Body of Guatemalan woman killed when she went to clean the wrong Indiana house is returned home

The body of a Guatemalan mother who was fatally shot on a home’s doorstep in Indiana was returned to her native country Sunday, as her grieving family prepared for her funeral in a small Indigenous town.

María Florinda Ríos Pérez, 32, a mother of four, was killed on November 5 while attempting to clean what turned out to be the wrong house in Whitestown, a suburb outside Indianapolis. Her remains arrived at Guatemala City’s international airport Sunday evening, where her mother Vilma Pérez and other family members received her body amid profound grief.

The family planned to transport her remains to Cabrican, a rural community nestled in a valley approximately 125 miles west of Guatemala City, where most residents belong to the Mam Indigenous Maya people. In preparation for her wake and burial, local women spent the weekend cooking food for the expected mourners, while an altar adorned with flowers and photographs was arranged at her parents’ home.

According to court documents, Ríos Pérez and her husband were working as part of a cleaning crew when they mistakenly went to the wrong address. The couple attempted to unlock the front door with a key provided by their employer when homeowner Curt Andersen fired a single shot through the door without warning. The bullet struck Ríos Pérez in the head, killing her instantly. Her husband escaped the incident unharmed.

Last week, prosecutors charged Andersen with voluntary manslaughter. A judge set his bail at $25,000 during a Friday court hearing and ordered him to surrender his passport. His trial is scheduled to begin March 30, according to court records. When questioned by investigators, Andersen claimed he heard someone attempting to unlock his front door and believed an intruder was trying to break into his home.

Yeimy Paola Ríos Pérez, the victim’s 19-year-old sister, revealed that María had left Guatemala two years ago with two of her daughters. They had hired a smuggler to facilitate their journey to the United States, having been informed that adults traveling with children were being permitted entry.

“It was a lot of work going with the girls,” Yeimy recounted. The family ultimately settled in Indiana because five of María’s siblings and her father had already established themselves there, forming part of the substantial Guatemalan diaspora that has sought economic opportunities in the United States in recent years.

The tragedy has highlighted the risks faced by immigrant workers, many of whom work in service industries like cleaning, construction, and food service. Guatemala has one of the highest emigration rates in Central America, driven by poverty, violence, and limited economic opportunities.

Yeimy recalled her final conversation with her sister just days before the shooting. “She was really happy because there was only a week until her son turned 1 year old and she was getting everything ready to celebrate the boy’s birthday,” she said. The birthday celebration María was eagerly planning would never take place as she envisioned.

The case has drawn attention to gun violence in the United States and has sparked discussions about home defense laws. Indiana, like many states, has strong self-defense statutes, but prosecutors evidently determined that Andersen’s actions did not meet the legal threshold for justified use of deadly force.

As María’s community in Cabrican prepares to lay her to rest, her death adds to the countless stories of migrants whose pursuit of a better life in the United States ended in tragedy, leaving families divided across borders to mourn their losses.