Indiana Prosecutor Weighs Charges in Fatal shooting of Cleaning Crew Member
Whitestown, Indiana – Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood is reviewing evidence after a 32-year-old woman was fatally shot by a homeowner in whitestown, Indiana, on Wednesday morning. Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez was pronounced dead on the front porch of a residence shortly before 7:00 a.m.
According to a police press release, Rios Perez De Velasquez was part of a cleaning crew that arrived at the wrong address, believing it to be the location of a scheduled cleaning job. The identity of the homeowner who fired the fatal shot has not been released by authorities.
The case is expected to center on Indiana’s “castle doctrine,” a law that permits individuals to use deadly force if they reasonably believe an unlawful entry is occurring on their property. Thirty-one states currently have similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The shooting has deeply impacted the community. Rios Perez De Velasquez’s husband, Mauricio velazquez, recounted to WRTV in Indianapolis that he was with her at the door when she was shot, only realizing she had been hit when she collapsed into his arms. A fundraising page created by her brother indicates Rios Perez De Velasquez was a mother of four children.
This incident echoes other recent cases where homeowners have faced legal repercussions for shooting individuals who mistakenly approached their property. Examples cited include an 86-year-old man who pleaded guilty to shooting Ralph Yarl after Yarl mistakenly went to his door, and a New York man convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a woman in a car who drove onto his driveway by mistake.
Police turned the findings of their investigation over to Prosecutor Eastwood on friday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
