Police Arrest 74-Year-Old Hunter Who Allegedly Mistook Woman For Deer, Killed Her

A 74-year-old Maryland hunter has been charged with manslaughter after he fatally shot a woman he allegedly mistook for a deer in a Delaware field, according to Delaware State Police.

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Walter Moorhead, of Salisbury, Maryland, fired his rifle on the evening of Sept. 18 in an open field in Ellendale, according to state police. Troopers responded to the scene at approximately 7:40 p.m. after receiving a report of a woman who had been shot.

Investigators noted that the victim was walking through the field with a man and two children when the shooting occurred. Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind, believed he saw one, and fired his rifle, striking the woman. (RELATED: Video Shows Massive Buck Attacking Family’s Dog)

Responding troopers provided lifesaving medical care before the woman was taken to an area hospital, according to the report. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

Notably, Delaware’s deer hunting season does not begin until Nov. 14 under state regulations, suggesting Moorhead may have been hunting illegally or poaching.

State police identified the victim on Sunday as 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware. Chilel Soto was a mother of five, according to WBAL-TV.

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Troopers contacted Moorhead at the scene and determined he had fired the shot that struck the victim, according to state police. He was taken into custody, and the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit took over the investigation.

Police charged Moorhead with manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of another person, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering.

Moorhead was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond, according to court records.

The shooting remains under investigation. Troopers asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the department’s homicide unit.

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