Rhianna Benson
A California couple died in an apparent murder-suicide after the wife was scammed by a Tom Selleck impersonator.
The bodies of 79-year-old Karen Whitaker and her husband, Donald, 80, were discovered inside their Bermuda Dunes home on 15 May, both having sustained traumatic injuries.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, Karen had 'fallen victim to financial elder abuse' in the weeks prior to her death.
Friends of the couple claim that she'd been swindled out of thousands of dollars by a conman who'd been posing as the actor Tom Selleck while chatting to her online.
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Their long-time pal Joy Miedecke reckons Karen coughed up a minimum of $30,000 over a year-long period, giving it to a man she believed to be the 81-year-old Magnum P.I. actor.
"Of course, immediately we said, 'No, that’s not Tom Selleck. This is a scam'," Miedecke told NBC News on 22 May. "But she wouldn’t believe anybody."
The fraudster had first contacted Karen through Facebook, claiming to be Selleck and telling her they had a mutual friend who'd passed away.
The pair exchanged phone numbers, after which the criminal claimed he was hosting an event close to her house and asked her to purchase an $80 ticket.
Miedecke recalled: "He told her how to send it, and she immediately did. He kept writing her and gaining her trust and becoming her friend."
Karen was subsequently tricked out of a further $800 after the man told her she could 'buy a whole table for all your friends'.
"That was the beginning. Then he needed money for this, and that and the other, and it just kept growing," her friend continued.
Miedecke claims Donald became aware of the scam when adult protective services workers visited their home, after which he cut off Karen's access to their financial accounts.
She added, however, that Karen 'still found ways to get money', but 'started hiding everything'.
The day she died, Karen contacted several of her close friends, including Miedecke, asking them for money, claiming Selleck's manager's wife had died and they needed financial support.
"That was the last straw for Donald," Miedecke also told PEOPLE. "He was so embarrassed. He could not believe she would ask her friends to participate in this scam."
It's worth noting that Selleck has not been accused of any wrongdoing or involvement in this case.
Police also noted that there's 'no evidence to indicate that the unknown suspect(s) who were involved in the financial abuse are directly involved' in the Whitakers' deaths.
Authorities haven't yet declared who they believe to have been responsible for the apparent murder suicide.
"Homicide investigators are still actively investigating the incident and will complete a thorough investigation before releasing a final disposition," the sheriff's office added.