ELLENDALE, Del. — Delaware State Police charged a 74-year-old Maryland man with manslaughter after he allegedly mistook a woman walking through a field for a deer and fatally shot her Friday evening, Sept. 18.
Police identified the man as Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland. Investigators said Moorhead hunted deer from a ground blind near South Old State Road, north of East Robbins Road, when he fired his rifle and struck a 39-year-old woman from Georgetown, Delaware.
Troopers responded around 7:40 p.m. after receiving a report of a woman who had been shot in an open field. They provided medical care at the scene before transporting the woman to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. Police have not released her name pending notification of her family.
A preliminary investigation found that the woman walked through the field with a man and two children while Moorhead hunted nearby, according to police. Investigators said Moorhead believed he saw a deer before firing his rifle.
Troopers contacted Moorhead at the scene and determined that he fired the shot. The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit then took over the investigation.
Police charged Moorhead with manslaughter for recklessly causing another person’s death, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. All charges carry felony classifications.
Moorhead appeared for arraignment and posted a $43,000 cash bond for his release, state police said.