February 8, 2026
Dial M for Misled
Man, 83, tricked by scammers, gets 21 years to life for killing Uber driver
Internet split: “Phone numbers are dead” vs “No excuse for murder” in Uber killing case
TLDR: An elderly man got 21 years to life after killing an Uber driver amid a phone-scam panic. Comments exploded over blame—some demand accountability, others say scammers “weaponize” people—and a tech crowd wants to kill phone numbers altogether, highlighting how scams and gig work collide in deadly ways.
An 83-year-old Ohio man was sentenced to 21 years to life after killing Uber driver Lo-Letha Toland-Hall, 61, during a terrifying phone-scam spiral, and the internet is absolutely on fire. In the NYT report, scammers threatened him for $12,000; dash-cam showed Toland-Hall backing away, begging for her life. And then the comments arrived—oof.
On one side, the hardliners: “Getting grifted is no excuse for shooting a stranger” became the rallying cry, with many insisting fear doesn’t equal self-defense. Others zoomed out: “This is kind of like swatting,” one user argued, saying scammers now weaponize regular people into deadly scenes, and the justice system struggles to keep up. Then the tech crowd lit their torches: “The phone number is dead,” cried a commenter, pitching a world where calls happen only via consent-based links, no random numbers, no scam roulette. Another brought receipts, warning scammers use third-party mules, so the person whose account gets the deposit may be a victim too—cue the “don’t sue the wrong guy” lecture.
There were jokes, too: “Delete your phone number challenge,” “Dial M for Misled,” and a link warrior dropping an archive to dodge paywalls. The vibe: grief, anger, and a full-on debate about phones, fear, and accountability—all colliding in one tragic story.
Key Points
- •William J. Brock, 83, was sentenced to 21 years to life for murdering Uber driver Lo-Letha Toland-Hall.
- •The incident followed scam calls that threatened Brock and demanded $12,000 be given to a woman arriving at his home.
- •Dash-camera footage showed Toland-Hall backing away and begging, undermining Brock’s self-defense claim.
- •Brock testified scammers posed as legal officials, claimed his grandson hit a pregnant woman, and demanded urgent cash.
- •Sentencing was delayed when Brock’s lawyer fainted; scammers have not been identified or arrested.