Topline: Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, was killed while walking through a Delaware field, and a 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter and related felony charges.
Published: September 24, 2026 7:04 am ET
Shawn Fletcher
Committed to the craft of journalism and am driven by my desire to inform and inspire.
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Santos Maria Chilel Soto, left, and Walter Moorhead
ELLENDALE, DE — A 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter charges after allegedly mistaking a woman for a deer and fatally shooting her as she walked through a field with a man and two children.
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, died after the September 18 shooting. WFLA reported that investigators identified Walter Moorhead, of Maryland, as the hunter and that he was released on $43,000 bond.
Delaware State Police said troopers responded around 7:40 p.m. to an open field near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road. They provided emergency medical care before Chilel Soto was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators said Moorhead, of Salisbury, was hunting deer from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking Chilel Soto. Troopers contacted him at the scene and took him into custody.
In CoastTV interviews, relatives said the group used the field to avoid road traffic. Her boyfriend, Minibaldo Velásquez, identified the children as his, ages 7 and 10. He said he wore blue and she wore yellow, and described hearing an explosive sound before she collapsed. He disputed that the shooting was accidental; police described an apparent misidentification.
CoastTV reported that court documents described an upper-torso wound and treatment at Bayhealth Hospital in Milford. The records said Moorhead approached afterward and acknowledged his rifle caused the wound.
Chilel Soto was originally from Guatemala and had five children. Her daughter, Sharon López, questioned Moorhead’s release and described her mother as her best friend. Velásquez remembered her generosity and work ethic. A fundraiser seeks funeral costs and support for her children.
Moorhead was taken to Troop 4 and arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court. State police listed five felony counts: manslaughter involving recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. The police release specifies three reckless-endangering counts, while WFLA lists one. Police said his $43,000 bond was cash.
CoastTV reported a September 25 preliminary hearing in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. The state police homicide investigation remains open. Anyone with information can contact Detective M. Csapo at 302-741-2729 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Hunter Charged After Woman Walking With Two Children is Fatally Shot
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, was killed while walking through a Delaware field, and a 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter and related felony charges.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: September 24, 2026 7:04 am ET
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, left, and Walter Moorhead
ELLENDALE, DE — A 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter charges after allegedly mistaking a woman for a deer and fatally shooting her as she walked through a field with a man and two children.
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, died after the September 18 shooting. WFLA reported that investigators identified Walter Moorhead, of Maryland, as the hunter and that he was released on $43,000 bond.
Delaware State Police said troopers responded around 7:40 p.m. to an open field near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road. They provided emergency medical care before Chilel Soto was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators said Moorhead, of Salisbury, was hunting deer from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking Chilel Soto. Troopers contacted him at the scene and took him into custody.
In CoastTV interviews, relatives said the group used the field to avoid road traffic. Her boyfriend, Minibaldo Velásquez, identified the children as his, ages 7 and 10. He said he wore blue and she wore yellow, and described hearing an explosive sound before she collapsed. He disputed that the shooting was accidental; police described an apparent misidentification.
CoastTV reported that court documents described an upper-torso wound and treatment at Bayhealth Hospital in Milford. The records said Moorhead approached afterward and acknowledged his rifle caused the wound.
Chilel Soto was originally from Guatemala and had five children. Her daughter, Sharon López, questioned Moorhead’s release and described her mother as her best friend. Velásquez remembered her generosity and work ethic. A fundraiser seeks funeral costs and support for her children.
Moorhead was taken to Troop 4 and arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court. State police listed five felony counts: manslaughter involving recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. The police release specifies three reckless-endangering counts, while WFLA lists one. Police said his $43,000 bond was cash.
CoastTV reported a September 25 preliminary hearing in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. The state police homicide investigation remains open. Anyone with information can contact Detective M. Csapo at 302-741-2729 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Hunter Charged After Woman Walking With Two Children is Fatally Shot
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, was killed while walking through a Delaware field, and a 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter and related felony charges.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: September 24, 2026 7:04 am ET
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, left, and Walter Moorhead
ELLENDALE, DE — A 74-year-old hunter faces manslaughter charges after allegedly mistaking a woman for a deer and fatally shooting her as she walked through a field with a man and two children.
Santos Maria Chilel Soto, 39, of Georgetown, died after the September 18 shooting. WFLA reported that investigators identified Walter Moorhead, of Maryland, as the hunter and that he was released on $43,000 bond.
Delaware State Police said troopers responded around 7:40 p.m. to an open field near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road. They provided emergency medical care before Chilel Soto was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators said Moorhead, of Salisbury, was hunting deer from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking Chilel Soto. Troopers contacted him at the scene and took him into custody.
In CoastTV interviews, relatives said the group used the field to avoid road traffic. Her boyfriend, Minibaldo Velásquez, identified the children as his, ages 7 and 10. He said he wore blue and she wore yellow, and described hearing an explosive sound before she collapsed. He disputed that the shooting was accidental; police described an apparent misidentification.
CoastTV reported that court documents described an upper-torso wound and treatment at Bayhealth Hospital in Milford. The records said Moorhead approached afterward and acknowledged his rifle caused the wound.
Chilel Soto was originally from Guatemala and had five children. Her daughter, Sharon López, questioned Moorhead’s release and described her mother as her best friend. Velásquez remembered her generosity and work ethic. A fundraiser seeks funeral costs and support for her children.
Moorhead was taken to Troop 4 and arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court. State police listed five felony counts: manslaughter involving recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. The police release specifies three reckless-endangering counts, while WFLA lists one. Police said his $43,000 bond was cash.
CoastTV reported a September 25 preliminary hearing in Sussex County Court of Common Pleas. The state police homicide investigation remains open. Anyone with information can contact Detective M. Csapo at 302-741-2729 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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