A white Florida woman was convicted Friday of fatally shooting her black neighbor in an ongoing feud about the victim’s children playing outside their homes.
Susan Lorincz, 60, was found guilty of manslaughter by an all-white jury in an Ocala, Fla., court after two-and-a-half hours of deliberations over the death of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a mom of four, on June 2, 2023.
Owens’ family began sobbing in the courtroom gallery after a stoic Lorincz was escorted out by deputies.
“The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,” State Attorney William Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict can’t bring AJ back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”
Over the course of the trial, the jury was presented with evidence that Lorincz fired off her .380-caliber handgun once through her door, striking Owens because she was “angry” over Owens’ four kids playing in a grassy space by their houses.
Lorincz had complained the children had been harassing her for nearly the entire three years she’d lived there, prosecutors claimed.
But Lorincz’s defense attorneys argued that she fired her weapon in self-defense, saying a much larger 290-pound and far younger Owens, 35, came banging on her door. Her lawyers said her actions were legal under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which allows people to use deadly force in cases of self-defense.
Owens confronted Lorincz that day after her kids told her that the older neighbor chucked roller skates and an umbrella at them for their rowdy playing outside. Owens and Lorincz had had prior tiffs for the same reason.
And in one 911 call, Lorincz had whinged, “I’m just sick of these children.”
Prosecutor Rich Buxman told the jury that this and other evidence proved that Lorincz “was not in fear, she was angry” when she shot Owens.
“It’s not a crime to bang on somebody’s door. It’s not a crime to yell,” Buxman said during closing arguments. “There was no imminent danger whatsoever when she fired that gun.”
While Lorincz didn’t testify at trial, the jury did hear a recording of her taped interview with the police saying she never meant to hurt Owens.
The case sparked controversy last year when cops took two weeks to charge Lorincz and when she was finally charged it was with a lesser count of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder — which carries a maximum of life in prison.
Lorincz faces up to 30 years behind bars. A sentencing date hasn’t yet been set.
With Post wires
