A 74-year-old Maryland hunter has been charged with manslaughter after allegedly fatally shooting a woman in Delaware after mistaking her for a deer, state police said.
The shooting happened around 7:40 p.m. Friday, September 18, in an open field near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road in Ellendale, according to the Delaware State Police.
The victim was identified as 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware. Police said she was walking through the field with a man and two children when she was shot.
Troopers responded to the scene and provided lifesaving medical care before Soto was taken to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Investigators identified the shooter as 74-year-old Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland. According to Delaware State Police, Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking Soto.
Moorhead was taken into custody and charged with felony manslaughter, along with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, police said.
He was arraigned and later released after posting a $43,000 cash bond, according to authorities.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate the shooting. Detectives are asking anyone with relevant information to contact the department.
The case has drawn attention because of the circumstances described by investigators: Soto was walking through the field with others when the hunter allegedly mistook her for a deer before firing.
