Jury convicts white Florida woman in fatal shooting of her black neighbor

A white Florida woman was convicted of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a black neighbor on Friday after a jury rejected her claims that she fired through a metal door in self-defense, amid an ongoing dispute over unfolding of the children playing outside her house.

The all-white jury in Ocala, Florida found Susan Lorincz, 60, guilty after 2 1/2 hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Lorincz claimed self-defense when he fired a single shot with a .380-caliber handgun through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens.

The confrontation was the latest in a dispute between Lorincz and Owens over Owen’s children playing in a grassy area near both homes. Prosecutors said Owens came to Lorincz’s home after her children complained he had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them, amid long-standing anger over their loud play outside.

Lorincz told detectives in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life as Owens screamed and pounded on the door.

“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she said.

Lorincz also said she was bullied for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.

Family members of the victim broke down in tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with deputies. She showed no reaction or emotion when the verdict was announced.

Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges did not immediately set a sentencing date, but ordered a background report on Lorincz.

The lawyer for the victim’s family says they will push for the maximum prison sentence

Anthony Thomas, an attorney for the Owens family, said they will push for the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said she was relieved by the guilty verdict.

“We got some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,” Dias told reporters outside court. “It has been a long journey to reach this stage, to reach this verdict. I find some peace with that verdict.”

State’s Attorney William Gladson, whose office prosecuted the case, said it was a “tragic reminder” of the consequences of gun violence.

“The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,” Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict cannot bring AJ back, we hope it will bring some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

During closing arguments, prosecutor Rich Buxman said there was no evidence Owens posed an imminent physical threat to Lorincz.

“It’s not a crime to bang on somebody’s door. It’s not a crime to scream,” Buxman told jurors. “There was no imminent danger when she fired that gun.”

The defense argued that “stand your ground” applied.

An attorney for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens’ aggressive actions and was legally justified in firing her gun under Florida’s “stand your ground” law. An autopsy found that Owens weighed about 290 pounds, making her much bigger and younger than Lorincz, and the two had previous confrontations.

Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner/AP

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“He can defend himself,” said Amanda Sizemore, assistant public defender. “He had a split second to make a decision whether or not to fire his weapon.”

Lorincz did not testify in his own defense, but said in an interview with detectives that was played for jurors that he never intended to harm Owens. Still, in a 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, “I’m sick of these kids.”

“She wasn’t afraid. She was angry,” Buxman said.

Owens’ family expressed surprise that no black jurors were selected for the trial, given the racially sensitive nature of the case. There were protests in the black community when prosecutors had weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser charge than second-degree murder, which carries a possible life sentence.

The county clerk said in an email that eight black people were among the 70 on the original jury pool. Instead, 49 were white and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as “other,” the clerk’s office said, based on records provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Ocala is about 80 miles northwest of Orlando in central Florida. Marion County’s black population is about 12 percent, according to census figures.

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