A Florida woman who shot and killed a mother of four will not face murder charges, according to officials. Susan Lorincz, 58, was instead charged with manslaughter and assault for killing Ajike Owens earlier this month in Ocala after a long-running dispute involving their children. Owens’ attorneys had demanded the charges be upgraded to murder, highlighting how witnesses heard Lorincz hurling racial slurs at Owens’ children before the shooting. However, State Attorney William Gladson opted against the stiffer charge, arguing that the killing did not qualify for the “depraved mind” element of a second-degree murder rap.
Owens came to Lorincz’s door with her 9-year-old son after she allegedly cursed at her kids for playing near her house. (clickorlando.com) Lorincz claimed that Owens was beating down her door, and she was afraid for her life, so she pulled the trigger in self-defense. However, witnesses later told investigators that Lorincz had called one of Owens’ children a “black slave” prior to the bloodshed. Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said she did not have grounds to shoot Owens. “If she gets any attorneys, I don’t care what that attorney says, I don’t care what that attorney presents to the court, for me and my detectives, this was an unjustified shooting, clear,” he said after probing the case for several days.
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said the 9-year-old who witnessed the slaying blames himself. “In his soul and his heart, it’s his fault that his older brother, his baby sister, and his baby brother, as well as himself, will never see their mother again because he went home and told his mother what this woman did to him,” Dias explained. The incident has left the family traumatized and devastated.
The decision not to charge Lorincz with murder has sparked outrage among Owens’ family and supporters. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, criticized the delay in Lorincz’s arrest and called on the state attorney to “zealously prosecute” the case. (nypost.com) “What does it say when a person can shoot and kill an unarmed mother in the presence of her young children and not be immediately taken into custody, questioned, and charged?” he said in a statement. (nypost.com)
The case has once again highlighted the issue of gun violence in America and the need for stricter gun laws. It has also raised questions about racial bias in the criminal justice system. (nypost.com) The fact that Lorincz was not charged with murder despite using a deadly weapon to kill Owens has left many wondering if justice has been served. (nypost.com) The case is a tragic reminder of the devastating impact of gun violence on families and communities.
