Maryland hunter charged after mistaking woman for deer, killing her

A 74-year-old Maryland man is facing manslaughter and related felony charges after Delaware State Police say he shot and killed a woman he mistook for a deer while hunting from a ground blind in a Sussex County field.

Walter Moorhead, of Salisbury, Maryland, fired his rifle on Friday evening in an open field near Ellendale, according to a statement from Delaware 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 said the victim was walking through the field with a man and two children when Mr. Moorhead, hunting from a ground blind, believed he saw a deer and fired. Troopers gave her lifesaving medical care before she was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

State police identified the victim Sunday as 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware. A GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral costs and the expense of returning her remains to Guatemala describes her as a mother of five and a “beloved” aunt.

Mr. Moorhead was taken into custody at the scene, and the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit took over the case. He was charged with manslaughter for recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond.

Delaware’s archery and crossbow deer season was open statewide at the time of the shooting, having begun Sept. 1, and the state’s general firearm season didn’t open until Nov. 13 — a week later than the date the original story cited. Standard rifles are barred from Delaware’s regular deer seasons, though state law makes an exception for private land enrolled in DNREC’s deer depredation program, which addresses crop damage; even there, the rifle must be chambered for straight-walled ammunition under the same restriction that applies elsewhere in the code. Delaware State Police’s release does not say whether Mr. Moorhead was hunting under such a permit or specify the caliber of his rifle, so the public record doesn’t establish whether his weapon was authorized.

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