A woman in Delaware, Santos Maria Chilel Soto, was fatally shot last week by a hunter who mistook her for a deer. Delaware State Police have confirmed the incident occurred in Ellendale on a Friday evening.
Walter Moorhead, a 74-year-old from Salisbury, Maryland, faces charges including manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Authorities arrested Moorhead at the scene, later releasing him on a $43,000 bond. Preliminary investigations by the Delaware State Police homicide unit indicate that Moorhead was hunting in an open field when he shot Soto. He believed he saw a deer as Soto walked by with a man and two children.
First responders and troopers arrived at the scene around 7:40 p.m. They provided life-saving care to Soto and transported her to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. Moorhead is charged with manslaughter, possession of a firearm during a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
Police urge anyone with information on the case to contact them directly or provide tips via Delaware Crime Stoppers.
In Georgetown, Delaware, an evangelical church where Soto lived, shared an obituary expressing sorrow for her passing. The church extended its condolences and shared that funeral services would be announced later. They held services in her honor, posting videos on social media.
Soto’s family has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses and transport her body to her native Guatemala for burial. As of Monday morning, the campaign had raised approximately $4,500 of its $6,500 goal.
This tragic event follows an incident last year in rural Iowa where a hunter accidentally killed a teenager, mistaking him for a squirrel.