A white Florida woman was convicted Friday of shooting and killing her black neighbor in a dispute over the victim’s children playing outside her home.
On June 2, 2023, in an Ocala, Florida courtroom, 60-year-old Susan Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter by an all-white jury after two and a half hours of deliberation in the death of mother-of-four Azike “AJ” Owens.
After a calm Lorincz was led away by police, Owens’ family began crying in the courtroom.
“The defendant’s choices have left four young children motherless and will leave them feeling the loss for the rest of their lives,” State’s Attorney William Gladson said in a statement. “Today’s sentence will not bring AJ back, but we hope it brings some justice and peace to her family and friends.”
During the trial, jurors were presented with evidence that Lorincz had fired one shot from a .380-caliber handgun into the door, shooting Owens, because he was “angry” about Owens’ four children playing on a grassy area near the Owens’ home.
Prosecutors said Lorincz complained that her children had harassed her for the nearly three years she lived there.
But Lorincz’s defense argued that he fired in self-defense after the much younger Owens, 35, who was much larger at 290 pounds, came banging on his door. Lorincz’s defense argued that his actions were lawful under Florida’s “self-defense” law, which allows for the use of deadly force in self-defense.
Ms. Owens had confronted Ms. Lorincz that day because her children had heard that an older neighbor had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them because they were playing loudly outside – a claim she had previously had over the same argument.
And in one 911 call, Lorinz complained, “I’m sick of these kids.”
Prosecutor Rich Baxman told jurors that this and other evidence proves Lorincz “was not scared, he was angry” when he shot Owens.
“It’s not a crime to bang on someone’s door. It’s not a crime to scream,” Baxman said in his closing argument. “There was no immediate danger when she fired the gun.”
Lorincz did not testify at the trial, but jurors heard a recording of her interview with police in which she said she had not intended to hurt Owens.
The case was mired in controversy last year after police took two weeks to charge Lorincz, and when they did, he was charged with the lesser charge of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder, which carries a maximum life sentence.
Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
With post wire
