A white Florida woman who was found guilty of manslaughter after shooting her Black neighbor through her front door was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.
Susan Lorincz, who was involved in a long-running dispute with her neighbor, Ajike Owens, before it turned deadly in June 2023. Testimony revealed that Lorincz reacted angrily when Owens’ children were playing in a field near both of their homes.
After Lorincz confronted the children, Owens knocked on her front door to address the problem. Claiming she feared for her life, Lorincz fired a single shot from her .380-caliber pistol through the door of her Ocala home, killing the then-35-year-old mother of four.
“The shooting was completely unnecessary in this case,” Circuit Judge Robert Hodges said during the sentencing hearing for Lorincz, according to the Associated Press. “The shooting, I find, was based more in anger than in fear.”
The 60-year old Lorincz, who was facing a maximum of 30 years behind bars, received a lighter sentence after it was revealed in court that she was the victim of child abuse and has mental health issues. According to testimony, she yelled and threw items at Owens’ children, setting the stage for the deadly incident.
Lorincz said she feared for her life as her lawyers tried to claim Florida’s controversial “stand-your-ground” rule for home protection, but the law did not apply since she was behind a locked door, Hodges ruled.
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