An Ohio, USA jury has convicted an 83-year-old man of murder in the fatal shooting of an Uber driver he wrongly believed was attempting to rob him as part of a phone scam.
Â
William J. Brock was found guilty after fatally shooting 61-year-old Lo-Letha Toland-Hall outside his home in South Charleston, Ohio, in March 2024. Authorities said Brock had been targeted by scam phone calls demanding $12,000 in supposed bond money for a relative and mistakenly believed the Uber driver was involved in the scheme.
Â
Investigators said Toland-Hall was also a victim of the same scam. She had been directed to Brock’s home to pick up a package for delivery, unaware of the threatening calls Brock had received.
Prosecutors said Brock shot Toland-Hall six times when she arrived at his home. She was unarmed and posed no threat, according to investigators.
Â
Brock was convicted of murder, felonious assault, and kidnapping. He is scheduled to be sentenced this week. His attorney argued during the trial that Brock acted in self-defense, saying the scammer had made threats against Brock and his family and that Brock felt endangered when the driver arrived.
Â
_1768922070.jpg)
Prosecutors rejected that claim, maintaining that Toland-Hall had no connection to the scam and was simply carrying out a routine Uber delivery.
Â
After the verdict, the county prosecutor said the case highlighted the devastating consequences of scam-related crimes, noting that both families suffered tragic losses while the scammers responsible remain at large.
Â
