Indiana Homeowner Charged Over Killing Of Woman Who Mistakenly Arrived His Home For Cleaning Job

An Indiana homeowner was hit with manslaughter charges for allegedly shooting a mother of four dead on his doorstep after she arrived at the wrong house for a cleaning job, according to authorities.

Curt Andersen, 62, was arrested and booked on one count of voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood told reporters Monday.

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, Eastwood said.

“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.

The wacky wigmaker who wantonly mowed down a Brooklyn mom and her two young daughters scored a sweetheart plea deal over the objections of prosecutors.

Pérez, 32, was gunned down in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestone on the morning of Nov. 5 after trying to get into the wrong home using keys she and her husband were given for a cleaning job through their housekeeping business.

The mom 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 couple even checked the address on a map app twice and circled the neighborhood to make sure they were in the right spot, according to a police report cited by IndyStar.

Perez was killed while reporting to the wrong house for a cleaning job.

Mauricio Velasquez, husband of Maria Florinda Rios Perez, speaks in an interview, with a framed photo of his wife in the background.

Officers discovered Pérez’s husband, Mauricio Velásquez, kneeling and holding his wife’s body.

But as they tried to get the keys they’d been given into the keyhole, a single bullet whizzed through the front door and hit 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 obtained by WTHR.

The gunshot came from “inside the home,” Whitestown Police Captain John Jurkash told reporters at a briefing Wednesday.

The front door never opened, and Anderson allegedly shot through the door, striking Pérez in the head, as she stood next to her husband, police told WRTV.

Officers discovered Pérez’s husband, Mauricio Velásquez, kneeling and holding his wife’s body, court documents said, according to WTHR.

She was pronounced dead on the scene, and an autopsy determined she 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.

Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announcing charges against an Indiana homeowner.

The homeowner’s actions were not protected by the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, Eastwood said.

AP

In this image from video provided by WRTV, investigators work at the site of the shooting in Whitestown, Ind., on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

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In this image from video provided by WRTV, investigators work 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.

Andersen told his wife to call 911, who 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 comply with leaving 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,” the heartbroken father told WRTV.

“He’s an animal, a dog, a deer, to kill in that way,” Velazquez said.

It was his first day on the job with his wife, Mauricio Velásquez recalled to police

Andersen is currently 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.

Pérez leaves behind four children, aged 11 months to 17.

Andersen’s attorney, Guy Relford, said in a statement Monday that he thinks the mom of four’s death was a “terrible tragedy,” but believed his client’s actions were fully justified by Indiana’s self-defense laws.

“The death of Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez is a terrible tragedy that is heartbreaking for everyone involved,” Relford wrote.

“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.

Andersen is currently being held without bond while he awaits a court hearing, Eastwood said.

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