California investigators probe deaths of elderly couple as murder-suicide

An elderly California couple was found dead in their Bermuda Dunes home last week in what authorities are investigating as a murder-suicide. The deaths followed months in which the wife had been targeted by an online scammer posing as actor Tom Selleck.

Donald Whitaker, 80, and his wife Karen, 79, were discovered with traumatic injuries inside their residence on Montego Bay Drive on Friday, May 15. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department had responded to a welfare check shortly before noon and pronounced the couple dead at the scene.

In a statement Thursday, the sheriff’s office said the available evidence suggests the incident was a murder-suicide. Homicide investigators are continuing their investigation and have stated there is currently no evidence to indicate the unknown scammer who targeted Karen Whitaker is directly involved in the couple’s deaths.

According to a longtime friend, Joy Miedecke, the scam began after Karen Whitaker posted a tribute on Facebook to a deceased school friend. Someone then contacted her via text message, claiming to be Tom Selleck and saying he had also known the deceased woman. The scammer reportedly told her they now had...