Guatemalan woman’s body returned home after fatal shooting in Indiana
CABRICAN, Guatemala (AP) — The body of a Guatemalan woman was killed earlier this month He returned to his hometown on Sunday when he went to clean the wrong house in Indiana, United States.
María Florinda Ríos Pérez, 32, a mother of four, was killed on November 5 on the front porch of a home in Whitestown, outside Indianapolis.
Late Sunday, his mother, Vilma Pérez, and other relatives picked up his body from the capital’s international airport and planned to transport him to his hometown of Cabrican, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Guatemala City.
Prosecutors last week charged Curt Andersen of Whitestown with voluntary manslaughter in connection with her death. Andersen’s trial was scheduled to begin March 30, according to online court records. one on friday judge set bail He ordered him to surrender his passport in exchange for $25,000.
According to court documents, Ríos and her husband were part of a house cleaning crew and accidentally went to Andersen’s house. While they were trying to open Andersen’s door with the key their company gave them, Andersen shot at the door without any warning. The bullet hit Rios in the head. Her husband was not injured.
Andersen told investigators he heard someone trying to unlock his front door and thought someone was trying to break into his home.
Throughout the weekend, women in Cabrican cooked meals for friends and relatives who would attend the wake and cremation. Flowers and pictures of Ríos adorned the altar at his parents’ house. Cabrican is located in a valley where most of the inhabitants are Mam, indigenous Mayans.
Ría left Guatemala with her two daughters two years ago and hired a smuggler to take them to the U.S. because they were told adults with children were allowed entry, said Ríos’ sister, 19-year-old Yeimy Paola Ríos Pérez.
“It was a lot of work to go with the girls,” he said. They went to Indiana because their five siblings and father were there.
Yeimy remembered the last conversation she had with her sister days before she died.
“She was really happy because there was only a week left until her son turned 1 and she was preparing everything to celebrate the boy’s birthday,” Yeimy said.
