Overview
- Deputies responding to a welfare check found Donald Whitaker, 80, and his wife Karen, 79, with traumatic injuries inside their Bermuda Dunes home on May 15 and pronounced them dead at the scene.
- The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit is leading an active investigation, has released few details and has made no arrests.
- A close friend has gone public saying Karen sent escalating sums via untraceable gift cards over months to someone who posed as actor Tom Selleck after contacting her by text following a Facebook post.
- Friends and family reportedly involved Adult Protective Services, cut Karen’s access to accounts and still saw her continue to send money, though authorities have not confirmed those reports.
- Officials have asked anyone with information to contact investigators, and local friends are warning others about how impersonation scams can target and drain older adults.