A Florida state attorney declined to pursue murder charges against a white woman who fatally shot her black neighbour.
Instead, the suspect, Susan Lorincz has been charged with manslaughter with a firearm and assault in the June 2 shooting death of Ajike Owens.
State Attorney William Gladson said his office determined there was insufficient evidence to file a murder charge against Lorincz.
Charging Lorincz with murder would require prosecutors to provide 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 said. “As is always true in criminal cases, failure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt even one element of a crime will result in a not guilty verdict. Given the facts in this case, aiming a firearm at the door, and pulling the trigger is legally insufficient to prove depraved mind.”
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office had also charged Lorincz with culpable negligence and battery, but Gladson’s office is not pursuing those charges based on testimony from witnesses in the case.
Gladson said he would not be pushed to file charges based on community pressure or public sentiment.
“Simply stated, my obligation is to follow the law. Understandably, emotions run high, particularly with senseless, violent crimes. However, I cannot allow any decision to be influenced by public sentiment, angry phone calls or further threats of violence, as I have received in this case,” he said. “To allow that to happen would also be improper and a violation of my oath as a prosecutor and as a lawyer.”
Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
After Lorincz’s June 9 bond hearing, Anthony Thomas, an Owens’ family attorney, formally requested that the heaviest charge be upgraded from manslaughter to second-degree murder. He said he was deeply disappointed Gladson was not pursuing murder charges.
“All the evidence unequivocally supports the elevation of this charge to second-degree murder,” Thomas said. “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.”
Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, said she didn’t know how to explain the charges to her grandchildren. “Only a living breathing AJ would be true justice, and today’s charge could not be further from that,” she said.
Sheriff Billy Woods said the shooting was the culmination of a 2-and-a-half-year feud between the neighbors. Lorincz had been angry over Owens’ children playing in a field close to her apartment.
The alleged shooter told detectives that she called the victim’s children racist slurs in the months leading up to the slaying, admitting that she used “the n-word.”
