Friday, November 7, 2025 - A house cleaner and mother-of-four di£d in the arms of her husband on Wednesday, Nov. 5, after she was f@tally shot outside a home near Indianapolis.
Maria Florinda Rios Perez, a 32-year-old immigrant from
Guatemala, was headed to work cleaning a home with her husband in Whitestown,
Indiana, on Wednesday morning when they arrived at the wrong house, the late
woman's brother, Rudy Rios said in Spanish.
Rios, 22, said when his sister had just arrived at the
house, she tried to open the door using keys she was carrying when she was shot
in the head and “fell into the arms of her husband.”
“It’s so unjust. She was only trying to bring home the daily
bread to support her family,” Rios said. “She accidentally went to the wrong
house, but he shouldn’t have taken her life.”
“She wasn’t threatening, she had nothing in her hands, only
those keys,” he said.
Rios said his sister is a mother of four whose children
range in age from one to 17 years old.
“They’re completely destroyed,” he said.
Officers responded to a 911 call in Whitestown, reporting a
"'possible" residential entry in progress at a home in the Heritage
subdivision" at 6:49 a.m., according to a police statement.
At the home, officers found "an adult female who
sustained a gunshot wound, along with an adult male on the front porch of the
residence," police said.
Lifesaving measures were attempted on the woman, but she was
declared de@d at the scene, police said.
"It was later determined that the individuals
attempting to enter the home were members of a cleaning crew who had mistakenly
arrived at the wrong address," according to the Whitestown
Metropolitan Police Department statement.
Investigators quickly concluded this was not a home invasion
or a burglary. Police confirmed this was an isolated incident.
"The loss of life is always a profound tragedy, and our
hearts and prayers go out to all those affected," police said.
Police pleaded with the public not to rush to any
conclusions as they and Boone County prosecutors try to determine if a crime
was committed.
"We understand that incidents like this can cause
concern and speculation," police said. "We respectfully ask the
public to place their trust in the investigative process and refrain from
sharing unverified information. These cases are often complex and require time
to fully understand. Misinformation can be harmful to those involved and to the
integrity of the investigation."
Rios said his family wants the person who fatally shot his
sister be arrested, charged and brought to justice for the sake of his family
and “because tomorrow there could be more victims like this.”
He said he believed his sister was k!lled at a time when
there is increased racial profiling of Latinos and hatred towards
immigrants.
“She had no bad intentions,” he said.
The family now has to raise money to support Maria
Florinda’s children and send her body to her native Guatemala for burial, he
said.
He said he wanted people to remember his sister as someone
who was “very loving, humble, happy” and dedicated to her family.
“He could have given her a warning, but instead he k!lled her,” he said through
tears.
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