A 74-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after authorities said he fatally shot a woman walking through an open field in Delaware, mistaking her for a deer while hunting.
Troopers responded at around 7:40 p.m. local time Sept. 18 to a report of a woman shot in an open field in Ellendale, a small town in central Sussex County, according to Delaware State Police. Troopers provided life-saving medical care before the victim was transported to an area hospital.
The victim, who was identified on Sept. 20 as Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, Delaware, was pronounced dead at the hospital, state police said in a news release. Walter Moorhead, 74, of Salisbury, Maryland, was arrested after authorities determined he fired the shot that killed Chilel Soto.
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A preliminary investigation revealed that Chilel Soto was walking through the field with a man and two children while Moorhead was “hunting deer from a ground blind,” according to state police. Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, hitting Soto instead.
Moorhead was charged with manslaughter, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of reckless endangerment. He was arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond, according to state police.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate the case. Authorities have asked anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact state police or Delaware Crime Stoppers.
Contributing: Keith Demko, Salisbury Daily Times
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman killed after hunter mistakes her for deer, Delaware police say
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