A 74-year-old Maryland hunter has been charged with manslaughter after police say he fatally shot a woman walking through a Delaware field because he believed she was a deer.
The shooting happened around 7:40 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, near South Old State Road and East Robbins Road in Ellendale, according to Delaware State Police.
Troopers arriving at the scene found 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers provided emergency care before she was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said Soto had been walking through the field with a man and two children when she was struck.
Investigators spoke with 74-year-old Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland, who was hunting nearby from a ground blind.
According to police, Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle. The shot instead struck Soto.
Moorhead was taken into custody and later charged with reckless manslaughter, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three felony counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.
He was arraigned and released after posting $43,000 cash bond. The charges remain allegations, and Moorhead is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate exactly what happened in the moments leading up to the fatal shot.
The case also raises questions about firearm use during Delaware’s deer seasons. State wildlife officials say certain straight-wall rifles can legally be used for deer hunting only during specific firearm seasons, although they may also be used under qualifying deer-damage permits on private property. Police have not publicly said what type of rifle Moorhead was using, whether he was hunting under such a permit, or whether any separate hunting violations are being investigated.
Delaware wildlife guidance also requires hunters to follow visibility and safety rules during firearm deer seasons, including hunter-orange requirements for hunters using ground-level blinds.
Soto’s family is now facing the devastating aftermath.
A fundraiser created for her relatives describes her as a beloved mother of five and says the family hopes to send her body to Guatemala for burial. Funeral and transportation expenses are expected to exceed $15,000.
Police initially withheld Soto’s name while relatives were notified before publicly identifying her on Sunday.
Anyone with information about the shooting has been asked to contact the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit.
