Aug. 12 (UPI) — Jury selection began Monday in the manslaughter trial of a White woman in Florida accused of shooting through her closed front door and killing her Black neighbor in 2023.
Susan Lorincz, 60, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter, battery, crimes against a person and two counts of simple assault in Ocala, which is is 80 miles north of Orlando. She is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Ajike Owens, 35, was shot on June 2, 2023, during an argument. She was a single mother with four children .
Anthony Thomas, the attorney representing the family of Owens, told ABC News in a statement that two of her children will be called by prosecutors to testify during the trial.
“This is an unimaginably painful experience for them, as they continue to grapple with the deep emotional wounds caused by losing their mother in such a violent way. And witnessing her murder. Izzy stood right beside her as that bullet penetrated his mother’s body,” Thomas said.