Cleaning lady fatally shot in front of husband after couple arrived at wrong house for job
An Indiana mother of four was tragically shot and killed after she and her husband accidentally arrived at the wrong address for a cleaning job — and now her heartbroken husband, who witnessed the shooting, is calling for justice.
Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, 32, was fatally shot just before 7 a.m. Wednesday in Whitestown, Indiana, a small suburb roughly 22 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis. She and her husband, Mauricio Velázquez, had been hired to clean a nearby home, according to IndyStar.
The couple, who run their own cleaning business, double-checked the address and even circled the neighborhood to ensure they were in the right place. Believing they had found the correct home, they approached the front door and tried to use the keys they had been given.
As Velázquez fumbled with the keyring, Pérez jokingly took it from him — moments before a gunshot rang out.
“She didn’t even put the key in when I heard the shot happen,” Velázquez told IndyStar. “I saw my wife step back twice, and then the keys dropped. Then she dropped, and I went to catch her. I was trying to console her, telling her everything was going to be OK, but I could see the blood coming out.”
A 911 call reporting a possible home invasion came in at about the same time. When officers from the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department arrived, they found Velázquez holding his wife on the porch. Despite efforts to save her, Pérez was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Just pray for my family,” Velázquez said through tears. “Raising our kids isn’t going to be easy.” One of their four children is not yet a year old.
Police later confirmed that the couple had not been attempting a break-in and had genuinely believed they were entering the home they’d been hired to clean.
“The facts gathered do not support that a residential entry occurred,” Whitestown Police said in a statement. “The loss of life is always a profound tragedy, and our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected.”
No arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
Indiana’s “stand your ground” law allows residents to use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent or stop an unlawful entry into their home.
“When it comes to a dwelling, individuals can use reasonable force, including deadly force, against another person,” Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood told NBC News. “They have no duty to retreat. That person has to reasonably believe the force is necessary to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or attack.”
Despite the law, Velázquez says his wife’s death demands accountability.
“For me, she was the love of my life,” he said. “She was a good wife and a good mother.”
Pérez leaves behind three daughters — ages 17, 10, and 8 — and a baby boy who just turned one. Her husband is now working to return her body to their hometown in Guatemala for burial.
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