Hunter charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting woman he mistook for deer in Delaware

A 74-year-old Maryland man shot and killed a 39-year-old woman near Ellendale, Delaware, allegedly mistaking her for a deer. Walter Moorhead faces felony manslaughter and related charges.

Maryland hunter kills woman near Ellendale after mistaking her for deer

A 74-year-old hunter from Salisbury, Maryland, has been charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting a woman he allegedly mistook for a deer in a field near Ellendale, Delaware, 6abc.com reports.

Walter Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind on Friday evening at around 7:40 p.m. when he fired his rifle at what he believed was a deer, striking 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware, according to the Delaware State Police.

"The preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was walking through the field with a man and two children while Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind," state police said in a statement. "Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking the victim."

Troopers responding to the scene administered lifesaving medical care, but Soto was later pronounced dead at a hospital. She was formally identified Sunday by the Delaware State Police.

Moorhead was taken into custody after investigators determined he had fired the fatal shot. In addition to felony manslaughter, he faces three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

He was arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond, state police said.

Moorhead did not respond to a call from ABC News seeking comment, and it was unclear whether he had retained an attorney.

The Delaware State Police said the shooting remains under active investigation and asked anyone with information to contact its homicide unit.

Source: Google News GY — Georgetown