Indiana Man Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter After Shooting House Cleaner Trying To Enter Wrong Home

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Indiana Man Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter After Shooting House Cleaner Trying To Enter Wrong Home

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Date: November 18, 2025
Host(s): Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Episode Theme: Exploring the tragic case of a house cleaner shot and killed in Indiana after mistakenly attempting to enter the wrong home, examining the intersection of “stand your ground” laws, self-defense, and reasonable fear.

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Episode Overview

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes delve into a recent incident in Whitestown, Indiana, where a homeowner fatally shot a house cleaner who was attempting to enter the wrong home with her husband, as part of a cleaning crew. The homeowner, now charged with voluntary manslaughter, claims a “stand your ground” defense. The hosts unpack the nuances, legal questions, and ethical debates surrounding the case and similar incidents nationwide.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Case Facts and Immediate Questions

• Incident Details:

  • On November 5th, a 32-year-old woman arrived at a house with her husband and a cleaning crew, intending to clean what they believed was a model home.
  • Without ringing the doorbell or knocking, she attempted to unlock the door using keys provided by her company.
  • The homeowner, 62-year-old Kurt Anderson, was awakened by the noise, retrieved his gun, and fired a single shot through the door, killing the woman.
  • He and his wife did not check who was outside or yell out; they called 911 after the shooting ([04:07]–[06:06]).

  Memorable Quote:

  • “He never even went outside to see what was going on. Never checked, fired through the door.” – TJ Holmes [06:06]

• Defense and Charges:

  • Anderson claims self-defense under Indiana’s “stand your ground” law.
  • If convicted, he faces 10–30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine ([04:48]).

2. Legality and The “Stand Your Ground” Debate

• Self-Defense or Overreach?

  • Amy questions the reasonableness of shooting through a closed door when no one actually entered the home.
    • “Just because someone is on your front porch … even if they're messing with the lock … that doesn't give you the right to use deadly force without even shouting out or asking a question.” – Amy Robach [06:54]
  • TJ notes that, legally, homeowners are only required to have a reasonable fear for their life, not perfect information ([10:18]).
    • “The law does not require me to have all the information. It only says I can have a reasonable fear for my life.” – TJ Holmes [10:18]

• Castle Doctrine vs. Stand Your Ground:

  • The hosts clarify that “castle doctrine” covers using deadly force inside one’s home, while “stand your ground” extends that right to any place one lawfully occupies ([08:38]–[08:54]).
  • Amy: “[Stand your ground] can be anywhere … you don't have to retreat … You have the right to stand your ground wherever you are and protect and defend yourself.” [08:54]

• Necessity of Imminent Threat:

  • Both hosts highlight that an imminent threat is necessary for the defense to apply, and the law does not simply allow shooting out of fear ([20:43], [21:27]).
    • “Acting out of fear is not enough to invoke stand your ground.” – Amy Robach, quoting an Indiana legal expert [13:12], [20:22]
    • “Imminent is a big deal.” – TJ Holmes [20:43]

3. Reasonableness and Alternative Actions

• Did the Homeowner Have Options?

  • Both Amy and TJ emphasize the reasonable alternatives:

    • Calling out (“Who’s there?”)
    • Contacting 911
    • Looking through a window or peephole
    • Giving a warning before shooting
    • “I think it's enough to react, to call out, to say, who's there, to grab your cell phone to call 911. All of those things are more reasonable than the choice he made to load a gun and shoot without looking.” – Amy Robach [10:57]

  • Homeowner reportedly looked through a window and saw two people, but fired anyway ([12:08]–[12:23])

• Context of Fear:

  • TJ shares personal experience with home invasion and gun ownership, highlighting how fear can shape reactions, but questioning if that justifies deadly force ([28:24]–[29:53]).
    • “So these things are real and that fear is real. … I hate what happened and can't imagine shooting through the door blindly.” – TJ Holmes [30:00]

4. Comparisons to Other High-Profile Cases

• Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, “Ding Dong Ditch” Texas Case:

  • The hosts reflect on other notorious “stand your ground” cases and their surprising verdicts, noting how interpretations vary by jury, prosecutor, and state law ([19:48]–[24:24]).
    • “The Trayvon Martin is the most, the biggest standout case … we couldn't believe that that law defended a man who killed a teenager.” – TJ Holmes [19:48]

• Unintended Consequences:

  • The hosts question whether these laws really protect homeowners from criminals, or if they more often lead to tragic errors ([25:05]–[26:29]).
    • “All the stand your ground … cases I hear about have to do with someone who was not actually there to do a person harm.” – TJ Holmes [25:47]

5. Societal Impact and Reflection

• Tragic Human Cost:
  • Amy details the victim’s background (mother of four, Guatemalan immigrant) and the devastation felt by her family.
    • “There was a real tragic loss of life here for a woman who was just trying to do her job.” – Amy Robach [26:29]
• Propensity for Homeowners to Shoot First:
  • Discussion on how stand your ground laws can embolden people to use deadly force as a first response ([26:29]).
    • “The scary part … is to shoot first and to ask questions later. And that is not the case.” – Amy Robach [26:29]
• Open Questions for Justice:
  • Both hosts acknowledge limited knowledge of all the facts, the possibility of mitigating circumstances for the homeowner, and the importance of allowing the legal process to unfold.
    • “I want to leave room as a homeowner … maybe there were other factors in this.” – TJ Holmes [27:15]
    • “It still is a tragedy in and of itself.” – Amy Robach [30:24]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “He acted without information. He acted with emotion, not with information.” – Amy Robach [09:38]
• “You can't just shoot the UPS guy because you heard somebody on your front porch … you can't do that.” – TJ Holmes [08:13]
• “I assure you I checked up on the law after I got those guns, and I knew what I was allowed to do. That sounds crazy.” – TJ Holmes [28:24]
• “There could have been a child up there. There could have been anyone on that porch. He did not know, and he fired without knowing.” – Amy Robach [10:57]
• “You might go, hey, you might yell. You might throw something at the door. Bang, do something. Call 911.” – TJ Holmes [11:47]
• “This woman literally died in the arms of her husband, trying to open a door with a key to the wrong house, to the wrong door to go to work.” – Amy Robach [18:47]

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Important Timestamps

• [02:49] – Episode begins with Amy and TJ discussing incident details
• [04:07] – The narrative of events leading to the shooting
• [06:53] – Legal questions around “reasonable fear”
• [08:38] – Castle Doctrine vs. Stand Your Ground differences
• [13:12] – Legal expert opinion: fear alone insufficient for defense
• [19:48] – Stand Your Ground in the context of Trayvon Martin
• [21:27] – Discussion of requirements for imminent threat
• [26:29] – The broader societal impact and potential for tragic outcomes
• [28:24] – TJ shares personal experience as a gun owner, reflects on fear
• [30:24] – Conclusion, ongoing case status

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Tone and Language

• The discussion is empathetic, questioning, occasionally passionate, and always rooted in the tension between legal rights, personal fear, and tragic outcomes. Both Amy and TJ frequently reflect on the human consequences behind the legal framework.
• Genuine concern, skepticism, and curiosity permeate the conversation, as both hosts examine not just what the law says, but whether it leads to just or unintended results.

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Final Reflection

The episode underscores the complex and often controversial reality of “stand your ground” and self-defense laws: what may feel like reasonable fear in a moment can lead to irreversible consequences, especially when information and communication break down. Amy and TJ leave listeners with a sense of the stakes, the ambiguities, and the need for careful legal and ethical scrutiny as this and similar cases proceed.

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Transcript

[Amy Robach]

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The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[TJ Holmes]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there, folks. Welcome to Amy and TJ Presents. And today, a man in Indiana shot and killed a woman. Who had shown up to his house just to clean the house. He has, yes, been charged, but he has a defense. Folks, stand your ground. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ presents. TJ Holmes here alongside Amy Robach. Robes, this is going to be another case that we have these stand your ground laws getting national attention.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And the concern is that sometimes these laws, a lot of folks believe make homeowners especially feel like they have the right to defend their property, their family with deadly force no matter what. And that just isn't the case.

[TJ Holmes]

And some try to interpret the law just as what you said. I can defend my home no matter what with deadly force. And this is a case, Robes, that I think we are going to have have some tricky, tricky legal questions. This story comes to us out of Indiana, outside of Indianapolis. Town is called of all things, Whitestown. Do I have that right?

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, you do. It's called Whitestown.

[TJ Holmes]

Whitestown, a suburb of Indianapolis. But this is on November 5th that a woman showed up to a home with her husband cleaning crew. They're trying to open the door to get into this home. Just before 7am, shot rings out. Homeowner inside awakened, startled, didn't know what was happening at the front door. He claims shot once through the door, killing this 32 year old woman who was there with her husband to clean the house. It turns up robes, she had arrived at the wrong address. Those are the facts of the case. And this is where after that everybody has their own interpretation of what did happen, might have happened, should have happened.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. So the man who owned the home, 62 year old Kurt Anderson, by the way, he's now facing 10 to 30 years behind bars, $10,000 fine if convicted. But yeah, he says that he was awakened. And neither both of these accounts agree that the house cleaner and her husband were there on the porch for around a minute. So he says he heard loud clanking sound and that would presumably be the house cleaner going through the keys, a set of keys that her cleaning company gave her to open the door. She thought she and her husband believed they were walking into a model home. They didn't think anybody was inside. They didn't think anyone lived there. They thought this was just an empty home they were cleaning to be shown shortly. So they didn't ring the doorbell, they didn't knock on the door. She immediately was looking for the right key and of course she puts the key in. It's the wrong house, so it doesn't work. So I'm sure it made some clanking noise. But, but in that short period of time he went, according to him, to go get his gun. He loaded it. He said he bought it specifically to defend his property. And without saying anything, shouting anything, calling anyone, he fired through that front door. He and his wife never opened the front door, according to them, and she just called 911.

[TJ Holmes]

Police found the woman on the front porch. He never even went outside to see what was going on. Never checked, fired through the door. So herein lies the problem with this case. Robes it. Did he? Would you in the middle of the. No, it's not the middle of the night. It's almost seven in the morning. But let's say you don't wake up till nine. Whatever, you're asleep. You hear someone trying to get in through your front door. Do you have a reasonable fear for your life? And if you do, then a jury could possibly down the road say yeah, he was justified in firing that shot. That is going to be the central point of this case. Now is that reasonable?

[Amy Robach]

I don't think it is.

[TJ Holmes]

Prosecutor doesn't either.

[Amy Robach]

I don't think it's reasonable at all. There are plenty of other options you had. They hadn't come into the home. Now if they had opened the door, even if all the same circumstances were the same, somehow they were able to open the door and they walked in. That's scary as hell. I, I could, I could understand that from a legal standpoint, but they never were in your home. And just because someone is on your front porch and even if they're messing with the lock or seemingly trying to get in, that doesn't give you the right to use deadly force without even shouting out or asking a question. Who's there? What are you doing? You know, there could have been some kind of communication before a shot was fired.

[TJ Holmes]

Was the, the. It was daylight probably at 7am in November, right?

[Amy Robach]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

Indiana.

[Amy Robach]

Yep.

[TJ Holmes]

I don't know. That's going to be the center point. The centerpiece of his defense is that if I am sleep and somebody in my estimation is trying to get into my home, why should I not fear for my life? You talked about the door opening even then, like he might have a better case. But still for most of us, what are you allowed to do? What can you fear? We've seen police officers use a justification. I was scared for my life. And some of those. We've seen some police officers walk right out of court free men.

[Ed Helms]

Like what?

[TJ Holmes]

Because they are able to explain that I feared for my life. Is he going to be able to Explain that this was reasonable. Is that enough? What should he have done? Does he have to do anything? And we talked about this as well. You and I wrote, there are exceptions made. You can't just shoot the UPS guy because you heard somebody on your front porch, didn't look to see who it was, and you just went, pop, pop, pop. You can't do that.

[Amy Robach]

You can't.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. Your porch is different from the inside of your house. Now, we have expanded these Castle doctrine laws to be stand your ground laws. Castle doctrine is you come into my house, I can shoot you. Stand your ground is different.

[Amy Robach]

It can be anywhere. You can be anywhere that you are reasonably or you should be able to consider yourself reasonably safe to be. And you don't have to retreat. You don't have to run from whatever perceived danger you have. You have the right to stand your ground wherever you are and protect and defend yourself.

[TJ Holmes]

I think the key here is going to be the keys, right? Somebody's on your front porch, you don't shoot. You actually think, and you hear someone messing with the lock, messing with the door, trying to get in. What is your reasonable fear then? If you don't have family, friends, kids, nobody's coming to this house to be trying to get into this door. And if they are, they must mean me harm. Is that reasonable?

[Amy Robach]

I don't think so, because there are still a number of other possible explanations. This one, yes. Maybe he couldn't have come up with it because he didn't ask for a house cleaner to come to his house. He would never have thought that was the case. However, you don't know what someone's intentions are. You don't know why they're there. And if they're there to rob you. He didn't know if they were armed. He didn't know if they meant him harm. And I actually appreciate the way the prosecutor put it. He said that he didn't have enough information to know whether or not the action he took was reasonable. So he acted without information. He acted with emotion, not with information.

[TJ Holmes]

And here is where you would push back in court on that. The law does not require me to have all the information. It only says I can have a reasonable fear for my life. This is my home. And there is no chance robes at any of our homes we've ever lived in, that if we're awakened in the middle of the night or while we're sleeping, you are not going to think, hmm, I wonder if this person's at the right house. You're not gonna think, hmm, I wonder what mistake this could have been made. Let me go check. You're gonna think somebody's here to do me harm. And so is that enough? I don't have that answer legally.

[Amy Robach]

I think it's enough to react, to call out, to say, who's there, to grab your cell phone to call 91 1. All of those things are more reasonable than the choice he made to load a gun and shoot without looking. There could have been a child up there. There could have been anyone on that porch. He did not know, and he fired without knowing, and he knew he didn't know.

[TJ Holmes]

But is that what the law requires, me to gather information, or does it only give me the right if somebody's here uninvited, for me to shoot that person and use deadly force? That is what I am fascinated to hear because I'm putting. We all have to put ourselves in the position of this homeowner. Yeah. You'd be terrified.

[Amy Robach]

Oh, yes, scared.

[TJ Holmes]

So my first thought, I think, is not to shoot because I don't want to kill somebody. I mean, that's just your nature. You might go, hey, you might yell. You might throw something at the door. Bang, do something. Call 91 1.

[Amy Robach]

I mean, look, I could understand pointing the gun at the door, having your cell phone in the other hand, yelling, I have a gun. I am going to shoot, and then calling 911.

[TJ Holmes]

Do I have it right? Swear. He. He's. That's right. He saw through the window. He saw who was out there as well.

[Amy Robach]

He went and he looked around the window. He could see from the top of his stairs through the window. He could see that there were two people there. And that's when he decided to shoot?

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, he saw two people. Does that necessarily mean he saw exactly who it was, that they seemed to be a threat at that time of morning? We just don't know that part. This is. And you're seeing some legal debates already start on this one. This is going to be a very, very difficult case, Robes. Because I think now. And I'm asking about it here, so I've said it several times here, just you as a homeowner putting yourself in the position of you are asleep at night and you hear someone trying to open your door that you know no one should be trying to open it. That is fear. I am with you, though, that I wouldn't have such a fear of life that I might just start shooting blindly. But does the law allow him to do it?

[Amy Robach]

So according to an Indiana legal expert, acting out of fear is not enough to invoke. Stand your ground. When we come back, we're going to talk about what some legal experts have said their interpretation of this law in Indiana is. And certainly these laws vary state by state. And we have some very recent and some very high profile examples of cases similar to this. And different juries, different prosecutors made different choices in how to pursue charges.

[Josh Zieman]

A decade ago, I was on the trail of one of the country's most elusive serial killers. But it wasn't until 2023 when he was finally caught, the answers were there, hidden in plain sight. So why did it take so long to catch him? I'm Josh Zieman, and this is Monster Hunting the Long Island Serial Killer, the investigation into the most notorious killer in New York since the Son of Sam. Available now listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Amy Robach]

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[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

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I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

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[TJ Holmes]

I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff.

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That y' all said.

[Amy Robach]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[Maggie Freeling]

From lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[TJ Holmes]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley. Feed on the IHEARTRADIO app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcast.

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[Amy Robach]

Continuing now on Amy and TJ presents. This is a legal issue that we have been talking about for years and in this latest case out of Indiana, certainly ended in a tragic, tragic death of a mother of four, a Guatemalan immigrant who literally died in the arms of her husband trying to open a door with a key to the wrong house, to the wrong door to go to work. She was trying to clean a home along with her husband. She Was sent there as a part of a cleaning crew and just before 7am died with a single bullet to the head. The homeowner said he feared for his life. Now look, this is up for debate. It's a gray area. This, this law in 31 states, including Indiana stand your ground law gets interpreted differently by different folks and it's caused a lot of confusion and problems and certainly led to some very tragic high profile cases.

[TJ Holmes]

Has to be the Trayvon Martin is the most, the biggest standout case because I think that's when a lot of people first heard about it and first understood. Wait, wait a second, Wait, wait, wait. What? We couldn't believe that that law defended a man who killed a teenager, 17 year old kid, Skittles in his pocket. The law defended him because he was afraid. So when you talk to me about this story out of Indiana, after that experience, every stand your ground case I hear, I think, well, maybe they got.

[Amy Robach]

A shot exactly because of what happened in the Trayvon Martin George Zimmerman case. That flew in the face of what a lot of folks thought the stand your ground law was. Because yes, this Indiana legal expert said acting out of fear is not enough to stand to invoke stand your ground. That flies in the face of the verdict of George Zimmerman.

[TJ Holmes]

Reasonable. Didn't they use that word a lot? You had to have a reasonable person would have a reasonable fear. In those moments. They say fear is not enough. But if you have the reasonable expectation that you are going to be harmed, you have the right to not retreat, even if retreating is an option is what the laws say. Even if you have an exit, you have no obligation to run. If you think that death or bodily injury is imminent to you or somebody around you, imminent is a big deal. I think in the issue in Indiana, I don't know how he's going. I think in every stand your ground law, imminent is a key component. How could he make an argument that fear of bodily injury or death was imminent with somebody on the other side.

[Amy Robach]

Of the damn door, someone trying to insert a key, or someone who is rattling your door or trying to get it. That's still not an unlawful entry. Once they, if they had entered his home, he would have had a much stronger case. But they didn't. They were on the porch and they couldn't get in. It's reasonable to be scared. It's reasonable to call police. It's reasonable to shout out who's there? I have a gun, Leave my porch now. The point with the law is you are expected to at least Acknowledge or say leave my property. Anyone can come onto your porch. Just because you have private property doesn't mean that people, uninvited people, can't enter your property. I mean, you mentioned it. Pizza delivery, Amazon, ups, whatever, your neighbor who needs to borrow a cup of sugar, whatever. Anyone can go and walk onto your private property up until your porch and feel reasonably secure that they can do so. They legally have a right to. You then can say get off my property. Get off my porch. Leave. Now that is your right. And once you've done that and made that acknowledgment, then perhaps other factors can come in. But he never ever acknowledged or said anything. And the husband who was there on the porch said they didn't hear a peep from inside the house. They truly did not think anyone was.

[TJ Holmes]

They fired it from upstairs. Right?

[Amy Robach]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

He didn't even go downstairs to see what was going on, see what was happening.

[Amy Robach]

That is what's unreasonable. He had other options to assess what was going on. He chose not to use them and went straight to deadly force.

[TJ Holmes]

I, I don't. I mean that's the argument about stand your ground. Somebody could. If somebody's running towards you with a fly swatter said I'll whoop your ass. You can't pull out your gun and shoot him. That's not. You're not mean for. Exactly. So you can't do that. So this I don't know. But again I, I'm. I'm standing by and holding reservoir because I. Every single one of these stand your ground clays cases have blown my mind.

[Amy Robach]

Before and they've gone in either direction.

[TJ Holmes]

Jordan Davis was in Florida. Florida I believe as well. He was playing loud music at a gas station and a guy said he was felt in fear and shot kid. And that case went back and forth. A win and a loss and a loss. So I don't know. Yeah.

[Amy Robach]

Who knows what the jury's going to decide. We know the prosecutor is pursuing charges and I mentioned we covered this case quite extensively and we will follow it. The case out of Texas with the Ding dong ditch, the 11 year old playing a game, playing a childhood prank, ringing the doorbell.

[TJ Holmes]

And is he using a stand your ground?

[Amy Robach]

Yes, he is using stand your ground.

[TJ Holmes]

He hid in the bushes. That was that case right on his property. Yeah. After he did it a couple times. The kid did it a couple times.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[TJ Holmes]

He. Okay, he. He stalked the kid almost. He was lying in wait for that. That was a different type of thing. Who knows though, to your point about.

[Amy Robach]

Trayvon Martin and the case in Florida with the loud music, just when you think, well, obviously this person is going to be prosecuted and actually punished for taking a life of someone who actually wasn't posing a threat, you'd think that would be the case. But you do not know in these situations, because the, the, the language there is a gray area. And that's why a lot of folks are saying we should get rid of these laws, because it emboldens folks in moments of fear to do something that maybe they wouldn't otherwise do because they feel as though they are protected by the law, that they have every right to shoot first and ask questions later. And that is not the case.

[TJ Holmes]

We should have done this ahead of time. And I would be so curious to look up because I don't recall a single one. How many times has stand your ground been used or you've heard about killings when a criminal was there to rob the place? I don't hear about homeowners shooting people who are there to actually rob them. And I'm sure it probably, I guess, but all the stand your ground, all the cases I hear about have to do with someone who was not actually there to do a person harm. I would be very curious to see if, like, what use how important this law has been in helping what, save lives.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, you know, I think I've heard a case here or there, but it seems as though they pale in comparison in terms of numbers. I mean, I've heard like, you know, a homeowner, a woman, someone's coming in, she's got the gun. But again, I don't even know the details. I remember hearing one once, like, that's to your point.

[TJ Holmes]

And we might just not cover it.

[Amy Robach]

It might not rise to the level of being covered because it was affected or effectual, and it was a. The law was being put to use in the correct way. And so it doesn't make headlines.

[TJ Holmes]

But, but to think why is why this is necessary to protect you from making a mistake. It seemed like what it is so often, but it also seems like it gives you more permission to make that mistake.

[Amy Robach]

What I. And that's the point that people are making that basically because folks know, homeowners know, or even just people in general who pack heat, who have concealed weapons, know that, or they believe that it's their right to. To defend themselves, their property, their person, their family, no matter what. And that can be their first instinct, is to shoot first and to ask questions later. And that's the scary part. And when you have a Case like this, which is so tragic and so sad. I did read the part where they didn't go outside. They called 911. This is the husband and the wife who were inside the home, but they heard her husband wailing. There was a real tragic loss of life here For a woman who was just trying to do her job. It is incredibly sad.

[TJ Holmes]

We want to leave room robes for not knowing all the facts of what was going on in that house. Maybe there were other factors in this. You know what a court would consider, a jury might consider. What if their house was broken into two weeks ago? What if other things and other factors. You want to leave room. I don't want to. Yes. He took a life, and I don't think he wanted to. Right. This could have been just an awful mistake, A bad mistake, A bad judgment. And a good guy had a really bad night. We don't know. We always want to leave room for that. But this one, obviously, robes shouldn't have happened.

[Amy Robach]

It shouldn't have. And his wife, according to police reports, did say that her husband and she was always concerned, would tell neighbors he went out to purchase this gun specifically to protect his home.

[TJ Holmes]

And.

[Amy Robach]

And he said, if anyone were to ever try to come into my home, I would shoot them immediately. So he had it in his head that this is what he was supposed to do or that this is what he was going to do. And then, like, lo and behold, this situation happened, and he made good on what he said he would do.

[TJ Holmes]

And this is where I try to leave room as a homeowner in Georgia, where these laws were in place. Who was at home by myself in the middle of the day when three guys tried to break into my home in a coordinated effort, to which I went and immediately bought guns for that house the next day. And who live most of my time in the Atlanta area with guns in my house after that experience, the next time someone attempted to do anything like that to my home, I think my first instinct would be to pick up my gun. Now, I don't know what my reaction would have been, but I assure you I checked up on the law after I got those guns, and I knew what I was allowed to do. That sounds crazy. Sabine was months old at that point. She was supposed to be at home with me that day, and I just happened to be home alone. So all those things, if I am a juror listening to a story, you just don't know. I'm not saying what he did was right and justifying in any way, but as I and I know a lot of people are getting onto. And I put myself in that position of that fear, having gone through it, having had weapons, and having to have the experience of hearing something in the middle of the night in my home in Atlanta and knowing exactly where that gun was and that clip was and loaded it that night.

[Amy Robach]

So, wow.

[TJ Holmes]

I just.

[Amy Robach]

I have never heard this story before. Babe, I want to leave. I knew you were a gun owner, but I did not know that story.

[TJ Holmes]

That's we why I was a gun owner is because of that incident at that house. So these things are real and that fear is real. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And I hate what happened and can't imagine shooting through the door blindly. Can't imagine that. But we will see if we get to a trial and I wouldn't be surprised if there are things we are going to learn that will make this story probably sound different, maybe make a.

[Amy Robach]

Little bit more sense, but it still is a tragedy in and of itself. We will, of course, find, follow this case, and there is a lot more to come. He's behind bars right now, awaiting a hearing at this point, but again, facing a voluntary manslaughter charge. Thank you so much for listening to us, everyone. I'm Amy Roach alongside T.J. holmes. We always appreciate you. This is an iHeart podcast.