Indiana homeowner charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting house cleaner who arrived at wrong address
Curt Andersen, 62, was charged with voluntary manslaughter Monday in the November 5 shooting death of María Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velásquez, 32, in Whitestown, Indiana.
November 17, 2025 - 04:23 PM ET • 2 min read
A homeowner in Whitestown, Indiana, was charged with voluntary manslaughter on Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of a house cleaner who mistakenly approached his residence earlier this month.
Curt Andersen, 62, was charged with the Level 2 felony in Boone County, Indiana, following the November 5 incident. Authorities said Andersen fired a single shot through his front door, killing María Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velásquez, 32.
Ríos Pérez de Velásquez, an immigrant from Guatemala, was found dead on Andersen's front porch in Whitestown, a suburb located about 20 miles outside Indianapolis. Authorities said she had approached the house with her husband, believing it was the correct address for a cleaning job they had been hired to perform. Police noted that neither the victim nor her husband appeared to have entered the residence.
Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced the charge at a news conference Monday. Eastwood stated that his office determined the shooting did not meet the requirements for protection under Indiana's "stand your ground law."
The self-defense statute allows individuals to use deadly force in situations where they believe doing so is necessary to prevent their own serious bodily injury. Prosecutor Eastwood emphasized that the decision to charge Andersen should not be interpreted as a broad statement against the right to self-defense, but rather a determination that the facts of this specific case did not align with the legal requirements for protection under the statute.
Ríos Pérez de Velásquez's husband, who was with her on the porch, told media outlets that someone fired through the front door. He reportedly did not realize his wife had been shot until she fell back.
Andersen was booked into jail following the charge. If convicted of voluntary manslaughter, he faces a potential sentence of between 10 and 30 years in prison, in addition to a potential $10,000 fine.