MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A woman accused of manslaughter in her Ocala neighbor’s shooting death appeared in Marion County court Friday morning for a hearing.
Susan Lorincz, 59, is accused of shooting and killing Ajike “AJ” Owens, 35, one year ago this week. Owens, a mother of four, had allegedly approached Lorincz’s home to confront her about throwing a pair of roller skates at her children when she was shot through the front door, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Owens’ children — ages 12, 9, 7, and 2 at the time — were at the scene of the shooting when deputies arrived.
The judge earlier this week gave Lorincz’s legal team more time to prepare for their defense. On Friday, jury selection was pushed back to Aug. 12.
Attorneys on both sides have argued which evidence should be heard during the upcoming trial. Lorincz’s lawyers are now also arguing that the state shouldn’t be allowed to bring up past law enforcement calls that didn’t involve Owens.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to allow past incidents as evidence where Lorincz called law enforcement, arguing that she had a history of making derogatory statements toward children in the neighborhood. The sheriff’s office released body-worn camera video last year from such prior calls, in which Lorincz complains to deputies that she works from home and needs peace and quiet yet the children were constantly screaming and yelling.
Leading up to the shooting, deputies responded more than 10 times to the area since January 2021 for a “neighborhood feud” between Owens and Lorincz, according to Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods. The sheriff’s office said it had about a dozen calls over the course of a year from Lorincz regarding the neighborhood children being loud and trespassing on her property, but deputies said the children actually were playing in a common area.
“I’ve got reports that these things have, they’ve called one side or the other — either the mother (Owens) has called, or the shooter has called complaining about the children. Now, it’s children being children. Here’s what I wish. I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,” Woods said in 2023.
Prosecutors argue the past calls for service are intertwined, but the defense says they aren’t relevant and is asking the judge to exclude anything that doesn’t involve Owens.
Lorincz faces charges of manslaughter with a firearm and assault, court records show. She’s claiming self-defense, saying she was in fear for her life.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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