Hunter Arrested for Manslaughter After Allegedly Mistaking Woman for Deer in Delaware
A Maryland hunter faces charges after a fatal shooting incident involving a woman and her children in a Delaware field.
A hunter has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after he allegedly mistook a woman for a deer and fatally shot her while she was walking through a field with her children in Ellendale, Delaware. Walter Moorhead, 74, of Maryland, faces multiple felony charges, including manslaughter recklessly causing the death of another person, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
The incident occurred on Friday evening when Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind. State police reported that Moorhead fired his rifle, believing he had sighted a deer, but instead struck Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39. Soto was walking through the open field with a man and two children at the time of the shooting.
Responding troopers provided medical assistance at the scene before Soto was transported to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Moorhead was released on a $43,000 cash bond. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Soto was described as a mother of five children and a "beloved" aunt. A GoFundMe page established to support her family stated that they are facing "overwhelming pain" and a significant financial burden for funeral services and to arrange for her body to be sent to Guatemala. As of Monday evening, the fundraiser had collected approximately $12,000.
