Overview
- Deputies found 80‑year‑old Donald Whitaker and 79‑year‑old Karen Whitaker with traumatic injuries at their Bermuda Dunes home after a welfare check on May 15, and the sheriff’s office now says the evidence available suggests a murder‑suicide.
- Riverside County homicide investigators say the inquiry is active and that no arrests have been made as detectives exhaust leads and complete forensic work.
- Friends and family say Karen was romanced online by someone claiming to be actor Tom Selleck and that the contact escalated into repeated requests for money that a friend estimates may have reached about $30,000.
- Local Adult Protective Services and family members reportedly cut off Karen’s accounts and destroyed her credit cards, but sources say she continued finding ways to send funds while family members raised concerns about early dementia.
- Authorities stress there is currently no confirmed evidence linking the unknown scammer or other financial‑abuse suspects to the couple’s deaths and say they will release a final disposition after the investigation is complete.