Woman Who Shot Neighbor Called Her Kids N-Word: Cops

Susan Louise Lorincz has pleaded not guilty
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 9, 2023 12:30 AM CDT
Woman Who Shot Neighbor Says She Called Kids N-Word: Cops
This booking image shows Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, charged with shooting and killing her Black neighbor.   (Marion County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

A white Florida woman charged with shooting and killing her Black neighbor told detectives that she called the victim’s children by racist slurs in the months leading up to the slaying, according to an arrest report released Thursday. Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, admitted to detectives that she called Ajike Owens' children "the n-word," the AP reports. One child told deputies that the night of the shooting, Lorincz "came out of her house and gave the children the middle finger" and also said this: "Get away from my house, you Black slave," according to the report.

The report from the Marion County Sheriff's Office came out shortly before Lorincz made her initial appearance in court Thursday by video. She has been charged with the first-degree felony of manslaughter with a firearm, as well as culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault, Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. Lorincz appeared wearing a dark protective vest, answered the judge's questions about her finances and her attorney, an assistant public defender appointed by the judge, and entered a written plea of not guilty. A bond hearing will be scheduled in the coming days.

In a statement to investigators after the shooting, Lorincz was quoted saying she had problems for two years with children in the neighborhood not "respecting" her—including the victim's children, who range in age from 3 to 12 years old. The day of the shooting, Lorincz told investigators she had a headache and that "neighbors were outside screaming and yelling, kids were running around" in a grassy area separating two apartment quadruplex buildings, including hers. That night, while a few children were playing basketball, Lorincz came outside to throw a pair of roller skates at them, hitting one on the feet, according to the report. When Owens then knocked on her door, Lorinz claims that Owens threatened to kill her.

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According to the sheriff’s timeline, Lorincz called the department at 8:54pm on the night of the shooting to say kids were threatening her and trespassing. She had previously placed "No trespassing" signs in the grassy areas, despite those being shared areas and not part of her rental. Lorincz said in court she doesn't own the property. Lorincz claimed "that Owens banged on the door so hard everything started shaking and she thought the door was going to come off," and that she panicked and said to herself, "'Oh my god, she’s really going to kill me this time.'" That's when Lorincz fired a single round from her .380-caliber handgun, which, the report says, Lorincz said she had purchased for protection after an altercation with Owens.

(More Florida stories.)

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