Florida prosecutors have declined to charge a white woman accused of fatally shooting her Black neighbor through the door of her apartment with second-degree murder, citing “insufficient evidence.”
Susan Lorincz, 58, faces up to 30 years in prison if she is convicted on the charges she faces: one count of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault.
Florida State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson announced the charges against Lorincz in a statement published Monday.
Lorincz is accused of killing Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four with whom she’d had a 2½-year conflict, on June 2 by shooting her through her apartment door when Owens knocked.
Owens came to Lorincz’s door with her 9-year-old son after learning that Lorincz had taken her children’s electronic tablet, threw the tablet to the ground, threw a pair of roller skates at one of the children and called all of the children by racial slurs.
The new charges come after Lorincz’s June 7 arrest, when she was initially charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault. Her bond was set at $154,000.
The culpable negligence, battery and two assault counts have since been dropped.
Despite Owens’ family urging prosecutors to file murder charges against Lorincz, Gladson said in his Monday statement that second-degree murder charges wouldn’t hold up in court.
Gladson said that there was not enough evidence to prove that Lorincz had a “depraved mind” toward Owens at the time of killing her, a necessary component of the crime of second-degree murder.
“Depraved mind requires evidence of hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent toward the victim at the time of the killing,” Gladson wrote. “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.”
“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,” Gladson added.
In a police affidavit, Lorincz admitted to using racial slurs against the children and she claimed that she shot Owens through the door because she feared for her life, according to CNN.
She stated that she “never intended to hit the victim when she fired the gun and thought she ‘hit’ really high when she shot,” the affidavit said.
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, has been pushing for Lornicz to be held accountable for Owens’ death.
“My daughter, my grandchildren’s mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon, she posed no imminent threat to anyone,” Dias said at a news conference earlier this month.
“What I’m asking is for justice,” she added. “Justice for my daughter.”
Lorincz is incarcerated at Marion County Jail. Her next court appearance is set for July 11.
“My office will do all it can to seek justice for Ms. Owens and her family,” Gladson wrote.