Hunter charged after woman killed in Delaware field

A Maryland hunter has been charged with manslaughter after police said he fatally shot a Delaware woman he mistook for a deer while hunting in an open field.

Walter Moorhead, 74, of Salisbury, Maryland, was arrested Friday evening in Ellendale, Delaware, after troopers responded at about 7:40 p.m. to a report of a woman shot in a field, Delaware State Police said. The woman, identified by police as Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, Delaware, was taken to a hospital after troopers and responders provided medical care. She was pronounced dead there.

Police said a preliminary investigation by the agency’s homicide unit found that Chilel Soto was walking through the field with a man and two children when Moorhead fired his rifle in their direction. According to state police, Moorhead was hunting from a camouflaged shelter known as a ground blind, crouched close to the ground, and believed he had seen a deer before firing.

The shot struck Chilel Soto, police said.

Moorhead faces a manslaughter charge, one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was arrested at the scene and later released on a $43,000 cash bond, state police said.

NBC News reported that Moorhead did not return a phone call seeking comment Sunday and that it was not immediately clear whether he had retained an attorney.

Delaware State Police said the investigation remains active and asked anyone with information to contact investigators directly or submit tips through Delaware Crime Stoppers.

An evangelical church in Georgetown shared an obituary for Chilel Soto after her death, identifying her as Maria Chilel Soto and saying she was from Guatemala.

“It is with deep sorrow that our church announces the passing of our beloved sister in Christ, Maria Chilel Soto,” the church wrote in the obituary, which CBS News reported had been translated from Spanish. “We join in prayer and solidarity with her family and loved ones during this time of deep grief.”

The church also held services honoring Chilel Soto and her family, posting videos on social media. It said official funeral arrangements would be shared when available.

Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses and the cost of transporting her body to Guatemala for burial. The fundraiser had collected about $4,500 of its $6,500 goal as of Monday morning, according to CBS News.

The shooting occurred about a year after a teenager died in rural Iowa when he was shot by another hunter who apparently mistook him for a squirrel, CBS News reported.