An elderly couple was found dead at their home in Bermuda Dunes, California, and the case may have a possible link to a person posing as a famous actor.
The bodies of 80-year-old Donald Whitaker and 79-year-old Karen Whitaker were discovered with significant injuries on May 15 and a friend of the couple believes Karen may have been the victim of a scammer posing as Tom Selleck, Fox News reported Thursday.
Joy Meidecke, who is president of the East Valley Republican Women Patriots, told the outlet Karen volunteered with the group and had commented on an online post about a friend’s death. However, a person believed to be a scammer replied to her comments and that was when a secret relationship between the pair began, Meidecke claimed.
She also said the person spoke romantically to Karen, pressured her for money, and consumed her time.
“They text messaged her, and they said they were Tom Selleck — and that they knew this girl and had dated her and now we have something in common and that started the whole thing. She was living and breathing this part of her life, and they were constantly texting her every single day, text after text, and people around her started noticing,” Miedecke told ABC 7, adding she believed the amount of money Karen sent the person escalated to thousands of dollars.
Miedecke said she alerted officials with the Riverside County Adult Protective Services and when they visited the couple’s home, Karen’s husband learned what was happening.
However, when he tried to explain the situation to her she would not listen and the family destroyed her credit cards, according to the friend. Miedecke told KTLA she also believes Karen was suffering from the early stages of dementia.
Even after her family cut up the credit cards and removed her from accounts, Miedecke said, “She still found ways to get money and send to them.”
In an update on Thursday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said homicide investigators were still working on the case.
“The evidence available suggests this was a murder-suicide,” the agency said, noting that so far no arrests have been made but authorities were working to identify persons who may have been involved.