White Floridian convicted of killing black neighbor on doorstep

A white Florida woman was convicted of manslaughter on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a black neighbor during an ongoing dispute over children playing noisily outside her home. An all-white jury in Ocala found 60-year-old Susan Lorincz guilty after 2½ hours of deliberation, the AP reports. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. Lorincz had claimed self-defense when she fired a single shot from a .380-caliber pistol through her front door on June 2, 2023, killing 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens. In a videotaped interview, she told investigators she feared for her life as Owens screamed and pounded on her door.

“I thought I was in imminent danger,” she said in the interview. The altercation was the latest in a dispute between Lorincz and Owens over the latter's children playing on a lawn near both of their homes. Lorincz said in the interview that she had been bullied for most of the three years she lived in the neighborhood. The victim's family members burst into tears after Lorincz left the courtroom with officers. Lorincz showed no reaction or emotion when the verdict was announced. District Judge Robert W. Hodges did not set an immediate sentencing date but ordered a background report on Lorincz.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Rich Buxman said there was no evidence Owens posed an immediate physical threat to Lorincz, but she came to the defendants' home after her children complained that Lorincz had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them while they were upset about her boisterous play. “It's not a crime to bang on someone's door. It's not a crime to scream,” Buxman told jurors. A lawyer for Lorincz countered that she was frightened by Owens' aggressive behavior and was legally within her rights to fire her weapon under Florida's “stand your ground” law. An autopsy showed Owens weighed about 290 pounds; she was much taller and also younger than Lorincz. “She can defend herself,” said Amanda Sizemore, an assistant public defender.

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