What do we know about the fatal shooting of Loletha Hall during an Uber concert

It was an atypical scam that ended with an unusual result – tragically in a driveway in Ohio.

This week, authorities said William J. Brock fatally shot an Uber driver because he wrongly assumed she was participating in a scheme to acquire $12,000 in alleged bail for a relative. Loletha Hall was a victim of the same scam, summoned by the scammers to Brock’s home to select up a supposed package for delivery.

Brock later told investigators he believed Hall got here to get the money the scammers wanted.

Now he faces murder charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Hall’s family is in mourning. Uber helps investigators catch the person behind the fraud attempt.

Experts say the gimmick is widely generally known as a scam or grandparent scam that takes advantage of older people’s love for family. Callers pretend to be anyone from grandchildren to the police, and tell victims that something terrible has happened and that their younger relative needs money.

Here’s what we know about the shooting and the investigation thus far:

What exactly happened?

Brock, 81, received the scam calls on the morning of March 25 at his home in South Charleston, a city of about 1,800 people situated between Dayton and Columbus. According to a press release from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the calls were about an imprisoned relative and “continued to make threats and demands for money.”

The sheriff’s office said that while Brock was on the phone, Hall received a request through the Uber app to select up a package from Brock’s home for delivery. Hall, 61, of Columbus, was unaware of the attempted fraud.

“After contacting Ms. Hall, Mr. Brock produced a gun and held it at gunpoint, demanding the identity of the people he spoke to on the phone,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said Hall was unarmed and never threatened or made any demands on Brock.

The sheriff’s office said Brock took Hall’s cellular phone and would not let her leave. When she tried to get back to the automotive, Brock shot her. In the ensuing fights, he shot her a second and third time.

Brock then called 911 to report that he had shot an individual on his property who was attempting to rob him.

The police body camera footage shows him briefly discussing what he believes happened.

“I’m really happy to see you guys here because I was on the phone for a few hours with this guy who was trying to tell me that I have a nephew in jail and I was in an accident in Charleston but I was just hanging on and they need the bond money,” he said Brock. “And this woman was going to get it.”

The video shows investigators discussing the $12,000 while sitting on a table in Brock’s home.

The video also shows a Clark County Sheriff’s Office detective at Brock’s home talking on the phone to a person who had previously spoken to Brock. He identified himself as an officer and told the detective, “You’re going to get in trouble.”

When the detective introduced herself as an actual police officer, the phone hung up. During a subsequent phone call with the man, the detective told him that the Uber driver had been in a serious accident, was in the hospital and “wasn’t feeling well.”

The man told the detective he could be there in 20 minutes. He was not.

On Monday, Brock was charged with murder, assault and kidnapping. He posted $200,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday. His lawyer, Paul Kavanagh, didn’t immediately return an email searching for comment Friday.

How common are these types of grandparent scams?

Grandparent scams have grow to be increasingly common over the past 10 to fifteen years — partly because of the great amount of personal information available about people online, said Anthony Pratkanis, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Criminals search social media for details about relatives and use them to persuade victims their loved one is in trouble, said Pratkanis, whose research includes fraud crimes.

“Basically, the criminal is taking advantage of our human nature,” he said. “You are in a state of panic and high emotional arousal. This is an appeal to fear. And the best way to get rid of that fear is to give the criminal that money.”

Pratkanis said fraudsters typically prefer financial transactions that do not require physical proximity, reminiscent of bank transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrencies. This case is unusual because the fraudsters used Hall as an unsuspecting money mule.

“Most people involved in fraud today don’t actually have any contact with the criminal – there’s a distance,” Pratkanis said. “But if that’s not the case, there’s a chance that the victim’s anger will cause the victim to take action.”

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Uber said Wednesday it was helping investigators look into the account that sent Hall to Brock’s home. The shipping company called Hall’s death a “terrible tragedy.”

“A Bond Like No Other”

Some posthumous Hall described her as the mother of a son and stepson, a loyal member of her church and a talented cook known for her delicious pound cakes.

She retired from the Ohio Regional Income Tax Agency and worked in behavioral health at school and for Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and commenced a cleansing business.

At the memorial service which was broadcast online, her son Mario Hall talked about how close they were regardless that they lived in several states, and infrequently talked on the phone several times a day. He said they’d “a bond like no other.”

“Thank you for all your sacrifices and everything you have instilled in me,” he said. “You are the best mother anyone could wish for. And I promise that I’ll proceed to make you proud.