Daijiworld Media Network – Indiana
Indiana, Nov 18: A 62-year-old Indiana man, Curt Andersen, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after allegedly shooting and killing a house cleaner who mistakenly arrived at his home earlier this month.
Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velázquez, a 32-year-old mother of four and a Guatemalan immigrant, died on the front porch of Andersen’s Whitestown residence on November 5. She was shot in the head and collapsed into her husband Mauricio Velázquez’s arms, according to charging documents.
The couple had been trying to unlock the door, believing it was a model home they were assigned to clean. Their GPS had led them to Andersen’s newly built house due to an address mix-up.
Prosecutors said Andersen fired a single shot through his closed front door without issuing any warning. He later admitted to investigators that the door never opened and that he feared a break-in. He also told police he had prepared for such a situation by watching videos and purchasing a Glock 48 handgun in September, though he had never fired it.
Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced the charges on November 17, stressing that Andersen’s actions did not fall under Indiana’s “stand your ground” law. “Our duty is to examine the facts and apply the law fairly. That is the only way justice can be served,” he said.
According to the affidavit, the cleaners were on the porch for less than a minute before the shooting. A bullet hole was later found through the front door, and Ríos Pérez was pronounced dead at the scene. Andersen reportedly grew emotional upon learning the couple had simply gone to the wrong address, telling investigators he “didn’t mean for anything to happen.”
The case has reignited nationwide debate around “stand your ground” and Castle Doctrine laws, amid a series of similar wrong-address shootings across the US. Andersen’s attorney, well-known gun rights lawyer Guy Relford, said he plans to argue self-defense under Indiana's Castle Doctrine provision.
The tragic incident adds to growing concerns over gun violence and mistaken-identity shootings, which have increasingly drawn national attention in recent years.