Susan Lorincz trial: Jury finds woman guilty of manslaughter for shooting Ocala neighbor through front door

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - Guilty.

That’s what a jury decided in a case where a woman shot and killed her neighbor through her front door.

The jury found out Monday they would be the ones to decide what happens in this case. Throughout the week, they heard testimony from witnesses – both from this incident and from encounters the neighbors had in the past. They also heard experts give their opinions on high-stress situations and saw animated models of the shooting that took place on June 2, 2023, in an Ocala neighborhood. 

In the end, it took the jury two and a half hours to make this decision. 

"This case is about perception," Chief Assistant Public Defender Amanda Sizemore told the jurors Friday in her closing arguments. And what they perceived is that Susan Lorincz showed reckless disregard to human life, or was culpably negligent when she shot and killed her neighbor, Ajike "AJ" Owens.

Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, was in the courtroom to hear the decision.

"Oh God! Thank you, Jesus!" Dias exclaimed as Lorincz walked out of the courtroom. 

Dias and Owens' other family members spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. 

"Although my daughter is gone forever, the children’s mom is gone forever, we’ve achieved some justice for Ajike," she said. 

Susan Lorincz Trial Day 1: Neighbors, deputies, investigators recall night of shooting 

On the night of June 2, 2023, Lorincz called 911, complaining about kids who were playing in a field next to her apartment. Right before making the call, Lorincz had been videotaping the kids playing outside. Witnesses said she threw roller skates at them and swung an umbrella toward them.

Lorincz told the 911 dispatcher the young children had threatened her and she was scared for her life.

"Does she run for her life, barricade her house that very moment?" questioned Chief Homicide Prosecutor for the 5th Judicial Circuit, Richard Buxman. "No, she’s outside taking more video."

Two and a half minutes after Lorincz hung up with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Owens was shot and killed.

"Every person has a duty to act reasonably to others. If there is a violation of that duty, that is negligence," said Judge Robert Hodges, who was presiding over this case.

Owens went over to confront Lorincz at her unit. Several witnesses testified that Owens was banging on the door hard and yelling loudly and angrily.

Susan Lorincz Trial Day 2: Suspect was on narcotics during deadly shooting, prosecutors say 

Lorincz said she thought Owens was going to kill her, but she was standing inside her home with a door between them and did not say Owens was actually trying to wiggle the doorknob or get inside.

Witnesses testified they heard Owens yelling at Lorincz to come out. Lorincz claimed Owens repeatedly shouted, "I’m going to kill you," but not a single witness said they heard that.

"The crux of this case is whether at the time she fired her weapon at that closed, locked, deadbolted door, is whether she believed she had to prevent imminent danger," Buxman said. 

The prosecution pointed out that while Owens was banging on the door, Lorincz knew deputies were on their way already – and she didn’t lock the extra chain on her door or go into another room to hide. Instead, she went and grabbed a gun, walked up to the door – never checking who else might be out there or whether Owens was armed – and she fired a shot through the door.

"Her actions are completely inconsistent with somebody being in fear of their life," argued Buxman. 

The defense argued up and down that Lorincz was terrified, that she acted in fear, and thought her life was under an imminent threat. The judge asked Lorincz whether she wanted to testify on her own behalf, but she declined. 

Sizemore showed a graph of possible options where the jury would have to find Lorincz not guilty, saying any shred of reasonable doubt would mean the jury would have to set Lorincz free. If they thought it might be self-defense, they should come back with a not guilty verdict.

"Even if you think it probably wasn’t self-defense, that’s not guilty," said Sizemore.

Susan Lorincz Trial Day 3: State rests in trial of woman accused of shooting, killing neighbor through door  

But the jury decided, they had no doubt whatsoever: Lorincz is guilty of manslaughter with a firearm. 

"My heart is a little lighter," said Dias. "We are now on the true path of healing."

The family said that for them, this still isn’t over. They know Lorincz has been found guilty, but they don’t know exactly what that will mean for her future.

The judge still has to decide her sentence. She could be in prison until she’s 90 years old. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date. She will remain in custody without bond until that time. 

Dias says Owens’ four children are in counseling, and this is a burden they’ll carry for the rest of their lives. But the family said this puts them on the path toward justice.

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