Indiana prosecutor charges homeowner who shot the cleaning lady on her porch earlier this month. Police said the janitor mistakenly showed up at the home in Whitestown, about 20 miles from Indianapolis, thinking it was a different address. Neither of them entered the house, police said.
Homeowner Kurt Andersen has been charged with premeditated murder, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said at a news conference Monday. Eastwood said his office decided to file the charge, a Level 2 felony, after determining the shooting did not meet the defense of Indiana's “stand your ground” law, a self-defense law that allows people to use deadly force in situations where they believe it is necessary to prevent their own serious bodily injury.
“It is vital that the citizens of Boone County understand that our decision today should in no way be interpreted as a challenge to Indiana's 'stand your ground' law or an individual's right to self-defense,” Eastwood said. “Based on the specific evidence and circumstances of this case, we have determined that Kurt Andersen's actions do not fall within the legal protections provided by the Indiana Stand Your Ground law.”
Eastwood added that the charge “is not about subverting the law” but rather about “applying the law to the facts of this case.”
Eastwood identified the cleaning lady as Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velazquez. Her husband, Mauricio Velazquez, went with her to the house as part of the cleaning crew. CBS affiliate WTTV reported. According to the TV channel, they have four children.
Around 7 a.m. on Nov. 5, officers with the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department responded to a report of a possible break-in at a unit in the area, the department said in a social media post. statement. When officers arrived, they found Perez dead on the porch of the home from a gunshot wound. Velasquez was not injured.
Velazquez later told WTTV that the shot came from inside the house and was fired through the door. After the shooting, a bullet hole could be seen in the door, station reported. Police initially did not identify anyone inside the home, and Velazquez said he did not see the shooter.
“They should have called the police first instead of just shooting out of nowhere,” he told WTTV through a translator.
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Whitestown police said the department is “committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation” into the incident and will be “interviewing all individuals involved” as crime scene investigators “carefully collect and analyze all relevant evidence to understand the full scope of the incident.”
The department said it is working closely with the Boone County District Attorney's Office as the investigation begins.
“We understand that incidents like this can cause concern and speculation,” Whitestown police said. “We respectfully ask the public to trust the investigation process and refrain from releasing unverified information. These cases are often complex and take time to fully understand. Misinformation can harm participants and the integrity of the investigation.”
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