Hunter Kills Woman, Mistaking Her for Deer in Delaware
A Maryland man faces manslaughter charges after fatally shooting a mother of five while hunting in Ellendale.
A 74-year-old Maryland hunter has been charged with manslaughter after he fatally shot a woman he mistook for a deer in Ellendale, Delaware. Walter Moorhead was arrested by Delaware State Police following the incident on Friday evening.
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, was walking through an open field with another man and two children around 7:40 p.m. when Moorhead, who was hunting from a ground blind, fired his rifle. Police stated that Moorhead believed he had spotted a deer. Soto was struck by the projectile and later pronounced dead at an area hospital after troopers attempted to provide life-saving care.
Moorhead, of Salisbury, Maryland, faces felony charges including manslaughter, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and first-degree reckless endangerment. He has since been released on a $43,000 cash bond.
According to a GoFundMe campaign created to help send her body back to Guatemala, Soto was a mother of five children and a "beloved aunt." The fundraiser noted the "heartbreaking situation has placed a heavy financial burden on the family at a time when they are grieving deeply."