Prosecutors say they have “insufficient evidence to file a murder case against the white Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her black neighbor through a door.
Susan Louise Lorincz will be indicted for manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault in the death of Ajike “AJ” Owens, State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson said Monday.
The charge of a second-degree murder charge requires prosecutors to prove “beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt, the existence of a depraved mind toward the victim at the time of the murder.” Gladson said in to statement.
“The depraved mind requires evidence of hatred, rancor, ill will or bad intentions towards the victim at the time of the murder,” he said. “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.”
Lorincz could face up to 30 years behind bars if convicted.
Lorincz, 58, had a long-standing “neighborhood dispute” with Owens over the mother’s children playing in a field near Lorincz’s home, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
That dispute culminated on June 2, when authorities said Lorincz shot Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, through a locked door in Ocala.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
Marlene Lenthang contributed.
