Woman charged with manslaughter in death of neighbor

Ben Crump holds press conference in Ocala on June 7.

Just hours after the Marion County Sheriff Office (MCSO) arrested Susan Louise Lorincz on a charge of manslaughter with a firearm in the death of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a nationally known civil rights attorney joined family members and friends at a press conference.

Owens, the mother of four children ages 3 to 12, was shot and killed on June 2 while reportedly standing outside a neighbor’s front door. That neighbor was Lorincz. Law enforcement described an ongoing feud between the neighbors and a confrontation at the time of the shooting.

Delays in levying the charges were caused by the investigation of the shooting “bound by law,” including checking any self-defense claim, seeking witnesses, setting up interviews for Owens’ children with qualified interviewers at Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection and checking for surveillance videos, according to MCSO news releases.

Ben Crump is the nationally known attorney. Florida attorney Anthony D. Thomas, a native of Ocala, is co-counsel on the case.

Owens was Black and Lorincz is white. Some members of the Black community and Owens’ family criticized the pace of the investigation and lack of criminal charges early in the case.

Thomas described Owens’ actions before the shooting as simply those of an unarmed and concerned parent going next door to ask about an incident involving her children. He said Owens’ family pressed for an immediate arrest of the neighbor.

Woods described a “neighborhood feud over time” involving kids playing on a property and “being children.” He said he wished Owens or the neighbor had called MCSO during the time leading up to the shooting.

In the hours between the death and the arrest, there were other press conferences and calls for action. Woods maintained that his agency needed time to properly conduct the investigation.

Crump said during the press conference on Wednesday that he was “grateful and thankful” to Woods for making the arrest, which was a “great relief” for the family and thanked the community and activists” all across America who called for “swift justice.”

Crump said the hours that passed since her daughter was killed must have “seemed like years” to Owens’ mother Pamela Dias.

According to the MCSO news releases, “Owens approached Lorincz’s home, knocked on the door multiple times, and demanded that Lorincz come outside. Lorincz then fired one shot through the door, striking Owens in her upper chest. At the time she was shot, Owens’ 10-year-old son was standing beside her.”

“Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense and that Owens had been trying to break down her door prior to her discharging her firearm. Lorincz also claimed that Owens had come after her in the past and had previously attacked her. Through their investigation – including obtaining the statements of eyewitnesses who only came forward as late as yesterday – detectives were able to establish that Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law,” according to the release.

The charge for Lorincz, 58, can carry a 30-year prison sentence.

At the Wednesday press conference, Crump said the children “did nothing wrong” and were just “playing like kids.”

Crump told the “Gazette” after the press conference that additional legal action might be considered but right now he is focused on a conviction.

“The arrest is the first step, now it’s up to the State Attorney,” Crump said, adding he’d like to see the charges against Lorincz “upgraded to the full extent.”

Dias spoke of the impact on the children witnessing the tragedy and said they “will never have their mother.”

Ajike “AJ” Owens and her family

“Now we have to raise these children as my daughter would have us do,” she said. She asked that her daughter not die “in vain.”

Rev. Jerone Gamble, with the Marion County Chapter of the NAACP, spoke at the press conference Wednesday about local efforts to curb gun violence. Afterwards, he questioned how some details of the arrest were handled, including “there was (investigation) of the Stand Your Ground” law but no mention of a hate crime.”

Woods said his office protects and serves all residents, “no exceptions,” and his “heart goes out to the family. Pray for the children,” he said.

Owens‘ pre-teen son, who has not been identified by name by the family, stepped forward at a press conference on Monday and said, “I just want to thank everyone for coming out for my mother.”

A Go Fund Me account has been set up for the Owens family and had received $177,025 in donations as of Wednesday afternoon. It can be found at gofundme.com/f/Justice-for-Ajike-Owens