The death of an elderly couple at their California home on 15 May remains under investigation, with authorities treating it as a possible murder-suicide. The deceased were identified as Donald and Karen Whitaker, found dead by Thermal Sheriff's Station deputies at their Montego Bay Drive home in Bermuda Dunes.
According to an official release from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, Donald, 80, and Karen, 79, were discovered with traumatic injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, and the case is still under investigation.
'Tom Selleck' Impersonator Scam
With authorities treating the Whitaker incident as a possible murder-suicide case, questions have emerged regarding a possible motive. According to a friend of the elderly couple, a scam involving a person claiming to have connections to actor Tom Selleck may have played a role.
Joy Meidecke, who knew the couple for years, revealed how Karen had been asking friends for money. She said the money would be used to help someone Karen believed was the manager of Tom Selleck, whose wife had allegedly just died. Donald found out about what Karen had done, realizing it was all part of what appeared to be a scam.
It turns out that this wasn't the first time Karen had been duped by the impersonator. Meidecke said how, last summer, Karen was first conned into sending money to the same scammer.
At the time, Karen had initially posted a message on Facebook, reacting to claims of a friend passing away. Meidecke said it was there that the scammer saw an opportunity, eventually convincing the 79-year-old to send money.
'We're going to come out to the desert and have an event, and Karen, you can be first on the list if you just send $80,' Meidecke said to People.com.
The money sent by Karen was in the form of gift cards, according to Meidecke. However, she said that the amounts gradually grew, allegedly reaching thousands. It was at this point that Joy and her friends tried to convince Karen that she was being scammed out of her money. Karen brushed off her friends' claims, confident that she was genuinely helping someone associated with Tom Selleck.
Hubby Left Forlorn, Entertained Suicide
Concerned, Meidecke reported the matter to authorities. Adult Protective Services visited the couple several months before the murder-suicide incident. It was only at this point that Donald and the couple's adult children were made aware of the extent of how Karen was being scammed out of money, according to Meidecke.
In an effort to prevent Karen from sending more money out of her own pocket, her family cut off her credit cards and removed her access to certain accounts, according to Meidecke. Joy claims that at that point, Karen had already lost roughly $30,000, although she said she was unsure of the exact amount.
Regardless of the efforts of her family, Karen, who Meidecke believed may have been suffering from early-stage dementia, continued to find ways to get money elsewhere and send it to the scammer.
Aware that the situation was worsening, Donald tried to talk sense into Karen, but to no avail. It reached the point where the 80-year-old had confided in friends that he was considering taking his own life.
However, Donald Whitaker reportedly said he could never go through with it, aware that if he were to die, the money he would leave behind would be exhausted by Karen. Should that happen, he was worried there may be nothing left for their son and daughter.
With investigators finding no evidence at this stage of potential third-party suspects directly involved, the murder-suicide angle remains the leading line of inquiry. Police are working to identify anyone involved in this incident, although it is not clear if tracing the alleged scammer forms part of that probe.
