Authorities in Whitestown, Indiana, are investigating a tragic shooting that claimed the life of 32-year-old Maria Florinda Rios Perez, a house cleaner who mistakenly went to the wrong address for work. Police discovered her body early Wednesday morning on the front porch of a suburban home in the Indianapolis area.
Rios Perez, originally from Indianapolis, was part of a cleaning crew that had been contracted to work nearby. According to police, she and her husband, Mauricio Velazquez, arrived at the residence believing it was their client’s home. Velazquez told local station WRTV that he was standing beside his wife at the front door when the homeowner opened fire. He didn’t realize she had been shot until she collapsed into his arms.
The couple had been cleaning homes for about seven months, Velazquez said. Rios Perez leaves behind four children. Her family plans to bury her in Guatemala, where she was born, according to her brother’s fundraising appeal.
Authorities have not released the shooter’s identity. The case has been handed over to Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood, who is determining whether to file charges. Eastwood said the case will likely test Indiana’s castle doctrine laws, which allow homeowners to use deadly force if they reasonably believe someone is unlawfully entering their home.
“This is a difficult case,” Eastwood told reporters. “You need to understand every detail what was said, what was seen, what was reasonable.”
Similar cases across the U.S. have resulted in convictions, including the 2023 shooting of teenager Ralph Yarl in Missouri and a New York case where a woman was killed after turning into the wrong driveway.
As investigators review footage and witness accounts, Rios Perez’s death has reignited debate over the limits of self-defense laws and the tragic consequences of mistaken identity.
