Source: Family / Family provided
The white woman accused of fatally shooting Ajike “AJ” Owens, Susan Lorincz, was charged with one count of manslaughter by the State of Florida June 27. Amid dealing with the grief of their loss, the Black mother’s family is now even more heartbroken as they fight for justice.
The family’s lawyer Anthony Thomas condemned State Attorney William Gladson’s charge shortly after it was announced. On behalf of Owens’ loved ones, Thomas demanded that Lorincz received a second-degree murder charge for alleged involvement in Owen’s death.
“We are deeply disappointed by this decision. All the evidence unequivocally supports the elevation of this charge to second-degree murder. We firmly believe that justice demands nothing less,” said Thomas June 27, according to Fox 35 Orlando. “The failure of the prosecutor to charge Susan with what truly reflected her wanton, reckless behavior undermines our ability to even get real accountability. Nevertheless, our resolve remains unwavering, and we will continue to fight.”
“How do I explain to AJ’s children, my young grandbabies, that the loss of their mother’s life is still not being taken seriously?” added “devastated” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother. “Only a living, breathing AJ would be true justice — and today’s charge could not be further from that.”
As MADAMENOIRE reported, authorities arrested Lorincz on June 6 on five charges. They included manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
Gladson defended the manslaughter charge on the day he announced it. The state attorney argued that he couldn’t charge Lorincz with second-degree murder because the case lacked evidence. The high-ranking state authority said prosecutors couldn’t prove that Lorincz had a “depraved mind” when she shot Owens — which requires “hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent toward the victim at the time of the killing.”
The state attorney additionally noted that the battery and assault charges initially pinned on the 58-year-old couldn’t be upheld because the latter didn’t hit Owens’ 10-year-old son with a roller skate, which was falsely circulated when the story broke. Gladson noted that the 58-year-old Ocala neighbor legally didn’t assault the child, as the boy said in his testimony that he wasn’t in fear.
Lorincz shot and killed Owens in front of her 10-year-old son June 2 in Ocala, Florida, over a dispute about an iPad that the reckless white neighbor allegedly took from the child.
Nationally active civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump noted that Lorincz had previously yelled at Owens children as they played outside and called them “racial slurs.” MN’s early coverage indicated that the minors went and got their mother involved after the 58-year-old white woman was aggressive with them. The little ones had only hoped to get their iPad back.
After Owens knocked on Lorincz’s door, the protective mother was fatally shot in the upper chest.
“While we are relieved that the woman apparently responsible for the tragic killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens has been arrested, we are no less concerned that accountability has taken this long because archaic laws like Stand Your Ground exist,” said a statement released by Owens’ familial attorneys. “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 or charged?”
The GoFundMe created by Owens’ mother has raised over $333,000 of its $1 million goal.
Lorincz is currently in the custody of Marion County Jail on a $154,000 bond.
RELATED CONTENT: “Black Twitter Calls For The Arrest Of White Woman Who Fatally Shot Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens Following iPad Dispute”
