MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The defense rested its case Thursday in the manslaughter trial of Susan Lorincz, who shot and killed Ajike “A.J.” Owens last year in Ocala.
The trial will resume Friday afternoon.
Lorincz, 60, on Thursday told Marion County Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges that she opted not to testify after consulting her lawyers, adding that she was not coerced into the decision.
“I am not going to testify,” Lorincz said.
“You’ve made that decision freely and voluntarily?” the judge asked.
“Yes, I have,” she replied.
The defense rested after calling three expert witnesses on ballistics and crime scenes.
Prosecutors finished their case Wednesday.
Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted in the June 2023 shooting the 35-year-old Owens, her neighbor in Ocala.
The two had a long-running dispute over Owens’ children — she was a mother of four — playing boisterously near Lorincz’s home. The night she was shot, Owens had been pounding on Lorincz’s door and yelling loudly after Lorincz allegedly threw roller skates and an umbrella at the kids, testimony showed. Lorincz fired one round from her .380-caliber handgun through the door, hitting Owens in the chest and killing her.
Just before the court broke for lunch on Wednesday, the jury was able to see the detectives question Lorincz following the shooting as they worked to understand why she fired the gun.
Opening statements happened Tuesday and evidence was introduced to the jury, including a gun that prosecutors say was used to kill Owens and what was found in and around Owens’ neighbor’s home.
Jurors saw measurements from inside Lorincz’s home. Prosecutors say it proves she was not in her kitchen when she pulled the trigger.
Lorincz’s 911 call was also played. Her defense attorneys say she was in fear for her life when she fired her gun. The state pointed to later statements Lorincz made during questioning after the shooting.
“Was your goal to shoot and kill her?” a detective asked.
“No,” she replied.
“What was your goal?”
“To shoot and hopefully, you know, she’ll hear the shot and dissipate,” she said.
Owens’ children were initially expected to testify, including one of her sons, who was standing next to her when she died.
However, the state chose not to ask her children to take the stand.
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