GEORGETOWN, DE - A man in his seventies has been arrested and accused of fatally shooting a woman after allegedly mistaking her for a deer while she walked through a field with her boyfriend and two young children.
The hunter, 74-year-old Walter Moorhead was taken into custody and charged with one count each of manslaughter recklessly causing the death of another person, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and reckless endangering first degree in the murder of 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto, authorities with the Delaware State Police (DSP) announced.
Troopers responded at 7:40 p.m. on September 18 to an open field near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road in Ellendale, regarding a report of a woman being shot, Law & Crime reported.
Upon arriving on scene, first responders attempted lifesaving measures before emergency personnel transported the victim to a local hospital. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. The preliminary investigation determined that Soto was walking through the field with her boyfriend and two young children while Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind, which is a shelter used by hunters to hide from their prey.
"Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking the victim," the release says. Soto's boyfriend, identified as "Miniveldo," said that he, Soto, and his two children had been walking in the field when he heard a loud bang.
"All of a sudden I heard an explosion," he said through a translator. "She had covered her ears and she fell." Soto's daughter, who was in a nearby house, heard the gunshot and reportedly ran to her injured mother. "When I got there she was on the ground and she wasn't like responding or anything," the daughter said.
After the shooting, Moorhead walked toward the area where he believed he had shot a deer, only to find Soto and her companions. Soto's boyfriend said that Moorehead initially tried to flee the scene, but stopped after being told police were coming and that Miniveldo would not allow him to leave.
State environmental officials said that the area has a permit allowing for deer hunting, due mainly to crop damage, but explained that individual hunters must be on an approved list.
It was not immediately clear how far away Moorhead was from Soto when he allegedly fired his rifle, whether he was authorized to hunt in the area, or whether he was permitted to be hunting there at that time of day. He appeared for his arraignment and was released after posting a $43,000 cash bond.
He is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing on September 25 in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. The DSP Homicide Unit continues to investigate this case. Detectives ask anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact Detective M. Csapo by calling 302-741-2729.
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