A Tragic Mistake: The Fatal Shooting of a Guatemalan Mother
The body of María Florinda Ríos Pérez, a 32-year-old Guatemalan mother of four, has been returned to her native country after she was fatally shot in the US state of Indiana. The tragic incident occurred on November 5 in Whitestown, a town outside Indianapolis.
Ríos Pérez and her husband were part of a house cleaning crew when they mistakenly went to the wrong property. As they attempted to unlock the front door with a key provided by their company, the homeowner, Curt Andersen, fired a single gunshot through the door without any warning. The bullet struck Ríos Pérez in the head, killing her instantly. Her husband was unharmed.
Justice and Mourning: Legal Proceedings and a Community's Grief
Prosecutors have charged Curt Andersen with voluntary manslaughter in connection with her death. Last week, a judge set his bail at $25,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport. According to online court records, his trial is scheduled to begin on March 30.
Meanwhile, in Guatemala, a community is in mourning. Late on Sunday, November 24, Ríos Pérez's mother, Vilma Pérez, and other relatives received her body at the capital's international airport. The plan was to transport her remains to her hometown of Cabrican, approximately 125 miles west of Guatemala City.
A Life Cut Short: Family Remembers a Devoted Mother
In Cabrican, a town nestled in a valley where most residents are Mam, an Indigenous Mayan people, preparations were made for her wake and burial. Women cooked food for the expected friends and relatives, while an altar at her parents' home was adorned with flowers and pictures of María.
Her 19-year-old sister, Yeimy Paola Ríos Pérez, shared poignant memories. She revealed that María had left Guatemala two years earlier with two of her daughters, hiring a smuggler to reach the United States after hearing that adults with children were being allowed to enter. "It was a lot of work going with the girls," Yeimy said. The family had chosen Indiana because five of María's siblings and her father were already living there.
In their last conversation, just days before the shooting, María was filled with joy. "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," Yeimy recalled, highlighting the devastating loss of a mother in the prime of her life.
