Source: Marion County Sheriff's Office / MCSO
Susan Loringthe white woman who fatally shot her Black neighbor Ajike Owenshe received a 25-year prison sentence for the crime.
On Monday (November 25), Susan Lorincz, a white woman from Ocala, Florida, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting her neighbor Ajike (AJ) Owens. The incident in which Owens, a black woman, lost her life sparked waves of outrage across the nation and reignited the debate over Florida's controversial “Stand Your Ground” gun laws. Lorincz shot Owens in the chest through her locked front door last June after Owens (who was unarmed) confronted Lorincz for yelling at her children and throwing skates at them.
Owens' family had originally sought charges of second-degree murder, but prosecutors chose to charge Loringz with involuntary manslaughter. Judge Robert Hodges told the court he had considered defense testimony that Lorincz, 60, was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, and that she had no criminal record. “I find that the shooting was completely unnecessary,” he ruled, noting that Lorincz was safe in her home and that law enforcement was on the way. “I find the shooting was more anger-based than fear-based.”
Lorincz addressed the court after several others spoke in her defense at sentencing, including her sister who revealed that Lorincz suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their father which affected her. “I am so sorry for taking AJ's life. I never intended to kill her,” Loring said. “I couldn't understand why she was so angry.” Her voice breaking, she continued, “I wish I could go back and change things so she was still here. I would trade my life.” Witnesses testified that Lorincz harassed other children in the neighborhood, with some reporting her calling them racial slurs. Lorincz admitted to some of this behavior in interviews with detectives.
Owens' mother, Pamela Diaz, said her 10-year-old grandson witnessed the fatal shooting in an interview with CBS This Morning. “I still can't believe this happened,” Dias said at the time. “When does a man get shot for knocking on a door?” She was overcome with emotion during the deposition about the loss of her daughter and how it affected the four children they left behind, saying she was “a mere shell of the person I once was.”
