A Florida woman who shot and killed her neighbor in a long-running dispute over children playing was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison.
Susan Lorincz told the court she was afraid and “never intended to kill anyone” when she fired a single shot through her closed door and killed Ajike “AJ” Owens, a mother of four, on June 2, 2023, WKMG reported.
But 5th District Judge Robert Hodges disagreed.
“The shooting was completely unnecessary in this case,” he said. “The shooting, I find, was based more in anger than in fear.”
Prosecutors had asked Hodges to impose the maximum 30 year year sentence after a jury took less than three hours to find the 60-year-old Lorincz guilty of manslaughter.
Owens knocked on Lorincz’s door to talk about threats she allegedly made to the children, and Lorincz, without opening the door, opened fire. Lorincz claimed self-defense. Neighbors, however, described her as a hostile person who often harassed children in the area and made false police reports.
Among those police reporters were multiple complaints about children playing in a field near her apartment, including on the day of the fatal shooting. Witnesses said Lorincz threw a pair of skates at the children, hitting one, and that she swung an umbrella at them. Owens’ oldest son was among the children that day, and she went to Lorincz’s apartment to confront her.
Owens knocked on the door, and Lorincz, instead of calling police again, grabbed her gun and fired without knowing whether Owens was armed (she wasn’t) or who else was with her (her oldest son saw his mother shot and killed).
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said after the sentencing hearing that she was pleased with the result, even though it fell short of the maximum.
“The children are left for a lifetime of scars. Not 10, 20, 30 years,” she said. “A lifetime of scars and trauma.”
Asked about Lorincz’s apology during the hearing, Dias said it was a “lackluster” attempt to save herself, the Ocala Star-Banner said.
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[Featured image: Ajike Owens/Handout]
