Community rallies for Guatemalan mother shot by Maryland hunter 

Why Should Delaware Care?
Community members across the state are mourning the loss of Santos Maria Chilel Soto, a Georgetown mother who was fatally shot by a Maryland deer hunter Friday evening. A petition is now calling the governor and Delaware authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.

Santos Maria Chilel Soto took her usual leisurely walk last Friday just before sunset. The Georgetown mother of five was chatting beside her boyfriend, Miniveldo, and his two children as they walked along an open field in Ellendale.  

But the 39-year-old Guatemalan mother never returned home. She was fatally shot by Walter Moorhead, a 74-year-old Maryland hunter who, according to arrest records, mistook Chilel Soto for a deer. 

“I want to call upon Gov. Matt Meyer for justice, so that this murder does not go unpunished, because it was a cold-blooded murder,” Miniveldo, who was only identified by his first name, said in an interview with Spanish-language radio station La ZMX Delaware earlier this week. 

Moorhead, of Salisbury, Md., was released on $43,000 cash bond after admitting to police he shot Chilel Soto Friday night. He is charged with reckless manslaughter, three counts of reckless endangerment and a weapons charge. 

According to police records, Moorhead was using a rifle to hunt deer. Delaware State Police and Delaware Natural Resources Police are jointly investigating the shooting. 

The news has made national headlines and provoked public outcry, with people raising questions about the alleged accident and demanding a more detailed examination.

For now, Chilel Soto’s family is focused on mourning the loss of a loved one who has left five children behind — four who lived in Georgetown and her adult son in Guatemala.

“We’ve barely had time to eat,” her sister, who spoke to Spotlight Delaware on the condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday. 

What we know about the shooting

As part of her routine, Chilel Soto would take walks with her family in the late afternoon, Miniveldo said on La ZMX. And that Friday evening was no exception. 

The police report indicates the shooting took place at around 7:40 p.m. But Miniveldo said in the radio interview the incident occurred about an hour earlier, when there was still daylight remaining at 6:40 p.m. 

During this time, Miniveldo said he heard an explosion. He then saw Chilel Soto cover her ears and fall to the ground. She had been shot in her upper torso. They called 911, and while they applied pressure to her wound and waited for emergency responders, according to the arrest records, an older man with a flashlight walked into the field. 

Moorhead, a retiree who was hunting with a scope, told police he found Chilel Soto, as well as three other people, when he went to find the deer he thought he had shot.

Miniveldo said Chilel Soto was wearing a yellow shirt when she was killed.

Moorhead could not be immediately reached for comment. As of Tuesday afternoon, court records showed he does not yet have an attorney.

Santos Maria Chilel Soto: Wife, mother and Georgetown community member

Chilel Soto lived in Georgetown with Miniveldo, her teenage son and daughter and her partner’s two younger children.

Chilel Soto’s sister recalled their time spent working in the cleaning industry together during an interview with La ZMX Delaware. She said her sister was her best friend and a loving soul who would even help her older clients go to the bathroom. 

“She fought every day,” Chilel Soto’s sister said in Spanish to La ZMX. “She would even sometimes head out at 5 a.m. sometimes for her children. She was always more than just a mother. She was a companion to her children. She was the best mom to them.”

Chilel Soto also was an active member of the evangelical church Iglesia de Dios Fuente de Verdad. In a church Facebook post, dozens of comments passed on their condolences, including some family members from Guatemala. 

“May god bless the life of my brother and my nieces and nephews. Sending regards from Tajumulco, San Marcos,” wrote her former brother-in-law Silvio Lopez. 

Hunting season starts with tragedy

September marked the first month of deer hunting season, and Delaware has one of the longest in the country, spanning five months. Aside from sport hunting, one of the season’s main purposes is to control the population of white-tailed deer in the state, which causes millions of dollars in crop damages every year.

To that end, the state offers permits that allow farm owners to open their land to licensed deer hunters outside of the regular season if their crops have suffered extensive damage.

According to DNREC spokesman Michael Globetti, one of these hunting permits, which allows firearms to be used outside of the general firearm season, was on file for the property where Chilel Soto was killed.

Still, there is an active investigation to determine whether Moorhead’s hunting complied with both the permit and state law.

Delaware’s current deer hunting season more generally is only open to hunters using crossbows and arrows. Firearms can be used in two shorter seasons that next run from Nov. 13-22, and Jan. 16-24, 2027. The only exception is when a private property owner has a deer damage permit to hunt anterless deer. 

Under Delaware law, most hunters must complete an education course before they can obtain a hunting license. Positive target identification is a core requirement of the exam. Maryland also requires hunters to take a similar course to the Delaware exam that includes different tiers, depending on the hunter’s age.

Rules and regulations are no different for an out-of-state hunter like Moorhead. The only exception was that he had to pay a higher permit fee of $199, which can be obtained online or in-person. 

A previous hunting-related death occurred back in 2023 in Millsboro, when Todd Mumford, a 53-year-old Sussex County probation and parole officer, was shot and killed.

Another incident occurred in 2015, also in the Millsboro area, when a 54-year-old hunter in a tree stand shot an arrow from his compound bow and hit a 24-year-old victim on the ground about 30 yards away. The injured man survived and underwent surgery.

Community left reeling, investigation ongoing

In the wake of Chilel Soto’s death, community members and Chilel Soto’s loved ones have questioned Moorhead’s assertion that he thought he had shot a deer.

Dailyn Stephanie Mendez, a friend of Chilel Soto, said the land where she was killed is a hotspot for the Hispanic neighbors in the area. This, she said, makes her believe it was a targeted incident. 

“It isn’t as if it were an accident, or an illness, or something like that — things that are easier to come to terms with,” Mendez said. “But just imagine: the blow came head-on — not from behind, not anything else — it struck her head-on.”

Despite these concerns, the Office of the Attorney General said it could not comment on the ongoing investigation. 

Moorhead has a preliminary court hearing scheduled for Friday, Sep. 24.

When asked for a comment, Gov. Matt Meyer’s office shared their condolences and said state police are conducting a full investigation. 

“I also recognize the grief and concern this tragedy has caused within our Latino community, particularly in Sussex County,” a spokesperson said in an email. “Every person who calls Delaware home deserves to live with safety, dignity, and respect. My family’s heart is with Santos Maria’s family during this time, and the State of Delaware stands with the community as it mourns her loss.”

A GoFundMe supporting burial costs had raised nearly $26,000 as of Tuesday evening.

Chilel Soto is survived by her five children and her boyfriend, Miniveldo. The family is currently awaiting the return of her body so they can send her remains to Guatemala, where one of her sons awaits.