Editor’s Note: IndyStar used a translator application to transcribe Spanish into English for this story.
An 8-year-old stared at her mother’s body in a casket, while sitting on her father’s lap with dried tears staining her face.
She held her 10-year-old sister’s hand as their 17-year-old big sister sat shaking nearby, with her head in her lap. Three girls without their mother, an 11-month-old boy constantly crying, and a father trying to be strong for all of them. That’s their reality following the shooting death of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velázquez.
The 32-year-old was shot and killed on a porch in Whitestown, Indiana, when she and her husband, Mauricio Velázquez, approached a home they were prepared to clean for their business. “She didn’t even put the key in,” when Velázquez heard a shot that Nov. 5 morning, and saw his wife struck in the head.
“Upon arriving at her destination, at the wrong house, she sadly lost her life,” her cousin, Carlos Ríos, read aloud during a viewing with loved ones on Nov. 9.
Over 100 people rallied around the family inside Sprowl Funeral & Cremation Care. That’s also their reality. People came to mourn and celebrate Ríos Pérez’s life. At the time of the funeral, GoFundMe accounts had amassed nearly $200,000, with people donating from across the nation after hearing what happened.
There have been no arrests made in the case, and no charges filed. But people in the Indiana community and other pockets of Indiana are coming together to demand justice.
Peaceful gathering at the Boone County prosecutor’s office
One day after the shooting, the Boone County Coroner’s Office said Ríos Pérez’s cause and manner of death was a gunshot wound to the head, ruling it a homicide.
Two days after the shooting, the Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department announced its investigation into Ríos Pérez’s death had been given to the Boone County prosecutor’s office to make a final charging decision.
Two gatherings are planned at the prosecutor’s office to bring awareness for the mother of four on Nov. 10. According to a flier shared by the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, the events will serve as a way for people to stand in solidarity with the grieving family and highlight gun violence.
The first gathering will be 9:30 a.m. to noon, followed by a vigil from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Supporters created a website where people can sign up to receive case updates and donate to the only official GoFundMe accounts for the family at www.JusticeForMaria.com.
Maria: Remembering the mother, wife and hard worker
Ríos Pérez started her school studies at the age of 6 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where she finished her primary education and went on to land a job knitting.
“A job that’s very well-known there,” Carlos Ríos explained. “And at 16 years old, she met her husband, Mauricio Velázquez Pérez. Her mission was to serve God. She liked to sing and work in God’s service.”
He described her as a hardworking woman who was friendly and always smiling.
They immigrated to America three years ago, according to her brother Rudy Ríos, and Velázquez came to America first, according to Carlos Ríos.
“Due to flight issues, they made a difficult decision,” Carlos Ríos said. “We’ve all made those decisions ― that her husband takes a trip and sees this country, and two years later, back here again.”
They had been living in North Carolina before moving to the Hoosier state, and Velázquez said they had only been in Indianapolis for one year before the shooting.
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
