Investigators say the wife had been a victim of financial elder abuse before the couple died.
BERMUDA DUNES, CA — An elderly California couple was found dead May 15 inside their Bermuda Dunes home after the wife was reportedly targeted by a scammer posing as actor Tom Selleck, authorities and a family friend said.
Donald Whitaker, 80, and Karen Whitaker, 79, were found with traumatic injuries after deputies went to their home for a welfare check, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said. The case has drawn wide attention because friends say Karen Whitaker had spent months communicating with someone online who claimed to be Selleck and asked her for money. Sheriff’s officials said the financial abuse is part of the investigation but that they have found no evidence the scammer was directly involved in the deaths.
Deputies from the Thermal Sheriff’s Station were sent to a home in the 79000 block of Montego Bay Drive at 11:59 a.m. May 15, sheriff’s officials said. The residence is in Bermuda Dunes, an unincorporated community near Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley. Deputies found the Whitakers inside the home, both suffering from traumatic injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit took over the case. Officials initially described the deaths as a homicide investigation and later said evidence suggested the deaths were a murder-suicide. They have not released the manner of each death or said who caused the fatal injuries.
Joy Miedecke, a longtime friend of the couple, said Karen Whitaker had been drawn into the scam after posting on Facebook about the death of a school friend. Miedecke said someone then contacted Karen Whitaker, claimed to be Tom Selleck and said he had known the dead friend. “They text messaged her, and they said they were Tom Selleck,” Miedecke said in a television interview. She said the contact grew into frequent messages and a false relationship that friends around Karen Whitaker began to notice. There is no evidence that Selleck had any knowledge of the messages or the fraud claim. The person accused of posing as him has not been publicly identified.
Miedecke said Karen Whitaker began sending small amounts of money that later grew into thousands of dollars. Some reports said payments were made through gift cards, a common tool in impersonation and romance scams because the money can be hard to trace once codes are shared. Miedecke said friends and relatives tried to stop the payments and warned Karen Whitaker that the person was not the actor. She said they also contacted authorities in the days before the deaths. Sheriff’s officials confirmed during the investigation that Karen Whitaker had been a victim of financial elder abuse. They said no arrests had been made and investigators were still working to identify anyone involved in the case.
The suspected scam became a source of strain inside the household, Miedecke said. She said Donald Whitaker was deeply upset by what was happening and by the money Karen Whitaker was sending. Friends said they had watched the situation build over months, with Karen Whitaker staying in contact with the person even after warnings from people close to her. Some friends said Adult Protective Services had been involved before the couple died. Sheriff’s officials have not released details of any previous reports, the amount of money lost or whether investigators have located the online accounts used to contact Karen Whitaker.
The case reflects a growing pattern of online impersonation scams that use celebrities, fake friendships and emotional pressure to target older adults. In many cases, scammers use public social media posts to learn details about a person’s grief, family, habits or interests, then build trust through private messages. In the Whitakers’ case, the first contact described by friends came after Karen Whitaker posted about a friend’s death. The claim that the sender knew the same woman gave the exchange a personal hook, Miedecke said. The payments later became a focus of concern among friends, relatives and community members who believed Karen Whitaker was being manipulated.
Investigators have not said whether they have obtained Karen Whitaker’s phone, bank records, social media messages or gift card records. They also have not said whether the suspected scammer was in California, elsewhere in the United States or overseas. Sheriff’s officials said the case remains active and ongoing. They said homicide investigators do not believe there is a threat to the community as a result of the deaths. The agency has asked anyone with information to contact Central Homicide Investigator Hood or Thermal Station Investigator Gutierrez. No court hearings have been scheduled because no suspect has been arrested or charged.
Neighbors and friends described the Whitakers as longtime residents of the country club community. The deaths unsettled the quiet desert neighborhood, where the response began as a welfare check and quickly became a homicide scene. Miedecke said she spoke publicly because she wanted the couple’s story understood as more than a private tragedy. She said Karen Whitaker had become absorbed in the messages and believed the person on the other end was real. Friends said Donald Whitaker’s distress grew as the scam continued. Officials have not confirmed a direct chain between the financial abuse and the deaths, and key parts of the case remain under investigation.
The investigation stood unresolved Friday, May 22, with no arrests announced and no final public finding on the deaths. Sheriff’s officials said the financial elder abuse case remains separate from the deaths unless evidence shows a direct connection.
Author note: Last updated May 22, 2026.