A Florida woman who fatally shot a Black neighbor\u2002during a dispute over kids playing outside admitted hurling racial slurs at the children and told detectives the victim threatened to kill her, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit was released before bond for Susan Louise Lorincz was set at $154,000 on Friday.
Lorincz, a 58-year-old White woman, was arrested on a charge of manslaughter Tuesday, four days after investigators say she fatally shot Ajike \u201cAJ\u201d Owens through the front door of Lorincz\u2019s home near Ocala, Florida, as Owens repeatedly knocked on her door, the Marion County Sheriff\u2019s Office said.
The arrest affidavit released from the sheriff\u2019s Office said Lorincz became \u201cangry\u201d that neighborhood children, including the children of the victim, were playing near her home.
The affidavit detailed interviews with witnesses whose names are redacted. Two witnesses are believed to be some of the victim\u2019s children.
One of Owens\u2019 sons told a deputy he\u2019d been playing basketball in the street while his younger 10-year-old brother played in the nearby field, according to the affidavit. The child told the deputy his younger brother informed him that he had left an electronic tablet in the field and said Lorincz had picked it up.
When the 10-year-old asked Lorincz to return the tablet, he told the deputy, the woman threw it to the ground and yelled at him. The child claimed Lorincz threw roller skates at him, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit says the older child said he told his younger sibling to tell their mother what was going on, and then he approached Lorincz\u2019s front door and yelled, \u201cYou want to throw something, throw it at me!\u201d Lorincz came out of her home and told him he was trespassing and swung an umbrella in his direction, the affidavit stated.
\u201cShortly after, the victim approached Lorincz\u2019 front door and banged on the door, yelling for Lorincz to throw something at her if she wanted to throw something,\u201d the affidavit said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The older child then heard a \u201cloud bang\u201d and witnessed his mother \u201cstumbling\u201d away from the door while telling him to call 911, according to information obtained by a deputy, which is laid out in the affidavit.
The defendant painted a different picture of events in her interview with a sheriff\u2019s deputy, according to the affidavit.
Lorincz told the deputy she\u2019d been having problems with the \u201csame juveniles\u201d for the past years \u201cdue to their lack of respect for her peace and privacy,\u201d the affidavit stated. Lorincz also told the deputy that Owens\u2019 children had told her \u201cthey would kill her\u201d in the past, according to the affidavit.
Lorincz denied picking up a tablet or throwing roller skates at anyone in her interview with the deputy, the affidavit states. But she acknowledged throwing roller skates in the yard and telling the children to \u201cgo fetch them.\u201d She also admitted that it was possible she had swung an umbrella near one of the children, but wouldn\u2019t have hit them, according to the court document.
On the night of the shooting, Lorincz told the deputy that after she told all the children to leave, Owens suddenly appeared at her door and started banging on it while yelling, \u201cI\u2019m going to f**king kill you!\u201d
Owens was banging on her door with so much force, Lorincz told the deputy, that she panicked, stating \u201cOh my god she\u2019s really going to kill me this time,\u201d according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, Lorincz said, she retrieved her handgun and fired a single shot through the door, telling the deputy she was afraid for her life, the affidavit stated. The defendant also told the deputy she \u201cnever intended to hit the victim when she fired the gun and thought she \u2018hit\u2019 really high when she shot.\u201d
Neighbors interviewed by sheriff\u2019s deputies revealed a history of negative interactions between Lorincz and children in the neighborhood, with one saying the White woman was \u201calways yelling at the children who play in the area and calls in false reports on them,\u201d according to the affidavit.
The court document quotes Owens\u2019 younger child as saying Lorincz had called him and other children \u201cbastards\u201d and \u201cjackasses,\u201d and, at one time stated, \u201cThis isn\u2019t the underground railroad, slave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A neighbor told deputies that the night of the shooting, Lorincz came out of her home and gave the children playing in the field the middle finger and yelled, \u201cGet away from my house, you black slave,\u201d the affidavit said.
In a second interview with law enforcement, the affidavit said the defendant acknowledged using racial slurs toward children in the past.
\u201cLorincz admitted to having used the n-word toward children out of anger in the past and also calling children other derogatory terms,\u201d the detective noted in the affidavit.
When reached by CNN, Lorincz\u2019s attorney Amanda Sizemore said she has no comment on the case at this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State had requested a higher bond
A judge on Friday set bond at $150,000 for the felony charge and another $4,000 for four misdemeanor counts. Lorincz told the court she could only afford a bond of $1,700.
She also said she is unemployed and owns about $3,000 worth of furniture.
The state requested a $200,000 bond.
The owner of the apartment where Lorincz lives told detectives she was being evicted, according to a prosecutor \u2013 and the judge recommended Lorincz not return there.
In addition to manslaughter with a firearm, Lorincz is facing charges of culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault, the sheriff\u2019s office said early Wednesday.
If Lorincz posts bond, she will not be allowed to possess a firearm or any other weapon, nor is she allowed to have any contact with the victim\u2019s family. If she returns to her apartment to gather belongings, she will have to have someone accompany her. She is allowed to live in her apartment as long as she isn\u2019t evicted. Lorincz will also have to wear an ankle monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lorincz made an initial court appearance via video call on Thursday. She told the court she has no savings, is making payments on a car, and had filed for disability after working at UnitedHealthcare. She said she last worked two weeks ago and that she supports her 55-year-old sister.
In the days since the killing, Owens\u2019 family had repeatedly called\u2002for the arrest and charging of the shooter, insisting the incident was unprovoked and unjustified.
Though the arrest has brought Owens\u2019 family some relief, one of her sons is grappling with remorse because he was the one who told his mother about Lorincz\u2019s confrontation with the children, the family said.
\u201cHe witnessed his mother shot and killed. In his soul, and his heart, it\u2019s his fault that his older brother, his baby sister, and his baby brother, as well as himself, will never see their mother again,\u201d Pamela Dias, Owens\u2019 mother, said of the young boy.
Another child also blamed himself because he was unable to perform CPR on his mother, Dias said.
\u201cGrandma, grandma. I couldn\u2019t save her,\u201d Dias recalled the 12-year-old boy telling her.
A funeral service will be held for Owens on Monday, according to a family attorney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n