A white woman in central Florida who fatally shot his neighbor, a black mother of fourclaims she did it because she feared for her own life – but the victim’s mother said “She set out to kill.”
Susan Lorincz, 60, is charged with murder in the death of 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. She has pleaded not guilty.
Lorincz shot Owens through the locked front door of her apartment after her neighbor pounded on the door in the middle of a dispute involving Owens’ children.
According to Assistant Public Defender Morris Carranza, Lorincz became frightened when Owens, who was younger, taller and weighed more than his client, allegedly threatened to kill her. Lorincz, panicking and fearing for his life, fired a single shot with his .380-caliber handgun through her door, Carranza said.
Owens, who was unarmed, died after being shot in the chest.
“I never intended to kill. I was shaking,” Lorincz told Marion County detectives the day of the shooting, saying in a taped interview that she felt she “was in mortal danger.”
The two women had previously argued over Owen’s children. In the interview, which was played in court Wednesday, Lorincz claimed she felt harassed by the children for most of the three years she lived in their shared apartment complex.
“Every time they see me, they gather and scream and scream,” she said.
Their final confrontation took place when a group of children, including Owen’s children, were playing in an area outside their home.
Lorincz allegedly threw roller skates at the children and later waved an umbrella at them, Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Smith said.
She denies that she threw anything at the children. She also said she was just trying to get Owens to “go away” and claimed she didn’t know who was outside her door when she pulled the trigger. Owen’s 10-year-old son was standing nearby when his mother was shot.
Owens’ mother disputed Lorincz’s account, telling reporters that she was “trying to cause harm.”
“That’s exactly what she did,” Pamela Dias said. “She has no regard for any kind of human life. Certainly not my family.”
An all-white jury, six jurors and two alternates, began hearing evidence Tuesday.
Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Her trial is expected to last all week, according to the Ocala Star-Banner.
With News Wire Services