A white woman accused of shooting her black neighbor to death during a two-year feud has been released on $154,000 bail.
Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, is accused of shooting 34-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens in front of her nine-year-old son after the mother of four assaulted her Friday in Ocala, Florida, for assaulting her children.
She has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree felony charge of manslaughter with a firearm, as well as counts of culpable negligence, battery and assault.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Hodges ordered Lorincz to wear an ankle bracelet and to stay away from the family of her murdered neighbor.
“We’re pleased, but we’re not satisfied,” said Anthony Thomas, a lawyer for the Owens family. “Certainly, we would have liked a surety for something consistent with the deed. Usually against a premeditated charge, usually without bail, especially if the act was committed with a gun.”
Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, has been released on $154,000 bail. She is accused of shooting her black neighbor through a door
Lorincz is accused of killing 34-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens in front of her 10-year-old son after the mother of four assaulted her Friday in Ocala, Florida, for assaulting her children.
One of Ajike Shantrell Owens’ children is comforted during a press conference at New St. John Missionary Baptist Church Monday
Lorincz said she had a headache the day of the shooting and children were running and screaming outside her apartment, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
That night, while some kids were playing basketball, Lorincz allegedly threw a pair of roller skates at them and hit one on the feet.
Owens then approached her and knocked on her door, with Lorincz telling investigators that Owens threatened to kill her and banged on the door so hard she feared Owens would break into him.
Lorincz fired a single bullet from her .380-caliber handgun, the sheriff’s report says, which went through the locked door and fatally struck Owens.
She told investigators she called Owens’ children racial slurs, including “the n-word,” in the months before the murder, according to a police report.
Lorincz also claimed that Owens had come after her in the past and attacked her before.
One of Owens’ children reportedly told police that Lorincz “came out of her house and gave the kids the middle finger” and said, “Get out of my house, black slave.”
Authorities had postponed her arrest for several days, until Tuesday, pending a possible stand your ground claim. Detectives have since said Lorincz’s actions are not justified under Florida law.
Under Florida’s stand your ground law, people are essentially allowed to use deadly force if they feel their lives are in danger.
But police later confirmed that through their investigation and eyewitness testimony, they were able to determine that “Lorincz’s actions were not warranted under Florida law,” and subsequently made the arrest.
Sheriff Billy Woods said deputies have answered at least half a dozen calls since January 2021 related to what police described as a feud between Owens and Lorincz.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support funeral and memorial expenses, the education of Owens’ children, and housing and living expenses for the family. Nearly $120,000 has been raised to date to support the bereaved with a goal of $500,000.
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, has said she will raise the four children, who are three, seven, nine and 12 years old.
A memorial service was held Thursday at the Immerse Church of Ocala for Owens.