US officials are looking into whether to file charges against an Indiana homeowner who shot and killed a house cleaner who mistakenly showed up at the wrong address. Police say they found Maria Florinda Rios Perez dead in her husband's arms on the front porch of a home on Wednesday shortly before 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Authorities had been responding to a call about a possible home invasion in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestown. The two did not appear to have entered the home, police said in a statement.
They have formally submitted the case to the Boone County Prosecutor's Office for review to determine whether criminal charges will be brought in the case. Police have not identified the people in the home or who fired the shot, saying in a statement on Friday that it is a complex, delicate, and evolving case, and it would be both inappropriate and potentially dangerous to disclose that information. They urged patience and warned of a concerning spread of misinformation online about the case.
Mauricio Velazquez, told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that he wanted justice for his 32-year-old wife. News reports say that she was a mother of four and originally from Guatemala. In an interview with CBS affiliate WTTV, Mr. Velazquez said the bullet came right through the door of the home, stating, They should've called the police first instead of just shooting out of nowhere like that.
Boone County prosecutor Kent Eastwood told The Indianapolis Star that the case is complex due to the language of the state's stand-your-ground law. Stand-your-ground laws allow individuals to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves from perceived threats. Similar incidents have made headlines across the US in recent years, including the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old boy who was shot twice after ringing a doorbell at the wrong house, and the tragic killing of Kaylin Gillis in New York for entering the wrong driveway.
They have formally submitted the case to the Boone County Prosecutor's Office for review to determine whether criminal charges will be brought in the case. Police have not identified the people in the home or who fired the shot, saying in a statement on Friday that it is a complex, delicate, and evolving case, and it would be both inappropriate and potentially dangerous to disclose that information. They urged patience and warned of a concerning spread of misinformation online about the case.
Mauricio Velazquez, told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that he wanted justice for his 32-year-old wife. News reports say that she was a mother of four and originally from Guatemala. In an interview with CBS affiliate WTTV, Mr. Velazquez said the bullet came right through the door of the home, stating, They should've called the police first instead of just shooting out of nowhere like that.
Boone County prosecutor Kent Eastwood told The Indianapolis Star that the case is complex due to the language of the state's stand-your-ground law. Stand-your-ground laws allow individuals to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to protect themselves from perceived threats. Similar incidents have made headlines across the US in recent years, including the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old boy who was shot twice after ringing a doorbell at the wrong house, and the tragic killing of Kaylin Gillis in New York for entering the wrong driveway.
