Interestingly named Whitestown is one of several bedroom communities around Indianapolis, in central Indiana. It is 93% White. It is also the site of a recent murder–and I use that term intentionally.
The facts–at least, the readily ascertainable ones– have been widely reported. Members of a cleaning crew went to the wrong house in what has been described as a “cookie cutter” neighborhood. Two of them–a Hispanic couple–knocked on the door of that incorrect address, and in response, someone shot the woman through the door, killing her.
As of a week later, no charges had been filed by the county prosecutor, although the Indianapolis Star reports that the homeowner had hired a “Second-Amendment lawyer.” (Update: since I wrote this, the prosecutor has brought charges against the homeowner.)
The owners of the Whitestown home where a 32-year-old woman was shot and killed have hired one of Indiana’s most prominent constitutional lawyers.
Guy Relford, also known for his weekly “Gun Guy” show on WIBC, has practiced law for more than four decades. He specializes in the Second Amendment.
As the Star also reported,
The shooter — who has not been identified by law enforcement — could face criminal charges in connection with Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez’s death, pending the outcome of an ongoing review by the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities have not confirmed whether the homeowner was the shooter.
Other than identifying the person who actually fired that gun, I cannot imagine what an “ongoing review” could uncover–and I certainly can’t imagine what defense “gun guy” will be able to offer. (Perhaps the shooter’s mental illness??)
I write these blog posts a few days ahead, so perhaps we’ll know more by the time this is published, but as I write this, it seems pretty clear that what we’ve seen in Whitestown is the merging of America’s racism and gun culture. The person inside that home saw two Hispanic people, and evidently equated “Hispanic” with “home invasion,” although I rather doubt that many home invaders knock on a home’s front door.
As the Star reported, Indiana has a Castle Doctrine law–one of those “stand your ground” statutes that give people the right to use deadly force to prevent unlawful entry into their homes. But even under those laws, the shooter’s belief of imminent danger must be “reasonable.” I find it extremely difficult to label shooting a woman knocking on one’s front door as “reasonable”–even if that woman’s skin color means she doesn’t look like a resident of Whitestown.
Of course, if far too many Americans weren’t in possession of firearms, incidents like this would be less likely. Having a gun in the house rather obviously increases the likelihood that that gun will be used–and in many cases, used inappropriately. Studies have found that 58% of gun deaths are the result of suicide, and the CDC has reported that nearly two out of every 10 non-lethal firearm injuries are unintentional–the result of accidents. (The CDC also reports that people who survive a firearm-related injury typically experience long-term problems with memory, thinking and PTSD, even if they don’t have permanent physical disabilities or paralysis.)
Maria Perez was a 32-year-old house cleaner, and the mother of four. An immigrant from Guatemala, she died in the arms of her husband when they arrived at what was definitely the wrong house–a house occupied by someone who was armed and evidently terrified of or hostile to people who looked “different.”
So here we are.
Four children no longer have a mother. A husband is left with memories of holding his dying wife in his arms. I’m sorry, but no “Castle Doctrine” can justify this; no “gun guy” can find a defense even in a Second Amendment that has been reinterpreted from its initial meaning in order to protect the gun industry and America’s gun fetishists.
There is no excuse.
Thanks for reporting this. It says a lot that the authorities took such a long time as they struggled to find an excuse for this murder. They finally gave up and filed the charges that they should have filed on day 1.
Professor-I wonder if the two people who were on the porch instead lived in the house. And the man in the house was knocking on their door and one of the people in the house shot and killed the person on the porch. Would that arrest and charge of murder taken more than a few hours?
No excuse whatsoever.
In a population of around 330 million citizens, there are nearly 400 million guns known. Irrespective of the cause, guns kill over 40,000 Americans yearly. Yeah, I’m sure the “gun” asshole and the politicians who do nothing to control the gun culture are all atwitter about this and other stupid murders.
I’m watching Ken Burns’ latest epic “The American Revolution” and there is no doubt that guns play a huge role in our becoming a nation. There was even a snippet from the original drafts of the Articles of Confederation that mentioned a ready militia. The founders, it seems, never intended for us to have a standing army, so everyone had a gun ready for action should they be called up to defend the country. Oh, and let’s not forget that the British helped arm native Americans to fight off those pesky rebels too. What else should we expect?
Humans clearly are hard-wired to kill each other, only wanting an excuse or reason. So much for “peace on earth” and “goodwill toward men”.
Sickening.
According to my research, the “expert” Gemini AI indicates that Whitestown is about 80% white, while Boone County is 88% white. Not actually a diverse neighborhood, but typical of the donut ring around Indy.
However, race shouldn’t play a part since the homeowner, a 62-year-old white male, had no idea what was on the other side of the door. He heard noises and shot through the door while standing on the staircase. The noise he heard was the cleaners outside attempting to open the “model home” with the keys they were given. As Sheila said, they arrived at the wrong house.
The Castle and Stand Your Ground Law will come down to this for the jury:
“reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person’s unlawful entry of or attack on the person’s dwelling.”
There are several parts of the law, but this one seems the most relevant. Would a reasonable person shoot through a closed door at what sounded like a break-in?
The jury pool “shouldn’t be tainted by looking at race” because the homeowner had no idea who was at the door. Hell, it could have been a couple of kids horsing around or a deliveryman.
So, was that a “reasonable” response?
p.s. I own a variety of guns, including pistols, but I wouldn’t shoot through a closed door without identifying an intruder. You have the advantage of surprise if they do open the door. Plus, I live on a college campus where kids get drunk and try to enter the wrong house often. One college kid was murdered because he tried to enter the wrong house. No excuse if your door is locked.
I’m a gun owner ( I hunt ) but the NRA/GOA do not represent my beliefs and certainly not my political stances. I’ll go out on a limb and guess the shooter was a FOX “news” ( or one of its clones) devotee much like the old man a few years ago who gunned down a black teen who knocked on his door. The gun nuts love to claim the much misinterpreted 2nd is to allow us to address a tyrannical government, yet they helped elect the would be tyrant to the Oval Office and they ( via their lobby) heap praises on him for restoring law & order and freeing gun owners & purchasers from the “oppressive burden” of life saving regulations. I can’t make someone who doesn’t want common sense to see common sense. The excuses for doing nothing more than “Thoughts & Prayers” are just sickening rationalizing that endanger all of us. Castle laws I can agree with ( if someone actually breaks in after being warned) but those laws don’t cover what happened in Whitestown. As of now the shooter is charged with 2nd degree murder, I hope the jury agrees. Come on NRA, do that opposing tyranny thing, for a change.
I read more than one source for this story. There are a couple of facts left out of this telling. First, the woman did not knock. She expected the house to be empty and had a set of keys which she was trying to make work. Second, there was a sidelight to the door where the homeowner could have easily seen her. I’ll be interested to see if he claims something other than that he shot first and then looked. Finely, let’s all take a deep breath over the speed of justice in rural Indiana. Like the speed of everything else they’ll get there.
The professor has solved the case. There’s no need for further court proceedings.
Well done.
People move to Boone County to get away from Those People.
Todd,you’re wrong. Sheila stated the homeowner saw Those People outside his door on his porch.
Btw… DT Indianapolis is 64% white followed by 14% Asian.
.
Who named the place “Whites”town?
Trump will probably give the shooter the Medal of Freedom.
As an attorney, I was able to read the 15-page probable cause affidavit in MyCase. “Curt said he then went toward the top of the stairwell where he was at the
landing of the stairwell looking down toward the front door. (The stairwell of 4283 Maize Lane goes straight down to the front door, and the front door can be seen from the top of the stairwell as well as to the side
where a landing is located) Curt said he could see two individuals outside the front door through the top and side windows at the front door.”
Curt Andersen immediately got his gun and fired the shot through the door that hit Maria Velazquez in the head, killing her. Only after he fired the shot and heard her husband wailing did he ask his wife to call the police. He’s in the Boone County Jail on Felony 2 Voluntary Manslaughter charges. His initial hearing is November 21, and the court has denied the media request to record the hearing.
Andersen has already hired Attorney Guy Relford, aka “The Gun Guy” who has had a weekly program (The Gun Guy with Guy Relfod) on WIBC RADIO (93.1FM and http://www.wibc.com) for the past 10 years.
The castle doctrine (like Bush’s Preemptive Strike Doctrine) protects those who fear “the other,” encouraging them to employ deadly force first and ask questions later. It is especially dangerous when anyone can own a gun and politicians intentionally sow fear and hatred against people of color.
Also from the probable cause affidavit: “Curt said he had purchased this handgun in September of this year when he traded in his Sig handgun he had since 2023. Curt said the Sig handgun was the first gun he had owned and that he bought it for protection of his home but never carried it outside his home. When asked during the interview, Curt said he has never shot either
of these handguns when he owned them, not even at a range. Curt said the only time he shot a gun before was when he worked for the Navy. Curt said that he was a Psychiatric RN in the Navy and worked for the Navy 20+ years.”
I live in Marion County, which is just south of Boone County where Whitestown is located.
Interesting to note that the town was named for an abolistionist.
“Whitestown was named in honor of Albert S. White. White was a United States Senator from Indiana, a leader in the movement to abolish slavery, and the president of the railroad built through the town.”
The irony is not lost.
The man who shot and killed an unarmed woman from the top of the stairs, likely lived where he did intentionally, to get away from those scary “others”. The man hired to defend him comes with a pretty big price tag, I would guess. I doubt if he is doing this pro bono. Who is paying for what is likely to be a big bill? Inquiring minds want to know.
The victim’s family will live with the nightmare for as long as they live. The perpetrator also will live with that same nightmare for the rest of his life, no matter where he spends it. To know that you took the life of another, unarmed and innocent of anything but a mistake of address, has to be a heavy burden, no after how you rationalize it. Deep down, you know that “Thou shalt not kill” has weight.
I shudder think of how many households in my very diverse neighborhood have guns in them, likely seldom fired, maybe never fired, and certainly not at a live target. It is frightening to contemplate how close any of us are to that poor woman’s fate.
One more sad story, one more sad day in the killing of America.
in this evolution of Hate we now live in.
It will come out in time if the homeowner ever saw the people enough to determine they were not white – or if he heard them speaking. I think that jumping to the conclusion that race was a major factor is a bit premature. In fact, I think if the shooter had gotten a clear view he would have gotten more context (cleaning supplies, etc.) and it’s likely that he wouldn’t have fired.
It would be disconcerting to have a couple of people at your front door. The source I read stated that the woman had not yet tried the key in the door.
I could imagine the couple perhaps even making a couple of trips to the car and setting down supplies, mop and vacuum and making some unusual noise on the front porch. That said, there’s no justification for shooting someone through a closed door without clearly identifying them. It could have been kids, package delivery, solicitors, or even service people at the wrong house.
I was part of a group of people who had a short term rental home for a weekend. I was acutely aware that it was a potentially dangerous situation if I was at the wrong house, for example.
One of the most frightening things about our gun crisis is that, although we have more guns than people, only 46% of American households report having a gun. In case the right wing does decide to have a civil war, remember that they are armed to the teeth.
I was watching news coverage of one of the National Guard deployments, when the pundits were talking about how well trained the Guard seemed to be. I couldn’t help but think: that’s the essence of a “well regulated militia.” It’s a shame that Scalia and friends couldn’t see it.
We live a few miles from the Circle in Indianapolis on a parkway with a creek and greenspace. Last summer some homeless people camped out directly across the street down by the creek. Our neighbor a woman in her eighties who lives by herself said she heard something on her front porch in the middle of the night. When she looked out a closed window, she saw two men snooping around. She yelled at them that she had a gun and that she would use it. They immediately left. She was scared and yet she acted reasonably. The tragedy in Whitestown could have been avoided if the homeowner would have verbally warned the couple of his intent.
trump has made it simple to call out so-called terrorist groups.
we should call out the maga regiem and trumps dirty white house after
terrorising by ice and the working class over food and help during a shutdown he demanded, sinking of unknown boat people, cutting off the climate fight.
bowing to a saudi kingpin,allowing their maga base to shoot at will. all supported by the tech bros who have demanded free reign to ambush anyone
who speaks against them.and a congress/court that supports them.
we could all add to this.
maga-trump, wholesale terroristsat large..
got a name?
It is apparent that the “facts” are smudged…did she know nock, did she try the key? Presumably, it was Curt who shot the woman. What could he see from the stairs?
This could be related to the concept that conservatives (presumably this fellow) and MAGAs (also conservatives) are very anxious people, maybe afraid of their shadows, even. So, one shoots first, because anything unusual HAS TO BE A THREAT! OH, MY GOD, CHANGE IS COMING…SHOOT IT!!!!!!!!!
If we were genuinely being honest,hate is as American as Apple pie.
My home state is making all kinds of news lately. Nothing but bad news. Killing a mother of four while her husband held her as she took her last breath.
Another woman in active labor not allowed admission to a hospital and delivers the baby 8 minutes later in the car. On the side of the road. NW Indiana. Her husband helped. What is happening over there? I’m getting worried.
I’ve always thought that standing your ground was justified only if an intruder was in your house.