The Florida woman accused of gunning down a young mom of four through her front door claimed the victim’s kids had previously threatened to kill her – despite her own history of violence towards the children, one of whom she once referred to as a “black slave,” officials said.
Susan Louise Lorincz appeared in a Marion County Court Thursday, wearing a ‘suicide vest’ — designed to prevent the wearer from harming themselves — for a hearing in connection with the Ocala shooting death of her neighbor, 35-year-old Ajike “AJ” Owens.
Police investigators revealed Thursday Lorincz had allegedly given Owens’ young children the middle finger on the night of shooting – and had allegedly told one of them, “Get away from my house, you black slave.”
Lorincz, a 58-year-old white woman, has been charged with manslaughter with a firearm, battery, culpable negligence and two counts of assault.
Owens, who is black, left behind three children between the ages of 3 and 12.
The accused shooter did not enter a plea during the hearing, but told the court she had not worked in two weeks because she had been placed on disability.
She also said she owns no property, has no savings, and owes $22,000 stemming from an unpaid vehicle, according to footage from the appearance posted online.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies were on their way to a report of trespassing in the area of Lorincz’s Ocala home around 9 p.m. June 2 when they received a second call reporting a shooting at the same address, the office said Wednesday.
Deputies arrived to find Owens with a gunshot wound “in front of Lorincz’s apartment.” They rushed her to an area hospital, but she could not be saved.
Sheriff Billy Woods poked holes in Lorincz’s claims of fearing for her life, which he called “B.S.,” WFTV reported.
He referenced recently obtained video footage from the area showing the shooting unfold.
“She couldn’t see through the door, she couldn’t see the individual. So her comments that she was in fear of her life … raises the hair on the back of our neck,” Woods said. “The cameras were the final nail.”
New information Thursday detailed how Lorincz had placed “no trespassing” signs in the grass between her apartment complex and another one, despite that the area was not part of her rented property.
She called police at 8:54 p.m. to report Owens’ kids were trespassing and threatening her, the sheriff’s office said.
Police were en route to the area when calls about the sound of gunshots began flooding in.
Owens’ 10-year-old son was by her side when she was shot and one of the kids called police at 9:04 p.m. to report it.
A neighbor told police they overheard Lorincz yelling at Owens’ earlier on the night of the shooting. She allegedly threw a roller skate at her 10-year-old son, and struck his toe.
The boy’s 12-year-old brother then tried to speak with Lorincz, but she “opened her door and swung at them with an umbrella,” the sheriff’s office said.
The life-ending shots came after Owens knocked on Lorincz’s door multiple times and demanded she open the door, police said.
Lorincz later told police Owens “banged on the door so hard everything started shaking and she thought the door was going to come off.”
“Oh my god she’s really going to kill me this time,” she recalled thinking.
She opened fire using a .380 caliber handgun, one of two she kept in the apartment, police said.
“Lorincz advised that she purchased the firearm for protection after an altercation with the victim,” the police report states.
The woman griped to police she had a headache on the day of the shooting and “neighbors were outside screaming and yelling, kids were running around.”
She also told police Owens’ kids had threatened to kill her in the past.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office waited four days to charge Lorincz, initially probing whether a “stand your ground” claim would apply.
The sheriff’s office had responded to at least six complaints between the women since January 2021, Woods said.
Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, will care for her four grandchildren, some of whom have begun blaming themselves for their mom’s death.
