A jury on Friday found a white Florida woman guilty of shooting and killing a black mother of four children through the front door of her home, a case that outraged civil rights activists and the victim’s family.
Susan Lorincz denies the manslaughter of Azike “AJ” Owens, who visited her home to protest after the defendant assaulted Owens’ two children on June 2 last year. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison at a hearing to be held on a yet to be determined date.
Pamela Diaz, the victim’s 35-year-old mother, became emotional as the verdict was read after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
“Oh, thank you, God,” she said before leaving the courtroom.
The week-long trial before an all-white jury in Marion County heard that Owens and Lorincz had a history of rivalry, with neighbors saying Lorincz had previously yelled racial slurs at Owens’ children and had hit one of them with a roller skate he had thrown the day of the murder.
Other witnesses said Lorincz also threw an iPad and tried to hit the children with an umbrella.
The case has been mired in controversy since the moment Lorincz, 60, fired a single shot from inside his Ocala home, killing Owens. He acknowledged he did not see Owens behind a closed and locked door. He later claimed he acted in self-defense.
The defendant was arrested a few days later, Growing community unrest Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods initially said he was overwhelmed by Florida’s “self-defense” law, which allows deputies to use lethal force if they believe their life is in imminent danger.
Woods later admitted that the killing was unjustified, but added: Anger was aroused State Attorney Bill Gladson decided to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, rather than second-degree murder, as Owens’ family had expected.
“Her shooting, without being able to see who was on the other side of the door, was a reckless and wanton disregard for human life that is written into Florida’s second-degree murder statute,” said Melba Pearson, a civil rights attorney and director of the Prosecution Project at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.
Pearson, a former assistant state’s attorney who was not involved in the case, questioned why Gladson decided to pursue the lesser offense of manslaughter and not murder.
“You tell the jury, ‘This is second-degree murder. If you don’t agree with me, there’s the other option of manslaughter. If you really hate everything I did, well, that’s out of the question. You’re not guilty,'” she said.
“At the very least, you’re giving the jury a choice, even if you’re not 100% sure. But to me, the facts of this case, everything that came out at trial, did not shake my opinion that this was second-degree murder, a misdemeanor with intent.”
“While there is no scenario that does not fit the textbook definition of this charge, let’s be frank, Central Florida is not the most diverse area of the state, and unfortunately, as in the defendant’s case, there are people who hold racist views.”
Diaz said he was “shocked” that the jury, made up of six women and two men, was all white, and that the family’s lawyer, Anthony Thomas, said it did not represent the “racial and cultural diversity” of Ocala, a city whose minority population is 40 percent.
Prosecutors paid little attention to the racial aspects of the case, calling witnesses who described Lorincz as a curtain-pulling neighbor who frequently called police because he was annoyed by children playing noisily in a field next to his home.
Officers said she had called 911 multiple times over the past few months after arguments with Owens and her children. The two older boys, now ages 13 and 10, were involved in an incident in which Lorincz threw a skate, which prompted their mother to approach Lorincz’s house and bang on the door.
Meanwhile, witnesses to the fatal shooting testified that Owens was not armed and did not try to break down Lorincz’s door, as the defendant claimed in a police interview video played in court.
“She was so angry, I felt like I was in immediate danger,” Lorincz told detectives. “She was like, ‘I’m going to kill you!’ I thought she was going to come through that damn door.”
Lorincz declined to testify at the trial.
Several witnesses said they heard Owens banging hard on the door, and one said they heard her say, “Get out, bitch,” but no one said they heard any death threats, and none were captured on the Ring doorbell recording.
Prosecutors also noted that Lorincz had legally purchased two handguns after a previous disagreement with Owens, and that she had searched the internet for the language of Florida’s “self-defense” law and later cited it to investigators.
“Neighbors and family members went around the neighborhood and got ring footage and it was very clear to see that AJ was not trying to break into any homes or do anything like that, so it appears to have been a very sloppy, sloppy investigation from the get-go,” Pearson said.
“I think there was an undercurrent of race and racism and a belief that the defendant was in the right and that the victim was a violent, stereotypical type of person.”
In statements before the sentence, Owens’ family said the trial had been an “excruciating and emotional journey.”
“AJ’s death is more than just a tragedy; it reflects the systemic racism that continues to permeate every aspect of American life. Her story is a stark reminder of the countless lives unjustly taken, families torn apart, and communities living in fear of racist violence,” they said.
“But in this moment of deep sorrow and reflection, we remain hopeful. We hope this verdict is a step toward recognizing the humanity of each of us, regardless of the color of our skin. We hope this verdict will spark change and a deeper examination of the structures and systems that allow tragedies like this to happen.”
“Above all, we hope that AJ’s life, her accomplishments and her light will continue to inspire and advance the fight for equality and justice.”
