Karen Whitaker had posted a tribute to a school friend who recently died on Facebook when someone claiming to be Tom Selleck texted her.
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"They found her phone number, and they text messaged her, and they said they were Tom Selleck," family friend Joy Miedecke told reporters. "And that they knew this girl and had dated her."
She then added, "And now we have something in common. And that started the whole thing."
According to the New York Post, the 79-year-old Karen and her husband, an 80-year-old retired dentist named Donald, were found dead on Friday inside their home at Bermuda Dunes Country Club in southern California.
Miedecke alleges that the couple's death has something to do with an online scam involving the Selleck imposter.
Karen Whitaker Began Sending the Tom Selleck Imposter Money
Miedecke says Karen began sending money to the Selleck impersonator via gift cards. The amounts of money then began to increase, and friends and family reportedly tried to stop Karen from sending more. Adult Protective Services even visited the Whitakers' home several times.
"She was living and breathing this part of her life, and they were constantly texting her every single day, text after text, and people around her started noticing," said Miedecke.
Relatives then began cutting up Karen's credit cards and removing access to her accounts. Yet she allegedly continued to find ways to send money to the Selleck impersonator.
"We even had somebody who had a relationship with somebody that works for Tom Selleck go and talk to her and say, Tom Selleck does not do this," Miedecke said. "It didn't matter. She couldn't stop believing it."
There Are No Suspects In the Case
It is unclear whether the Selleck impostor is involved in the Whitakers' deaths. Americans over 60 lost nearly $8 billion to cyber and phone scams last year.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department says that the case is an active homicide investigation. No arrests have been made. Authorities have not shared how the Whitakers were killed or the details of the couple's injuries.
