WHITESTOWN, Ind. (TCN) — An Indiana man has been arrested and charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter after allegedly fatally shooting a house cleaner who showed up to the wrong address.
On Nov. 5 at about 7 a.m., Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez, 32, arrived at the home of Curt Andersen, 62, believing she was at the correct address for a cleaning job, WLS reports.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Andersen was allegedly awakened by noises on the front porch and thought someone was trying to break in, WRTV reports. Andersen said he did not announce his presence before allegedly firing his handgun through the locked front door and striking Rios Perez de Velasquez in the head.
She had gone there with her husband, Mauricio Velasquez, who said they had double-checked the address, WRTV reports. Through a translator, he said he didn’t realize she had been shot until she took two steps back and fell into his arms. He told WRTV, “She looked like she’d been hit in the head. She fell into my arms, and I saw that the blood went everywhere.”
Rio Perez de Velasquez, a mother of four, was pronounced dead at the scene by responding officers, according to WRTV.
In a press conference Nov. 17, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced the charge of one count of voluntary manslaughter, saying, Andersen’s actions “do not fall within the legal protections provided by the Indiana Stand Your Ground law” based on the evidence.
Andersen’s attorney, Guy Relford, said in a statement on social media that the “castle doctrine” provision of Indiana’s self-defense law “allows a person to use reasonable force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent an unlawful entry into his home.”
Andersen’s initial hearing date is Nov. 21.
If he is convicted, he could be fined up to $10,000 and face between 10 and 30 years in prison, according to WLS.
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