74-Year-Old Delaware Hunter Charged with Manslaughter After Shooting Woman Mistaken for Deer
A 74-year-old hunter was arrested on manslaughter and firearms charges after he shot a woman who was walking across a field, believing she was a deer.
State police said Walter Moorhead, 74, was hunting from a ground blind near Ellendale, Delaware, around 7:40 p.m. on Friday when he fired his rifle at what he thought was a deer. The shot struck 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto, who was walking across the field with two children. Troopers provided first aid and transported Soto to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police investigators interviewed Moorhead, confirmed he fired the shot, and took him into custody. He was booked on charges of manslaughter, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and reckless endangering. Delaware law classifies manslaughter as a reckless act causing death, punishable as a Class B felony with a possible sentence of up to 25 years. Moorhead posted a $43,000 bond pending further proceedings.
The incident adds to a relatively small number of fatal hunting accidents. Data from the International Hunter Education Association shows 252 fatal firearm-discharge incidents between 2010 and 2025, averaging about 17 per year, with failure to properly identify a target cited as a common factor.