Trendpills
An Indiana homeowner has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and reckless homicide in the death of a house cleaner who was fatally shot after mistakenly arriving at his residence for a job. The incident, which occurred in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestown, has reignited a national debate over self-defense laws and so-called "wrong address" shootings.
The victim, 32-year-old Maria Florinda Rios Perez, a mother of four, was scheduled to clean a house on the morning of November 6. According to authorities, she went to the wrong address and was on the porch of a home owned by Curt Andersen. Shortly before 7 a.m., Andersen fired a single shot through the glass of his front door, striking and killing her. Police found Rios Perez deceased on the front porch with her cleaning supplies nearby. The fatal shooting at the wrong Indianapolis-area home immediately raised questions about the circumstances leading to the use of deadly force.
According to court documents, Andersen told investigators he was awakened by loud banging on his door. He said he saw a figure through the frosted glass, shouted a warning to leave, and fired his handgun when the person did not comply, believing it was a home invasion. However, Rios Perez was unarmed and on the phone with her employer at the time of the shooting. The employer reportedly heard Rios Perez say, "Oh my God!" before the call disconnected.
In filing charges, Boone County prosecutors argued that Andersen's actions were not a reasonable use of force under Indiana’s “castle doctrine,” which allows residents to use force to protect themselves from unlawful entry into their homes. Prosecutor Kent Eastwood stated that while Andersen had the right to defend himself, the evidence did not support a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary. The decision to file charges against the homeowner suggests the prosecution believes his actions exceeded the legal protections for self-defense. This case follows several other high-profile incidents across the U.S. where individuals have been shot after approaching the wrong property, intensifying scrutiny of state self-defense statutes and sparking a wider legal discussion on the boundaries of the castle doctrine.
