He's Accused of Killing House Cleaner Who Mistakenly Showed Up to His Home for Work — and Now He's Charged By Janelle Griffith and Nicole Acosta

Prosecutors have filed a criminal charge against the Indiana homeowner who shot and killed a woman working as a house cleaner after she mistakenly went to the wrong address.

Kent Eastwood, the prosecutor in Boone County, Ind., said at a press conference on Monday, Nov. 17 that Curt Andersen has been charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter related to the death of Maria Florinda Rios Perez de Velasquez, 32, a mother of four who lived in Indianapolis.

Police officers found the woman dead shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, on the front porch of the home in Whitestown — an Indianapolis suburb of about 10,000 people.

She had arrived at the residence with her husband, according to a news release from the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department. The two were members of a cleaning crew, per the release.

Her husband, Mauricio Velazquez, told WRTV that he and his wife had been cleaning homes for seven months. He said he was standing with her at the home’s front door and did not realize she had been shot until she fell into his arms and he “saw that the blood went everywhere.”

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Velazquez said he had difficulty opening the door and his wife then took the keys from him, according to her brother, Rudy Rios, who relayed what Velazquez told him to The New York Times. Seconds later, she was shot in the head, Rios told the outlet.

Police said they arrived at the scene after a 911 call about a “possible” residential entry in progress at a home in the Heritage subdivision. When they arrived, they found Rios Perez de Velasquez with a gunshot wound on the porch, next to her husband. Police said they attempted lifesaving measures but she was declared dead at the scene.

The Boone County Coroner’s Office confirmed she died of a gunshot wound to the head.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, Andersen fired one shot through a closed locked door from the top of his stairs “knowing two individuals were on the other side of the door.” When asked by officers, he allegedly said he didn’t announce himself or say anything prior to firing his gun.

He also allegedly told officers he heard a man crying out and weeping after he fired the shot that fatally struck Rios Perez de Velasquez, but he didn’t know what he was hearing and thought maybe he just scared them, per the affidavit.

“The facts gathered do not support that a residential entry occurred,” the police department said in a Nov. 5 statement.

Two days later, on Friday, Nov. 7, police turned over the findings from their investigation to Eastwood, who said at the time the decision on whether to file charges would not be easy.

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“This is a heartbreaking case for everyone involved,” Eastwood said in a statement on Nov. 9. “As prosecutors, our responsibility is to review the facts and apply Indiana law impartially and fairly.”

Eastwood said, per the initial statement, that he had a duty to apply the law, and to consider Indiana’s Stand Your Ground law, which protects self-defense rights. Such laws allow a person to use force, including deadly force, if the person reasonably believes that force is necessary to stop an intruder.

“Based on the particular evidence and circumstances of this case, we have determined that Curt Andersen’s actions do not fall within the legal protections provided by the Indiana Stand Your Ground law,” Eastwood said at Monday’s press conference.

“This case is not about undermining the law — it is about applying the law to the facts of this case, and that is what we intend to prove at trial,” Eastwood added.

Eastwood also expressed his condolences to the victim’s family.

PEOPLE could not reach Andersen for comment and it is unclear if he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf. He’s currently being held on no bond and is awaiting his initial court hearing.

The charge comes after family, friends and other supporters of Rios Perez de Velasquez held a vigil on Monday, Nov. 10 outside the prosecutor’s office, where they called for answers and justice. Her brother has since launched a GoFundMe to raise money to bury her in her native Guatemala. The campaign has raised more than $100,000.