A tragic incident unfolded in Delaware when a hunter from Maryland, aged 74, mistakenly shot a woman while she was walking through a field with her children. Delaware State Police reported the incident and arrested Walter Moorhead for manslaughter and other charges.
The victim, Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, was walking with a man and two children in an open field at around 7:40 p.m. on a Friday evening. Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind, a structure used to conceal hunters from their prey, when he misidentified Soto as a deer and fired his rifle.
“Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking Soto,” said the police report.
Despite state troopers providing urgent medical care at the scene, Soto was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Moorhead faced several serious charges, including manslaughter for recklessly causing death, possession of a firearm during a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was eventually released after posting a $43,000 cash bond. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Soto was remembered as a mother of five and a beloved aunt. A GoFundMe page was set up to support her family, highlighting their need for financial assistance to cover funeral costs and facilitate the transport of her body to Guatemala. By Monday evening, the fundraiser had collected approximately $12,000.
The family expressed their profound grief through the fundraiser page, emphasizing the emotional and financial challenges they face following this sudden loss.