Wednesday, January 21, 2026 - 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.
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.
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.
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.
Prosecutors rejected that claim, maintaining that Toland-Hall
had no connection to the scam and was simply carrying out a routine Uber
delivery.
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.
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