Walter Moorhead, the hunter charged with manslaughter in the shooting of a Georgetown woman waived his preliminary hearing Friday morning.
Moorhead is charged with manslaughter and other related charges in the shooting death of Santos MarÃa Chilel Soto. Delaware State Police said Moorhead was hunting from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle. Chilel Soto had been walking through the field with her boyfriend and two children, police said.
Moorhead waived his right to a preliminary hearing, allowing the felony case to proceed toward Superior Court without prosecutors first presenting evidence at that hearing to establish probable cause. A waiver does not constitute an admission of guilt. Defendants may waive preliminary hearings for a variety of strategic reasons, including when defense attorneys believe prosecutors can meet the relatively low probable-cause standard required for the case to proceed.
In the Delaware court system, when a preliminary hearing is held in the Court of Common Please who then determines if there is enough evidence to move the case to Superior Court. Since Moorhead waived the preliminary hearing, the case transfers to Superior Court. This could mean a Grand Jury indictment and an arraignment on the charges. If there is no plea arranged, the case will go to trial in Superior Court.
A GoFundMe for Chilel-Soto’s family has reached over $36,000 of the $40,000 goal.
