Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez arrived at a home in Whitestown, Indiana, early Wednesday morning. She and her husband planned to clean a client’s house but showed up at the wrong address by mistake. And then when she tried out the keys on the front door, a resident inside fired a single shot through the door.
The bullet hit her in the head. She fell and was caught by her husband but died right there. Police were alerted to a possible breaking and entering just past 6:49 a.m.
Victim Details
Maria came from Guatemala three years ago at 32. She was with her husband and four children, aged 11 months to 17 years, whom she had brought with her to build her life in Indianapolis. For more than a year, she was working hard as a house cleaner to support her family.
Addition, his brother Rudy Rios described her as a loving and humble person. He had a smile on his face and was devoted to his children. But that was how a mundane task turned fatal through one error.
Police Investigation on the Case
Officers arrived and found Maria on the porch. They established quickly that this was not a home invasion and instead that the cleaning crew had mixed houses.
Therefore, they interviewed all involved, the two resident cleaners. They were also on the lookout for any witnesses and doorbell images. The information is currently with the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Legal Context Understood
Though in Indiana, that way the homeowners could have deadly force if they genuinely assumed an intruder threatened them. Now prosecutors have to consider whether the actions of the shooter would have stood under this rule or not.
