Partner disputes deer-mistake account, calls killing ‘cold-blooded murder’
A 74-year-old Maryland man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the shooting death of a Guatemalan mother of five whom he allegedly mistook for a deer while hunting from a ground blind in southern Delaware, state police said.
Walter Moorhead, of Salisbury, Maryland, was booked on counts of manslaughter, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and reckless endangering following the death of Santos Maria Chilel Soto near the community of Ellendale. In Delaware, manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony are both class B felonies, each carrying up to 25 years in prison. Moorhead posted a $43,000 bond to secure his release pending the outcome of the case, state police said.
State police investigators said Moorhead was hunting from a ground blind when, at about 7:40 p.m., he thought he spotted a deer and fired his rifle, striking Chilel Soto in the torso. She was brought to an area hospital and pronounced dead there, according to authorities.
Moorhead’s account has been publicly disputed by Chilel Soto’s partner, Minivaldo Velásquez. In an interview with the Delaware public news outlet WHYY, published Thursday, Velásquez said he, Chilel Soto, and two of her children were walking through a harvested cornfield at the time of the shooting, after going to dinner as a family.
“She had a yellow blouse, and I was wearing a blue T-shirt,” Velásquez told WHYY. Velásquez also said the shooting occurred about an hour earlier than the time listed by police, when it would have been more visible.
“I have never seen a deer with only two legs,” Velásquez said. “It doesn’t make sense – no.”
Velásquez told police he applied pressure to the gunshot wound and called emergency responders, state police said. In a later interview with WHYY, Velásquez said Chilel Soto’s killer had “no excuse – the excuses are unacceptable and senseless.” He characterized the killing as a “cold-blooded murder” and said it was “100% not an accident.”
According to Delaware law, hunting deer with a rifle was not in season at the time of the shooting. WHYY reported, citing Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, that the property where Chilel Soto was killed had a permit authorizing the harvest of antlerless deer outside the normal season.
WHYY reported that Chilel Soto was a mother of five originally from Guatemala. The outlet reported being told by one of Chilel Soto’s sisters, Yolin, that sane people trying to hunt “should make sure it really is an animal before shooting – and what kind of animal.” Yolin Chilel Soto also suggested there may have been a component of “racism” to her sister’s killing, according to WHYY.
“This person should receive psychological help before carrying a weapon – and not just at the beginning,” Yolin said. “They need it continually.”
Moorhead waived a preliminary court hearing on Friday, according to the Delaware news station WDEL, which reported that dozens of people gathered outside and inside the courthouse in support of Chilel Soto.
Attempts to reach Moorhead for comment have not been successful.