A couple who worked as house cleaners in Indiana, USA, arrived at the wrong address, and the homeowner, mistaking them for would-be burglars, shot and killed the woman.
According to American media reports, at around 7 a.m. on the 5th, the 32-year-old victim, Maria Velasquez, together with her husband Mauricio, arrived at a residential area in Whitestown, about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis. The homeowner saw someone apparently attempting to "break in" and immediately opened fire, then called the police to report a possible robbery suspect.
According to the police press release, Maria and her husband had gone to the wrong address.
When police arrived at the scene after receiving the call, they found Maria collapsed on the front porch of the residence. The coroner later confirmed that Maria had died from a gunshot wound to the head. Mauricio, devastated at losing his beloved wife, said that he and his wife were standing at the door, and it wasn't until she collapsed in his arms, bleeding profusely, that he realized she had been shot. He hopes the law will deliver justice.
A fundraising page revealed that Maria was the mother of four children.
The Whitestown police are still investigating the details of the incident, and the Boone County prosecutor's office will decide whether to charge the homeowner based on the investigation. Since investigators have refused to disclose the homeowner's name, some in the public have speculated that the resident is a police officer and that authorities may be trying to cover for their own, but officials have emphasized that the homeowner has no connection to the police.