A white Florida lady who fatally shot a Black neighbor through her front door amid an ongoing disagreement over the neighbor’s rowdy children was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday for manslaughter.
Susan Lorincz, 60, was found guilty in August of killing 35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens with a single shot from her.380-caliber handgun in June 2023.
The shooting was the result of a long-running dispute between the two neighbors over Owens’ children playing in a grassy area near both of their homes in Ocala, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando.
Prosecutors claimed Owens went to Lorincz’s house after her children reported that she had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them, which Lorincz disputed. Trial testimony revealed that Owens, a mother of four young children, was knocking on Lorincz’s door and yelling, prompting Lorincz to claim self-defense in shooting her neighbor.
Lorincz told detectives in a filmed interview that she was afraid for her life. She also claimed she had been harassed for the most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.
“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she stated.
The jury did not concur with her self-defense claim.
Following Lorincz’s conviction by an all-white jury, Owens’ family advocated for the maximum prison sentence.
“While we mourn the loss of Ajike, we remain hopeful that justice will be served and that the court will impose the maximum penalty for Susan Lorincz’s actions,” Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said in an email statement before to Monday’s sentencing. “Ajike’s legacy will live on through her children, and we will continue to fight for justice.”
Lorincz’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Amanda Sizemore, requested a more lenient sentence, an undefined term less than the state guidelines’ minimum of 11.5 years in jail for her offense.
Sizemore stated in court filings that there are various reasons to justify a downward departure, including a mental condition and assertions that Owens was the aggressor and was under “extreme duress” during the encounter.
Protests erupted in Ocala’s Black community as prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser offense than second-degree murder, which carries a potential life term. According to census data, the Black population of Marion County, which includes Ocala, is approximately 12%.