Authorities in Indiana have charged Whitestown homeowner Curt Andersen with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 32-year-old cleaning worker María Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velásquez. The decision follows an investigation that examined both Andersen’s account of the early-morning incident and evidence collected at the scene, leading prosecutors to determine that Indiana’s stand-your-ground law did not apply to Andersen’s actions.

The shooting occurred on November 5, when Pérez and her husband, Mauricio Velásquez, arrived before sunrise for a cleaning assignment in a new housing development. The couple had been given an address by their employer and believed they were entering an unoccupied model home. According to police interviews summarized in court documents, they attempted to unlock the door using keys provided for the job, unaware that they had approached the wrong residence.

Inside the home, Andersen later told detectives he had been asleep for only a few hours when a noise at the door woke him. He said the sounds grew more intense and appeared to involve objects scraping or pressing against the door, which led him to believe someone was attempting to enter. Investigators wrote that Andersen looked downstairs, saw two figures outside and felt he needed to act, retrieving a handgun from a nearby room and loading it while he positioned himself at the top of the staircase. The court documents note that the front door remained closed, and Andersen said he did not attempt any verbal warning before firing once through the door. The bullet struck Pérez in the head, killing her instantly.

Police officers arriving minutes later found a large amount of blood on the porch and the victim’s husband attempting to assist her. According to the case file, Andersen initially didn’t want to come out of the home when police ordered him to do so, claiming that he was “still scared of the people on the porch.” Velásquez then had to move Pérez’s body farther away from the home before Andersen and his wife left the house. Detectives described Andersen as visibly shaken during questioning and said he repeated that he believed someone was trying to break into the home.

Prosecutors reviewed the investigative findings alongside Indiana’s self-defense laws, including provisions that allow the use of deadly force to prevent unlawful entry. They concluded that Andersen did not reasonably believe such force was necessary. The determination was based on physical evidence such as the door remaining closed, and on statements from the victim’s husband, who said they had only tried different keys for less than a minute and had not knocked or struck the door. Investigators also found that the couple had arrived for legitimate work, intending to clean a model property farther down the street.

The decision to file charges followed public calls for legal action from the victim’s family, who described Pérez as a devoted mother of four and emphasized the need for accountability. Her relatives said she was working to support her household and reiterated that she had simply gone to the wrong address.

Andersen, a former Navy nurse who told investigators he had little experience with firearms, has denied wrongdoing through his attorney, who argues that he acted within the bounds of state law based on what he believed was happening at the time. The case now moves forward with an initial hearing scheduled as prosecutors continue preparing for trial.

Sources: WTHR, NBC News, The New York Times