Woman who fatally shot neighbor Ajike Owens found guilty of manslaughter

Susan Lorincz, the Florida woman who fatally shot her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door in June 2023 in an ongoing feud about the victim’s children playing outside their homes, was found guilty Friday, Aug. 16.

Found guilty

An all-white jury in an Ocala, Fla., found Lorincz, 60, guilty of manslaughter after two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

After the verdict, Lorincz appeared to shrug her shoulders before she left the courtroom with correctional officers, reports ABC News.

“Oh, God! Thank you, Jesus!” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, yelled after Lorincz left the room.

“Today, our family can sleep a little better knowing that Susan Lorincz will no longer be a threat to our community, especially to my grandchildren,” Dias told ABC News. “While this verdict does not bring my daughter AJ back to us, it does bring a sense of peace that we have long sought,” she said.

“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.”

Trial for shooting Ajike “AJ” Owens

During the trial, prosecution presented the jury with evidence that Lorincz fired 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 the 35-year-old Owens came banging on her door. Her lawyers maintained 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 threw roller skates and an umbrella at them for their “unruly” playing outside. Owens and Lorincz had had prior disagreements for the same reason.

Susan Lorincz was “not in fear”

Prosecutors told the jury that this and other evidence proved that Lorincz “was not in fear, she was angry” when she fatally 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, the jury did hear a recording of her taped interview with the police saying she never meant to hurt Owens.

Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced.