Elderly couple targeted by scammer pretending to be actor Tom Selleck found dead in suspected murder-suicide

ktla ^ | 05/21/2026 | Vivian Chow

[BenLurkin]

nvestigators said a scammer pretending to be actor Tom Selleck had defrauded an elderly couple in Riverside County who was later found dead in a suspected murder-suicide.

On May 15, deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station were called to a home in the 79000 block of Montego Bay Drive in Bermuda Dunes just before midnight for a welfare check.

Inside the home, two people were found with traumatic injuries — Donald Whitaker, 80, and his wife, Karen Whitaker, 79. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

It all began after Karen posted a message on Facebook about a friend who had recently passed away.

Miedecke said an unknown commenter reached out to Karen and began chatting with her. The person eventually gained Karen’s trust by using information that was available on Karen’s profile.

Most alarmingly, the scammer claimed to be actor Tom Selleck.

“Then, the [scammer] said, ‘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,'” Miedecke told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson.

At first, Miedecke said the requested dollar amounts were small, but over time, they grew to hundreds and later, thousands of dollars.

“By then, some of the girls and I were finding out about this and we were trying to discourage her, telling her it was a scam, talking to her, doing everything in our power, but she would not believe it,” Miedecke said. “She thought it was really Tom Selleck.”

[know.your.why]

Whew. Thank you for that reality check. Subhumans...they’re everywhere and all masked up to deceive. I shouldn’t feel so shocked because its been going on since the beginning of time and I’m not going to cite scripture but its filled with warnings of exactly this. Still, its difficult for me to admit that I am a member of the same species as these human dumpsters. God speed with that court order. It may be worthwhile to do a background check on this person. Good chance she’s got a record for similar illegal activities.