Indiana Homeowner Faces Potential Charges After Shooting Woman at Wrong Address

Authorities in Indiana are reviewing evidence to determine if criminal charges will be filed against a homeowner who shot and killed a woman who mistakenly went to the wrong property believing she was scheduled to clean it.

Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez, 32, was found dead on the front porch of a home in Whitestown, a suburb of Indianapolis, just before 7 a.m. Wednesday. Police determined she was part of a cleaning crew that arrived at an incorrect address. The incident highlights the complexities surrounding self-defense laws and mistaken identity.

According to reports, Rios Perez’s husband, Mauricio Velazquez, was with her at the door and did not realize she had been shot until she collapsed into his arms, suffering from a gunshot wound. “I was standing with her at the home’s front door,” Velazquez told WRTV in Indianapolis. Her brother stated on a fundraising page that Rios Perez was a mother of four children. Indiana’s “castle doctrine” laws, which permit the use of deadly force to prevent unlawful entry, will be a central consideration in the prosecutor’s decision.

The case is drawing comparisons to other recent incidents involving mistaken identity and the use of firearms, including the case of Ralph Yarl and a similar shooting in New York. Thirty-one states currently have laws similar to Indiana’s regarding the use of deadly force in self-defense, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Boone County prosecutor, Kent Eastwood, received the police investigation findings yesterday and will now determine whether to file charges.