MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A single mother who “lived for her four children,” a team mom for her children’s football/cheerleading teams and a devoted friend are some ways Ajike Owens’ family described the 35-year-old woman who was shot and killed by her neighbor in Ocala in 2023.
The trial began Tuesday for Susan Lorincz, 60, who was arrested on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault in the death of Owens. Sheriff’s officials say Owens went to Lorincz to talk to her about her interactions with her children.
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The delay in arresting Lorincz sent the community into an uproar. About two dozen neighbors were among the people demanding that charges be brought up against Lorincz.
“We should not be here protesting for this, she should have been charged. It don’t make no sense,” said Tocara Davis, who helped organize the protest. “Our message today is we’re not going anywhere until we get justice. We’re not stopping until we get justice.”
Originally, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said he couldn’t arrest Lorincz unless he could prove she was not acting in self-defense because of Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
However, investigators say that after talking to witnesses and in further interviews with Lorincz, they were able to prove that her actions were not justifiable.
Owens’ family disagreed with State Attorney William Gladson’s decision to file manslaughter charges instead of murder charges. Gladson released a statement that said in order to upgrade the charge to second-degree murder, his office would have had to prove beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt that there was “the existence of a depraved mind toward the victim at the time of the killing.”
“Depraved mind requires evidence of hatred, spite, ill will, or evil intent toward the victim at the time of the killing. As deplorable as the defendant’s actions were in this case, there is insufficient evidence to prove this specific and required element of second-degree murder,” Gladson’s office said in a statement.
Owens’ family attorney, Anthony Thomas, said in a statement, “We are deeply disappointed by this decision. All the evidence unequivocally supports the elevation of this charge to second-degree murder. We firmly believe that justice demands nothing less. The failure of the prosecutor to charge Susan with what truly reflected her wanton, reckless behavior undermines our ability to even get real accountability. Nevertheless, our resolve remains unwavering, and we will continue to fight.”
Run-ins with Lorincz
Affidavits and other records show Lorincz and Owens had several arguments regarding Owens’ children playing in the common area near Lorincz’s house.
Calls to the sheriff’s office show Lorincz complained about children trespassing on her property, but it was always determined they had really just been in the common area.
Owens confronted Lorincz about her treatment of the children. In a February 2022 incident, deputies were called out because Lorincz said Owens pulled a metal “no trespassing” sign out of the ground and threw it at her, striking her leg. Owens said she threw the sign down, not at Lorincz.
According to the affidavit, Lorincz told deputies that the children had threatened to kill her and that on the night of the shooting, Owens, while banging on Lorincz’s door, said she was going to kill her.
Witnesses told deputies they never heard Owens say that, but Lorincz maintained she believed that was what Owens was saying.
Owens’ death dredged up reminders of other controversial killings of Black Americans, such as Trayvon Martin in Sanford in 2013. Benjamin Crump, who represented Martin’s family at the time, represented Owens’ family. Rev. Al Sharpton spoke at Owens’ funeral.
How her family knew her
Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, said during a news conference in 2023 that while she gave birth to her, she was not her only mother.
“I shared her with so many people because that’s how special she was. Special. Heart of gold, heart of gold. You may look at her and say she didn’t have much, she had it all. She had love. She had compassion. She had four beautiful children. She raised them to be respectful but most of all, spiritual,” she said.
Dias described her daughter as “full of life” and as having so much love for her children, who ranged in age from 3 to 12 at the time of the shooting.
“She loved them with all her being. To know her is to know that her kids were everything,” she said.
Owens’ younger brother, Otis Dias, said while growing up he knew she would be a great mother one day.
“She made sure that I was fed, treated correctly by anybody who disrespected me, stuck up for me,” he said during a news conference. “... I do want to keep the children, my niece and my nephews, in everybody’s prayers.”
Owens’ longtime best friend and godmother to her children said “to know her is to love her.”
“Ajike adored her children. She lived and breathed for them, day in and day out. She made sacrifices as a single mom to be there for them in each and every stages of their lives. She would never want to miss a football game, a practice, cheerleading, she was there. They were her world, they were her everything,” she said.
Her family also said there wasn’t “anything that she wouldn’t do for those near and dear to her heart. She often would give to other single mothers who were in similar situations that she’d been in.
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