Florida woman sentenced for killing neighbor through door amid dispute with her kids

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) -- A 59-year-old woman will spend 25 years behind bars for fatally shooting her 35-year-old neighbor, a mother of four, through her front door.

The Florida State Attorney’s Office of the Fifth Judicial Circuit announced Susan Lorincz’s sentencing on Nov. 25 after a jury convicted her in August of manslaughter by use of a firearm in connection with Ajike "AJ" Owens’ death. According to prosecutors, the shooting occurred on June 2, 2023. In a press conference, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said deputies initially responded to a trespassing call, where they found Owens deceased.

According to the sheriff, the suspect and victim argued over "children being children" and playing on the neighbor’s property. The feud between the neighbors reportedly began in 2021, and authorities had responded to the area multiple times before.

Prior to the defendant’s initial arrest, investigators reportedly looked into whether Lorincz fired her gun under the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Woods said, "Any time we believe or perceive that might come into play, we cannot make an arrest. What we have to rule out is whether deadly force was justified before we can even make an arrest."

In a statement released June 5, 2023, attorney Ben Crump, who represented Owens’ family, said the children, who are Black, were playing in a field near an apartment complex when the defendant "began yelling at them to get off her land and calling them racial slurs." The kids reportedly left behind an iPad, which Lorincz allegedly took.

Crump alleges that one of the victim’s children attempted to retrieve the iPad, and the defendant threw it, hit the child, and cracked the screen. When Owens confronted her neighbor, she allegedly fatally shot her through the door.

Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson said, "The outcome of this trial reflects our commitment to justice and the integrity of our legal system."

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