Curt Andersen, 62, was arrested and booked on one count of voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez

The Indiana homeowner was charged for allegedly shooting a mother-of-four dead on his doorstep after she arrived at the wrong house for a cleaning job

Rios Pérez, 32, was gunned down in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestone on the morning of Nov. 5

She was shot through a locked front door as she was trying to get into the wrong home using keys that she and her husband were given for a cleaning job through their housekeeping business

Charge against Andersen follows a “comprehensive evaluation” that found the homeowner’s actions were not protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law’ – County prosecutor Kent Eastwood

Andersen is being held without bond while he awaits a court hearing

Curt Andersen [photo], has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after gunning down Maria Florinda Rios Perez when she mistakenly knocked on his door in Boone County, Indiana, on her her way to a cleaning job

An Indiana homeowner has been charged with manslaughter allegedly, for shooting dead a housekeeping business on his doorstep after she arrived at the wrong house for a cleaning job.
Curt Andersen, 62, of Whitestown was arrested and booked on one count of voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced Monday.
The county prosecutor said the charge against Andersen follows a “comprehensive evaluation” that found the homeowner’s actions were not protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

Victim: Maria Florinda Rios Perez [photo], was fatally shot when she accidentally reported to the wrong house for a cleaning job in Whitestown,Indiana

“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,” he told reporters. 
When asked if it was difficult to navigate the decision to charge Andersen, the prosecutor said the choice was clear.
“Honestly it wasn’t. I hate to sound cavalier about this, but it was not a hard decision,” Eastwood said.
32-year-old Maria Rios Pérez was gunned down in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestone on the morning of November 5, after trying to get into the wrong home using keys that she and her husband were given for a cleaning job through their housekeeping business.
The home cleaning business owner believed the sprawling home in Whitestown was the new model home that she and her husband had been hired to clean, according to police. 
The police report. states that the couple even checked the address on a map app twice and circled the neighborhood to make sure they were in the right spot

Responding police officers on arrival met the slain woman’s husband, Mauricio Velásquez, [photo], kneeling and cradling his wife’s body

The couple, self-employed house cleaners, approached the two-story home on the quiet street before dawn. Velázquez was looking for the correct key on a ring, and Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez jokingly told her husband he was losing his sight.
As they tried to get the keys they’d been given into the keyhole, a single bullet whizzed through the front door and hit Rios Pérez.
When Whitestone Metropolitan police arrived at the home for a call of a robbery in progress, they discovered “a large pool of blood” on the front porch, according to court documents.

When Whitestone Metropolitan police arrived at the home for a call of a robbery in progress, they discovered “a large pool of blood” on the front porch Th bullet came from inside the home. The homeowner never opened his front door

The gunshot came from “inside the home,” police said. The front door never opened, and Anderson allegedly shot through it, striking Rios Pérez in the head as she stood next to her husband.
Court documents state that officers on arrival met the victim’s husband, Mauricio Velásquez, kneeling and cradling his wife’s body. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
An autopsy determined Rios Perez died of a single gunshot wound to the head. 
Andersen told police he had woken up after hearing something and had only gotten a few hours of sleep that night, court records showed. 
He heard a commotion at the door and recalled hearing the intensifying sounds of some type of key, tool, or instrument being used at the door, documents said.

Stills taken from video recording of investigators working at the site of the shooting in Whitestown, Ind., on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025

The commotion “scared him” after he realized it was real, causing him to retreat to the top of the stairs at the landing and look toward the front door, the documents continued.
Unsure of what to do, Andersen walked to what he called his “safe room,” or his music room, and grabbed a handgun, police wrote. 
After hearing the commotion at the front door get “more and more aggressive,” he loaded his gun, went to the top of the stairs, and told his wife to go to the safe room. 
He then fired the first shot, which was followed by the sounds of a man crying out and weeping, the documents alleged. 

Rios Perez was killed on the first day her husband Mauricio Velásquez, accompanied her on the job according to his account

Andersen told his wife to call 911, and she eventually handed him the phone. 
 “Please come, please come, please come, they are trying to get in,” he allegedly told the 911 dispatcher.
Andersen and his wife did not exit the house for some time, but eventually left the home and were detained, court documents obtained by the outlet said.
Velásquez told cops that his wife had only been fiddling with the keys for 30 seconds to one minute before the shot rang out, the outlet reported.
It was his first day on the job with his wife, he recalled to police.
“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,” Velásquez said.
“He’s an animal, a dog, a deer, to kill in that way,” Velasquez said.

Demanding justice for the slain woman her family and friends of gathered Nov. 10 on the steps of the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office

The homeowner’s actions were not protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said. Andersen is being held without bond while he awaits a court hearing, Eastwood said.

“Now, I am father and mother for my children, for my daughters — and he’s happy at home,” he added of the shooter.
Rios Pérez leaves behind four children, ages 17 years to 11 months. 
Andersen’s attorney, Guy Relford, said in a statement Monday that he thinks the death of Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez was a “terrible tragedy,” but believes his client’s actions were fully justified under Indiana’s self-defense laws.
“And while we are disappointed that the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office has elected to file criminal charges against Mr. Curt Andersen, 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 said. 
The “castle doctrine” provision allows a person to use reasonable, possibly deadly force if they believe that it is necessary to stop someone from unlawfully entering their home. 
Curt Andersen is being held without bond while he awaits a court hearing.