Maryland Hunter Charged With Manslaughter After Deer Shot Turns Out To Be Delaware Mother Of Five

Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland, allegedly fired his rifle while hunting from a ground blind in an open field in Ellendale, Delaware State Police said. According to the Daily Caller, troopers responded at approximately 7:40 p.m. after receiving a report that a woman had been shot.

Investigators stated that the victim had been walking through the field with a man and two children when the shot was fired. Moorhead believed he saw a deer and discharged his rifle, striking the woman instead, according to authorities.

September 23, 2026

Responding troopers administered emergency medical aid before the victim was transported to a nearby hospital. She was pronounced dead a short time later, police reported.

Delawares deer hunting season is not scheduled to begin until Nov. 14 under state regulations, raising serious questions about whether Moorhead was hunting illegally or poaching. State police on Sunday identified the victim as 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware.

Chilel Soto, described by WBAL-TV as a mother of five, leaves behind a young family now facing an avoidable tragedy. Troopers contacted Moorhead at the scene and determined he had fired the fatal shot, after which he was taken into custody and the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit assumed the investigation.

Police charged Moorhead with manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of another person, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and three counts of first-degree reckless endangering. Moorhead was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond, according to court records.

The shooting remains under investigation as authorities work to determine how an out-of-season hunt ended in a mothers death. Troopers have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit.