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A white woman from Central Florida who fatally shot her Black neighbor during a dispute last year is guilty of manslaughter, a jury determined on Friday.
An all-white jury found Susan L Lorincz, 60, guilty of manslaughter in the death of 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens, a single mother of four, after deliberating for about two hours during a four-day trial. Lorincz sat motionless as the verdict was handed down in the courtroom.
On 2 June 2023, Owens’ children had been playing in a field near Lorincz’s residence in Ocala, where both the women lived. Lorincz had started an argument with the children, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said at the time, before throwing a pair of skates at them, striking Owens’ 10-year-old son on the toe.
Owen’s 12-year-old son then went to confront the woman, who opened the door and swung at him with an umbrella. The children then went back home to tell their mother what had happened.
The women had a long-standing feud about Owens’ children playing outside. Lorincz had previously called police claiming Owens threw a “no trespassing” sign at her in February 2022. In April 2023, Lorincz once again called police, saying Owens had repeatedly opened her mailbox over the course of 10 days. No arrests were made as a result of the calls.
But in June, Owens marched over to Lorincz’s home, knocked on her door and demanded that she come outside. Instead, using a .380-caliber handgun, Lorincz fired one shot through the door, hitting Owens in the upper chest region. The mother’s 10-year-old son was standing next to her at the time.
When deputies arrived at Lorincz’s apartment, they found Owens in front of the door with a gunshot wound. Authorities rendered aid until emergency personnel transported her to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
After the incident and at trial, Lorincz maintained that she acted in self-defense out of fear for her life. In a letter she wrote to Owens’ family, she said: “I am so sorry for your loss. I was terrified your mom was going to kill me. I shot out of fear.”
Authorities were not able to arrest her initially as they worked to determine whether Florida’s “stand your ground” law applied to the case. The law allows residents in some instances to use deadly force on their property to defend against violent crimes.
Owens was unarmed at the time. A series of interviews, including forensic interviews with Owens’ children, revealed that the law would not apply. Lorincz was arrested on 6 June 2023 and charged with manslaughter with a firearm. Officials said they did not have enough evidence to charge her with murder.
Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Lorincz will remain in custody without bond until then.
Several members of Owens’ family cried as the proceedings concluded. Once Lorincz left the courtroom, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, yelled out: “Oh God. Thank you, Jesus.”
Speaking to reporters, Dias said, “She set out to cause harm. She set out to kill. That’s exactly what she did….She has no regard for any form of human life.”
The case gained national attention for the delay in Lorincz’s arrest, putting a spotlight on “stand your ground” laws following several incidents of residents shooting at unarmed people for stepping onto their property.
Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney, represented Owens’ family following the incident and criticized laws such as the one that kept Lorincz on the streets for days following the woman’s death.
“While we are relieved that the woman apparently responsible for the tragic killing of Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens has been arrested, we are no less concerned that accountability has taken this long because archaic laws like ‘stand your ground’ exist,” he said.
“What does it say when a person can shoot and kill an unarmed mother in the presence of her young children, and not be immediately taken into custody, questioned and charged?”
