OH - Loletha Hall, 61 (Uber Driver) shot to death by William Brock, 81 - 25 Mar 2024

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Clearsky

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people.com

Uber Driver, 61, Shot Dead by 81-Year-Old Man Who Believed He Was Being Scammed

81-year-old Ohio resident William Brock has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing Uber driver Loletha Hall outside his house on March 25 after receiving a scam call that he believed she was connected to.
people.com people.com

William Brock allegedly told authorities that “a male on the phone threatened him and his family,” and when Loletha Hall, an Uber driver, arrived at his home, “he thought she was going to harm him.”

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This is absolutely horrific and heartbreaking.

The threatening scam call was earlier in the day. I wonder if I'd call the cops after I received a scam call like that (they probably wouldn't show up for hours). I suppose he thought that was the end of it until she showed up to his home. And after all, he did have a big gun just in case.

"Brock confronted her, asking who she was working with, took her cell phone and blockaded her exit. Hall was shot three times, Schultz said, and allegedly only after the third time “did he then make contact with authorities to report the incident."

I take issue with some of his actions. In the picture above, it looks like she has her phone in her hand. Did he take it from her at gunpoint? Did he force her out of the car at gunpoint? She looks absolutely terrified.

I can understand why he was on high alert. And this situation isn't totally his fault. He may be wondering what if anything he could have done differently. Unfair for either of these elderly people to be put in this situation.

This must be a new form of swatting. I can't help but feel this was done by someone who was able to watch this unfold. What more can be done to protect these workers?
 
Clearsky said:
people.com

Uber Driver, 61, Shot Dead by 81-Year-Old Man Who Believed He Was Being Scammed

81-year-old Ohio resident William Brock has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing Uber driver Loletha Hall outside his house on March 25 after receiving a scam call that he believed she was connected to.
people.com people.com

William Brock allegedly told authorities that “a male on the phone threatened him and his family,” and when Loletha Hall, an Uber driver, arrived at his home, “he thought she was going to harm him.”

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How common is it for Uber drivers to go to people's doors? Do rideshare workers need to be given some personal safety training in this area? My mind is grasping at some way this tragedy could have been avoided.
 
flowershop said:
How common is it for Uber drivers to go to people's doors? Do rideshare workers need to be given some personal safety training in this area? My mind is grasping at some way this tragedy could have been avoided.
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The scammers booked the Uber driver to pick up a package from the man's home. I assume packages are typically left on people's front porch/stoop.
 
IMO the man is a murdering fool. He should have stayed in his house and called 911. She would not have attempted to enter his house or anything. At worst would have rung the doorbell and then left. Everyone would have walked away.

I am tired of these cases where innocent people are murdered because someone can't stay inside and call 911 over their irrational fear and instead have to run outside with a gun. No.
 
ChatteringBirds said:
IMO the man is a murdering fool. He should have stayed in his house and called 911. She would not have attempted to enter his house or anything. At worst would have rung the doorbell and then left. Everyone would have walked away.

I am tired of these cases where innocent people are murdered because someone can't stay inside and call 911 over their irrational fear and instead have to run outside with a gun. No.
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Yep, he played the stupid game and won the stupid prize of dying behind bars, rather than at home or in a nursing home. And for what. He murdered a woman who was just doing her job.

MOO
 
ChatteringBirds said:
IMO the man is a murdering fool. He should have stayed in his house and called 911. She would not have attempted to enter his house or anything. At worst would have rung the doorbell and then left. Everyone would have walked away.

I am tired of these cases where innocent people are murdered because someone can't stay inside and call 911 over their irrational fear and instead have to run outside with a gun. No.
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That's true---but I do have some sympathy for him because many 81 year olds are not as logical and rational as they used to be. I spend a lot of time visiting my 93 year old mom and her friends in her old folk's home.

They make a lot of very poor decisions daily because they cannot process things as well as they once did.

If this guy was in his 60's or 70's I'd charge him and give him the maximum. But if he is potentially in the dementia phase of the early 80's then I have some compassion and understanding for him.

I really feel horrible for Loletha Hall's family. How devastating for them. She was just trying to support herself and her family and is gone so violently for no good reason at all. :mad:
 
katydid23 said:
That's true---but I do have some sympathy for him because many 81 year olds are not as logical and rational as they used to be. I spend a lot of time visiting my 93 year old mom and her friends in her old folk's home.

They make a lot of very poor decisions daily because they cannot process things as well as they once did.

If this guy was in his 60's or 70's I'd charge him and give him the maximum. But if he is potentially in the dementia phase of the early 80's then I have some compassion and understanding for him.

I really feel horrible for Loletha Hall's family. How devastating for them. She was just trying to support herself and her family and is gone so violently for no good reason at all. :mad:
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Then to be frank, he shouldn't have a firearm. Like they take away people's driving licences if they're shown not to be safe to drive any more.

MOO
 
OddOneOut said:
I wonder if the scammer knew this man or if this is a random prank. Either way, the scammer needs to punished; otherwise, he/she will probably do it again.
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I think so, too. The scam resulted in death, and the scammer played a significant role.

At 81, the homeowner might be suffering from some dementia or not thinking clearly for another reason. Who knows what sort of ideas were going through his head?

He should not have shot the woman, but I'm guessing he was in a poor, maybe frightened, mental state.

To me, this goes beyond scamming and gets closer to "swatting" because the person who sent the Uber was in ultimate control of both the phone call and the driver showing up, completely violating the older man's rights and privacy.

I'm really tired of people who try to take advantage of others--especially the elderly.
 
katydid23 said:
That's true---but I do have some sympathy for him because many 81 year olds are not as logical and rational as they used to be. I spend a lot of time visiting my 93 year old mom and her friends in her old folk's home.

They make a lot of very poor decisions daily because they cannot process things as well as they once did.

If this guy was in his 60's or 70's I'd charge him and give him the maximum. But if he is potentially in the dementia phase of the early 80's then I have some compassion and understanding for him.

I really feel horrible for Loletha Hall's family. How devastating for them. She was just trying to support herself and her family and is gone so violently for no good reason at all. :mad:
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I'm thinking along the same lines.

My mother passed last year and the last five-plus years of her life, she didn't think on the same level she did as a younger person.

This was a horrible tragedy, but ultimately, the responsibility lies in the lap of the scammer who threatened the man and also ordered the Uber.
 
At 81, the homeowner might be suffering from some dementia or not thinking clearly for another reason. Who knows what sort of ideas were going through his head?

He should not have shot the woman, but I'm guessing he was in a poor, maybe frightened, mental state.
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I may have my facts wrong, but haven’t police confirmed that this encounter lasted several minutes, where this man physically attacked this woman, robbed her of her phone (he could not have mistaken this for a firearm after that point), and then interrogated her at length between each of the three times he shot her? That sounds like lucid behavior to me. Extracting information from a person in the process of dying of her wounds is calculating, as are the timing of his phone call to police and the substance of that call where he laid out the events.

He remains a victim of one crime while being a perpetrator of a much more serious offense, surely.

I would like to know what actions he took between the scam call and Ms. Hall’s arrival. If he actually remained convinced the call was legitimate, what efforts did he make to meet the demands, seek assistance, or attempt to make direct or indirect contact with his incarcerated relative?

He was anticipating a knock at his door and was always planning on confronting someone with a gun and a plan to incapacitate them? Again, the behavior of someone using reason.

Moo and cow and a hearty hallo to this forum and its residents.
 
whinewiththegravy said:
I may have my facts wrong, but haven’t police confirmed that this encounter lasted several minutes, where this man physically attacked this woman, robbed her of her phone (he could not have mistaken this for a firearm after that point), and then interrogated her at length between each of the three times he shot her? That sounds like lucid behavior to me. Extracting information from a person in the process of dying of her wounds is calculating, as are the timing of his phone call to police and the substance of that call where he laid out the events.

He remains a victim of one crime while being a perpetrator of a much more serious offense, surely.

I would like to know what actions he took between the scam call and Ms. Hall’s arrival. If he actually remained convinced the call was legitimate, what efforts did he make to meet the demands, seek assistance, or attempt to make direct or indirect contact with his incarcerated relative?

He was anticipating a knock at his door and was always planning on confronting someone with a gun and a plan to incapacitate them? Again, the behavior of someone using reason.

Moo and cow and a hearty hallo to this forum and its residents.
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Welcome to Websleuths!

(I agree with your rationale.)
 
whinewiththegravy said:
Thank you for the welcome @iamshadow21! I will not fangirl at length here because, well, it’s weird, but I so very much enjoy reading your contributions. :)
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I look forward to reading yours! For a first comment, that was a cracker. You are very welcome here, and we all have something to contribute.
 
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