An Indiana homeowner has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after allegedly shooting and killing a mother of four who mistakenly arrived at the wrong house for a cleaning job, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced Monday, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
Curt Andersen, 62, was arrested and booked on one count of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 5 killing of 32-year-old Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez in Whitestown, a suburb near Indianapolis.
Indiana homeowner charged in slaughter of mom-of-4 gunned down after arriving at wrong home for cleaning job
Curt Andersen, 62, arrested and booked one count voluntary manslaughter of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez.
His actions not protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. pic.twitter.com/lOpliKmGzJ [2]
— The Last Show- Karen Lee (@thelastshow) November 18, 2025 [3]
Eastwood said the decision followed a “comprehensive evaluation” of the evidence and Indiana’s self-defense laws. The review concluded that Andersen’s actions were not protected under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” statute.
“Once we had all of the information in front of us, once we looked at the law, once we looked at the case law, it became clear what the appropriate way to proceed with this case was,” Eastwood told reporters.
When asked if the charging decision was difficult, he responded, “Honestly, it wasn’t — I hate to sound cavalier about this — but it was not a hard decision.”
Pérez and her husband, Mauricio Velásquez, both employees of a housekeeping business, had been given keys for a cleaning job at what they believed was a model home.
They reportedly checked the address twice on a map app and circled the neighborhood before approaching the Whitestown residence.
As Pérez tried to insert the provided keys into the lock, a single bullet was fired through the closed front door, striking her in the head.
According to court documents cited by WTHR, Whitestown Metropolitan Police arrived to find “a large pool of blood” on the porch. Pérez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said the front door was never opened. Whitestown Police Captain John Jurkash said the fatal shot was fired “from inside the home.” Officers found Velásquez kneeling beside his wife’s body.
Court documents state Andersen told investigators he had woken up after only a few hours of sleep and heard what he described as a commotion at the door.
He said the noises intensified and sounded like someone using a key, tool, or instrument on the lock. Andersen said he became frightened, retrieved a handgun from his “safe room,” loaded it, and fired a single shot from the top of the stairs.
Following the shooting, Andersen told his wife to call 911. “Please come, please come, please come, they are trying to get in,” he allegedly told the dispatcher.
Velásquez told police his wife had only been trying the keys for 30 seconds to one minute before the gunshot. He described the shooting as unjustified.
“What I need now is for there to be justice because he took her life in that sense, I don’t believe that’s human,” he told WRTV.
“He’s an animal, a dog, a deer, to kill in that way,” he said, adding, “Now, I am father and mother for my children, for my daughters — and he’s happy at home.”
Pérez leaves behind four children between the ages of 11 months and 17 years old.
This is what grief looks like when a mother is taken away from her husband and her kids. This is Mauricio Velázquez. He’s the husband of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, who was shot and killed on a porch in Whitestown this morning. pic.twitter.com/tbE8kgIlc4 [4]
— Jade Jackson, MBA Candidate (@IAMJADEJACKSON) November 6, 2025 [5]
Andersen’s attorney, Guy Relford, issued a statement Monday calling the death a “terrible tragedy” but said he believes Andersen acted within Indiana’s “castle doctrine.”
“I look forward to proving in court that his actions were fully justified by the ‘castle doctrine’ provision of Indiana’s self-defense law,” he wrote.
Eastwood said Andersen is being held without bond while awaiting a court hearing. The investigation remains ongoing.