Overview
- Deputies found Donald Whitaker, 80, and his wife Karen, 79, suffering traumatic injuries inside their Bermuda Dunes Country Club home after a welfare check on Friday, May 15, and both were pronounced dead at the scene.
- The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit has opened an active investigation, has released few details about the cause of death, and says no arrests have been made.
- A close friend told local media that Karen had for months been sending escalating amounts by gift card to someone who texted her claiming to be actor Tom Selleck, and that family and Adult Protective Services intervened without stopping the payments.
- Sheriff’s officials have declined to confirm any connection between the alleged impersonation scam and the couple’s deaths and have asked the public for tips to aid the investigation.
- The case highlights how elder-targeted scams use celebrity impersonation and untraceable gift-card payments to extract funds and shows the limits of family and protective services interventions; anyone with information should contact Investigator Hood at (951) 955-2777 or Investigator Gutierrez at (760) 863-8990.