The White Florida Woman Who Shot And Killed AJ Owens, Her Neighbor And A Black Mother Of 4, Found Guilty Of Manslaughter

Susan Lorincz, the Florida woman who shot and killed her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens in June 2023, has been convicted of manslaughter. On Aug. 16, a jury of six people convicted the 59-year-old white woman, who had admitted to killing her 35-year-old Black neighbor after a dispute about Owens’ kids playing in Lorincz’s yard.

According to WESH, prosecutors said Lorincz went to Owens’ house after the dispute and shot her through the locked front door. While the defense said Lorincz feared for her life, prosecutors added that Owens was unarmed and she didn’t threaten her neighbor.

“We are united in our grief, but we are also united in our hope for a better tomorrow,” the Owens family said in a statement on Aug. 15, per WESH.

BREAKING: Susan Lorincz has been found guilty of first-degree felony manslaughter with a firearm for the fatal shooting of her neighbor Ajike Owens through a locked front door last year. Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/lIpK7YiAER

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 16, 2024

Lorincz’s defense team used Florida’s Stand Your Ground law as they made their case in court. The jury, however, concluded that the Stand Your Ground law — which allows people to use deadly force when they feel threatened — doesn’t apply in this case.

“We still believe that ‘stand your ground’ is a discriminatory law that disproportionately impacts people of color,” attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Owens family, told reporters, per WESH. “We are grateful that in this case. The jury did not accept this law as justification for an unjustifiable killing.”

“The kids are hurting.” Pamela Dias, the mother of #AJOwens, says defendant #SusanLorincz was known as the “Karen of the neighborhood” and would always harass the children before fatally shooting Owens through a locked door.#CourtTV – FL v. #SusanLorincz pic.twitter.com/63zK9esoSe

— Court TV (@CourtTV) August 14, 2024

As Blavity reported, police arrested Lorincz in June 2023 and charged her with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault. The family criticized officials then for taking too long to bring the charges.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods released a statement on Facebook, saying the shooting was not a Stand Your Ground case.

“Now many of you were struggling to understand why there was not an immediate arrest,” the sheriff said on Facebook. “The laws here in the state of Florida are clear. Now I may not like them. I may not agree with them. But however, those laws I will follow.”

According to Blavity, Lorincz and Owens were feuding for years before the traffic dispute. Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said Lorincz had used racial slurs to insult the 35-year-old woman.