Florida officials have declined to file murder charges against a woman accused of shooting and killing her neighbor through a closed door.
via: NBC News
Prosecutors said Monday they have “insufficient” evidence to make a murder case against the white Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her Black neighbor through a door.
Susan Louise Lorincz will be prosecuted for manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault in the death of Ajike “AJ” Owens, according to State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson.
The burden for a second-degree murder charge requires prosecutors to prove “beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt, the existence of a depraved mind toward the victim at the time of the killing,” Gladson said in a statement.
“Depraved mind requires evidence of hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent toward the victim at the time of the killing,” he said.
“As 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 feud” with Owens about the mother’s children playing in a field near Lorincz’s home, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office has said.
That feud culminated June 2, when authorities said Lorincz shot Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, through a closed door in Ocala.
Lorincz’s defense lawyer declined to comment Monday.
