A white Florida woman was convicted Friday of manslaughter in the after the jury rejected her claims that she fired through a metal door in self-defense amid an ongoing dispute over children playing outside her home.
The all-white jury in Ocala, Florida, found 60-year-old Susan Lorincz guilty after 2 1/2 hours of deliberation. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. Lorincz had when she fired a single shot with a .380-caliber handgun through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old .
She told detectives in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life as Owens yelled and pounded on her door.
鈥淚 thought I was in imminent danger,鈥� she said in the interview.
The confrontation was the latest in a dispute between Lorincz and Owens over the latter鈥檚 children playing in a grassy area near both of their houses. Lorincz said in the interview she had been harassed for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood.
The victim鈥檚 family members 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 to be done on Lorincz.
Anthony Thomas, an attorney for the Owens family, said they would push for the maximum 30-year prison term. Owens' mother, Pamela Dias, said she took some solace from the guilty verdict.
鈥淲e've achieved some justice for Ajike. My heart is a little lighter,鈥� Dias told reporters outside the courthouse. 鈥淭his has been a long journey to get to this stage, to get to this verdict. I find some peace with that verdict.鈥�
State Attorney William Gladson, whose office prosecuted the case, said it was 鈥渁 tragic reminder鈥� of the consequences of gun violence.
鈥淭he defendant's choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,鈥� Gladson said in a statement. 鈥淲hile today's verdict can't bring A.J. back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.鈥�
During closing arguments, prosecutor Rich Buxman had said there was no evidence that Owens posed an imminent physical threat to Lorincz but came to the defendant's house after her children complained Lorincz had allegedly thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them amid a long-running annoyance at their boisterous play outside.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a crime to bang on somebody鈥檚 door. It鈥檚 not a crime to yell,鈥� Buxman told jurors. 鈥淭here was no imminent danger whatsoever when she fired that gun.鈥�
A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens' aggressive actions and in firing her gun under Florida's law. An autopsy found Owens weighed about 290 pounds (130 kilograms), making her much larger as well as younger than Lorincz, and the two had previous confrontations.
鈥淪he can defend herself," said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender. 鈥淪he had a split second to make a decision whether or not to fire her weapon.鈥�
Lorincz did not testify in her own defense but said in an interview with detectives that was played for jurors that she never intended to harm Owens. Still, in one 911 call, Lorincz told a dispatcher, 鈥淚'm just sick of these children.鈥�
鈥淪he was not in fear. She was angry,鈥� Buxman said.
Owens鈥� family has expressed surprise 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 , a lesser count than second-degree murder which carries a potential life prison sentence.
The county court clerk鈥檚 office said in an email that eight Black people were among the 70 in the initial jury pool. In contrast, 49 were white and 10 were listed as Hispanic, two as Asian and one as 鈥渙ther,鈥� the clerk鈥檚 office said, based on records provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Ocala is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Orlando in central Florida. Marion County's Black population is about 12%, according to census figures.
Curt Anderson, The Associated Press
