taken into custody after being detained, and it was then that he learned Karen had died. Dempsey rejects the accusations and the trial moves forward.