A Maryland hunter fatally shot a mother of five in a Delaware field after mistakenly identifying her as a deer while she was walking.
Walter Moorhead, 74, was hunting deer from a camouflaged structure when he shot and killed 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto. Soto had been walking through an open field with a man and two children when the gunfire erupted. Moorhead later told authorities he had mistaken her for a deer and was handcuffed on manslaughter charges.
Moorhead, a Salisbury, Maryland, resident, faces felony charges of manslaughter for recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and first-degree reckless endangerment.
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A GoFundMe campaign created in Soto’s name described her as a “beloved aunt whose life was tragically taken by a firearm.”
“Maria’s family is now facing the overwhelming pain of this sudden loss while also trying to make sure she is laid to rest with dignity,” the fundraiser states. “They need help covering funeral services and the cost of sending Maria’s body to Guatemala so she can be brought home. This heartbreaking situation has placed a heavy financial burden on the family at a time when they are grieving deeply.”