Jury convicts white woman of fatally shooting her black neighbor during ongoing argument

(AP) – A white Florida woman was found guilty of manslaughter Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a black neighbor after the jury rejected her claim that she fired through a metal door in self-defense during a dispute over children playing outside her home that left her dead.

The all-white jury in Ocala, Florida, found 60-year-old Susan Lorincz guilty after two and a half hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison when the verdict is announced. She had claimed self-defense when she fired a single shot through her front door with a .380-caliber pistol on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens.

The altercation was the latest in a dispute between the two neighbors over Owens' children playing on a lawn near both of their homes. Prosecutors said Owens came to Lorincz's house after her children complained that she had allegedly thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them while they were upset about her boisterous play outside.

In a videotaped interview, Lorincz told investigators that she feared for her life as Owens screamed and banged on her door.

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

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

The victim's relatives burst into tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with the officers. When the verdict was announced, she showed no reaction or emotion.

District Judge Robert W. Hodges did not set an immediate sentencing date, but ordered a background report on Lorincz.

Anthony Thomas, a lawyer for the Owens family, said they would argue for the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Owens' mother, Pamela Dias, said the guilty verdict was a comfort to her.

“We have achieved some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,” Dias told reporters outside the courthouse. “It was a long road to this point, to this verdict. I have found some peace with this verdict.”

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

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

In his closing argument, prosecutor Rich Buxman said there was no evidence that Owens posed an immediate physical threat to Lorincz.

“It's not a crime to bang on someone's door. It's not a crime to scream,” Buxman told jurors. “There was no immediate danger when she fired the gun.”

A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens' aggressive behavior and was legally justified in firing her weapon under Florida's “stand your ground” law. An autopsy found that Owens weighed about 290 pounds (130 kilograms), making her much larger and younger than Lorincz, and the two had previously clashed.

“She is capable of defending herself,” said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender. “She only had a split second to decide whether or not to fire her weapon.”

Lorincz did not testify, but said in an interview with investigators that was played to the jury that she never intended to harm Owens. Still, in a 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, “I'm just sick of these kids.”

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

Owens' family has 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 took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser offense than second-degree murder that carries a possible life sentence.

The county clerk's office said in an email that of the 70 jurors in the original pool, eight were black. That compares with 49 who were white, and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as “other,” the clerk's office said, citing records from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Ocala is located about 80 miles northwest of Orlando in central Florida. According to the census, the black population in Marion County is about 12%.

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