A devastating mix-up has resulted in the death of an Indiana mother of four, Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, 32, who was fatally shot while mistakenly attempting to enter the wrong house for a cleaning job. Her grieving husband, Mauricio Velázquez, witnessed the entire event and is now demanding justice.
The tragic incident occurred just before 7 a.m. on Wednesday in Whitestown, a small suburb near Indianapolis. Pérez and her husband, both self-employed cleaners, were under the impression they had arrived at the correct address for a scheduled job.
According to Velázquez, the couple had checked the address twice and circled the neighborhood to ensure they were in the right place. As they approached the stately home, they attempted to use the keys provided by the client.
Velázquez recounted the horrifying moments: “She didn’t even put the key in when I heard the shot happen. I saw my wife had stepped back twice, and then the keys dropped. Then she dropped, and I went to catch her. I was trying to console her and tell her everything was going to be OK, but I was seeing the blood coming out.”
Police, who responded to a 911 call reporting a home invasion at the address, found the couple on the porch. Pérez was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities quickly determined that the couple were not attempting a break-in and were genuinely mistaken about the address. “The facts gathered do not support that a residential entry occurred,” Whitestown police stated.
Despite the clear error, the case is complicated by Indiana’s robust “Stand your ground” laws, which allow homeowners to use fatal force to protect their property. Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood explained that individuals have no duty to retreat when defending their dwelling, provided they “reasonably believe that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or attack.”
Nevertheless, Velázquez remains resolute in his pursuit of justice for his wife, who had been living in Indianapolis for a year since relocating from Guatemala.
“For me, she was the love of my life,” he said. “She was a good wife and a good mother.”
Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez leaves behind her husband and four children, including a son who is not yet one year old. Velázquez is now working to return his wife’s body to her hometown in Guatemala. An investigation remains underway, and no arrests have been made.
