An elderly Ohio man shot and killed a woman he believed to be a part of a phone scam trying to extort money from him, but police say she was an Uber driver sent by the scam artists.
The tragic shooting was caught on surveillance video from the man’s home in South Charleston on March 25.
81-year-old William Brock told investigators that he shot 61-year-old Loletha Hall because he and his family had been threatened by scammers over the phone.
“Mr. Brock received some scam call by a person purporting to be someone from our courts who informed him a family member was incarcerated and that he had a bond of a significant amount of money,” said Lt. Kristopher Shultz of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Schultz said that the callers then stopped pretending to be officers of the court and instead claimed that they had kidnapped a hostage for ransom.
The scammers on the phone then sent Hall to the man’s home to pick up the money.
“Ms. Hall did not have any idea,” Schultz said.
Investigators say that Brock demanded Hall tell him who she worked for and then he grabbed her cellphone to prevent her from leaving.
“When she tried to get away, he shot her once, then there was more exchange between them,” Shultz explained. “Mr. Brock was at some point injured to his head, and he shot Ms. Hall a second time. There was more conversation, and then he shot her a third time. Only after he shot her a third time did he then make contact with authorities to report the incident.”
Court documents said that the victim had no weapon in her possession and did not herself threaten Brock.
A spokesperson for Uber said the company was in touch with the victim’s family and was cooperating with the investigation.
“This is a horrific tragedy and our hearts continue to be with Loletha’s loved ones as they grieve,” the spokesperson said.
The company said the person who ordered the Uber was banned from the platform, but law enforcement did not indicate whether other people had been arrested or identified in the case.
Brock was booked on a murder charge and posted a bail of $200,000. If convicted, he could be imprisoned for 15 years to life or fined $15,000.
Here’s video of the horrible incident:
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