Main: Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez (Sprowl Funeral & Cremation Care). Inset: Curt Andersen (Boone County Jail).
An Indiana homeowner has been arrested after he allegedly killed a 32-year-old woman on his front porch, shooting her through the door after she mistakenly showed up at the wrong house for a cleaning job.
Authorities in Boone County formally charged Curt Andersen with one count of felony voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez, prosecutors announced.
Under Indiana state law, voluntary manslaughter involves knowingly or intentionally killing someone "while acting under sudden heat." The existence of "sudden heat" is a mitigating factor that reduces an act that would otherwise be considered murder.
Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said his office meticulously reviewed each piece of evidence before reaching the decision to charge Andersen.
"As prosecutors, we have a solemn responsibility," he said during a Monday news conference. "We cannot allow emotion to guide our decisions. Our duty is to examine the facts, apply the law fairly and equally, and ensure that justice is served without bias and influence. That is the only way the law can truly be just."
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According to a news release from the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department, officers at about 6:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, responded to a 911 call reporting a "possible residential entry in progress" at Andersen's residence in the 4200 block of Maize Lane in the subdivision of Heritage, which is about 18 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
First responders said they found Perez on the front porch of the residence suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head, with her husband, who had accompanied her to the home and was holding her next to the door.
"Officers acted quickly to secure the home, and get the female moved to a safe location to attempt lifesaving measures, but it was discovered she was already deceased upon the officers' arrival," police wrote in the release. "It was later determined that the individuals attempting to enter the home were members of a cleaning crew who had mistakenly arrived at the wrong address."
Court documents obtained by Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR provided additional details about the shooting.
According to the report, Perez was lying in a "large pool of blood" when police arrived. The officers also noted there was a single hole in the door that appeared to be a bullet hole.
The husband told the Bloomington, Indiana, CBS affiliate WTTV that he and his wife had gone to the home to clean, but he later realized they had the wrong address. Neither he nor his wife ever made any attempt to enter the house before Perez was fatally shot, he said.
"They should've called the police first instead of just shooting out of nowhere like that," he told the station through an interpreter.
He also described the incident to Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV.
"I never thought it was a shot, but I realized when my wife took two steps back," he reportedly said. "She looked like she'd been hit in the head. She fell into my arms, and I saw that the blood went everywhere."
Perez and her husband had four children, with the youngest only 11 months old.
Andersen is reportedly relying on Indiana's stand your ground law as justification for the shooting. Prosecutors said the facts uncovered so far do not give Andersen such legal justification. Andersen reportedly did not announce himself or attempt to open the door before firing.
Andersen later told police that he fired the fatal shot from the top of his stairs.
"It is vitally important for the citizens of Boone County to understand that our decision today in no way should be interpreted as a challenge to Indiana's stand your ground law, a person's right to self-defense," Eastwood told reporters.
Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor who specializes in gun rights, described the case as "horrible" and called the circumstances "exceptionally unusual" to The Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear when Andersen was scheduled to make his first appearance in court.
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