83-Year-Old Man Convicted of Killing Uber Driver Who He Wrongly Believed Was Scamming Him

An 83-year-old Ohio man has been found guilty of murder after shooting and killing an Uber driver he wrongly believed was part of a scam targeting him.

William J. Brock was convicted on Wednesday, Jan. 14, in the killing of 61-year-old Lo-Letha Toland-Hall, according to the Associated Press and USA Today.

Prosecutors said Toland-Hall was shot six times after she arrived at Brock’s home in South Charleston, a Columbus-area suburb, on March 25, 2024. Investigators said Brock had been deceived earlier that morning by scammers and mistakenly assumed Toland-Hall was connected to the plot.

Authorities say Brock believed he was helping secure $12,000 in bail for a relative after receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a lawyer for a friend’s grandson. The caller allegedly told Brock the grandson needed cash after a crash that killed a pregnant woman, Brock’s defense attorney said during the trial, per AP.

Brock withdrew the money, and—according to a civil lawsuit filed by Toland-Hall’s estate and obtained by USA Today—he was instructed to place the cash in a package and hand it to the driver waiting in his driveway. The lawsuit says Brock also spoke with others who claimed to be a judge and his grandson during subsequent calls.

Investigators later determined Toland-Hall had been dispatched through the Uber app—allegedly by the scammer or an accomplice—to pick up a package from Brock’s home, according to the lawsuit.

Dashcam video from Toland-Hall’s vehicle captured part of the confrontation, the lawsuit states. After Toland-Hall got out of her car and approached the door, she tried to explain she was there to pick up a delivery and that she worked for Uber. Authorities say Brock threatened her and held her at gunpoint as she attempted to walk away.

According to the lawsuit, Toland-Hall said she was going to call 911. Brock then shot her in the leg and fired five more times before calling 911 himself to report the shooting.

Toland-Hall was transported to a local hospital, where she died during surgery, USA Today reported.

After the verdict, Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll said both families were devastated by the outcome and pointed to the scammers who allegedly initiated the scheme. “Both families have lost loved ones because of this, and there are no winners here,” Driscoll said, per AP. He added that investigators have not yet brought the scammers to justice.

Brock is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, according to court records cited by USA Today.

Toland-Hall’s estate filed a lawsuit in March 2025 alleging Brock and the unidentified callers bear responsibility for her death.

In her obituary, Toland-Hall was remembered as a dedicated worker who retired from Ohio’s Regional Income Tax Agency, a passionate gardener and cook, a faithful churchgoer, and a devoted mother to her son, Mario.