Prosecutor says it will take days to decide whether to charge homeowner in house cleaner’s death

**Decision Pending on Charges in Shooting of Guatemalan House Cleaner in Indiana**

*LEBANON, Ind. (AP)* — A decision on whether to file charges against an Indiana homeowner suspected of killing a Guatemalan house cleaner after she mistakenly went to the wrong address may not come for several days, prosecutors say.

Investigators recently turned over their findings in the death of Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez to Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood on Friday. Eastwood stated in a news release that his review would take “several days.” He promised to announce his decision publicly but indicated it might not occur until later this week or early next week.

“Our hearts remain with Mrs. Rios Perez de Velasquez’s loved ones,” Eastwood said in the release. “Justice requires patience, and we ask for the community’s understanding as we work diligently to reach the right decision under Indiana law.”

On Monday, the woman’s family and supporters gathered on the steps of Eastwood’s office holding a photo of Maria and signs reading “Justice for Maria.”

“Although we’re immigrants, we still have rights,” Rios Perez De Velasquez’s husband, Mauricio Velasquez, said in Spanish. “We’re not animals. We’re people just like everyone else. We have blood, too. All I’m asking for is justice.”

Authorities have said the couple was part of a cleaning crew and had gone to a home in Whitestown, an Indianapolis suburb, early Wednesday morning for a job — but it was the wrong address. Police found the woman dead on the front porch of the home just before 7 a.m.

Boone County Prosecutor Eastwood told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the homeowner had shot her. Police Capt. John Jurkash added in an email to AP that the shot came from inside the house.

Mauricio Velasquez told WRTV in Indianapolis that he was standing on the porch with his wife and did not realize she had been shot until she fell into his arms, bleeding.

Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter. Police have said there is no evidence that the Velasquezes actually entered the home.

A key factor complicating Eastwood’s decision is Indiana’s stand-your-ground law, which permits residents to use deadly force to stop someone they reasonably believe is trying to unlawfully enter their dwelling. Thirty-one states currently have similar laws.

In comparable cases elsewhere, prosecutors have successfully brought charges against individuals who opened fire outside their homes. For example, an 86-year-old man pleaded guilty after shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who came to his door by mistake. Similarly, a man in New York was convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a woman who mistakenly drove down his driveway.

Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor specializing in gun rights, called the Whitestown incident “horrible” and “exceptionally unusual.”

For the homeowner to claim stand-your-ground immunity, she explained, he would need to prove he believed he was in imminent danger — and that any reasonable person would feel the same in those circumstances.

Generally, the public can legally access private property, including a front porch, for legitimate purposes until they are told to leave, Madeira said. For example, a homeowner cannot legally shoot a pizza delivery person or an Amazon driver simply for stepping onto their property.

Since the couple apparently never entered the shooter’s home, there was no unlawful entry, Madeira noted. A reasonable person who hears a doorknob rattle would likely call the police or look out a window instead of opening fire, she added. This could leave the shooter open to a reckless homicide charge.

“What we’re doing here is setting a precedent,” Madeira said regarding Eastwood’s decision. “If we let this go without filing criminal charges, we might be sending a message that it’s OK to fire through a door when someone comes up on the front porch and knocks and rattles the doorknob.”

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