Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Susan Lorincz, the 58-year-old woman who was arrested this week for the shooting and murder of her African-American neighbor in Florida, appeared Thursday for his first court hearing via video and pleaded not guilty to the charges in writing.
The state’s attorney requested that Lorincz be held without bail and said the state would file a motion for pretrial detention.
Judge Lori Cotton said she will adjourn the bond hearing until the state files a motion for remand, which is scheduled in five days. Lorincz’s next court date will be July 11.
“The fact that he has no job or property limits his ties to this community. So we ask that you, at least for the time being, remain without bail,” the state’s attorney said of Lorincz.
During the hearing, Lorincz said she worked until two weeks ago, has no savings and helped take care of her sister.
lorincz was arrested this week and charged with first-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 30 years in prison if convictedthe Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. She was also charged with culpable negligence, assault, and two counts of assault.
The facts
Owens, a mother of four children, the eldest of whom is 12, was shot Friday through the door as she stood in the driveway of Lorincz’s home.
Owens was shot in the upper chest and diedaccording to the sheriff’s office.
Apparently Owens went to claim her neighbor for the insults she had made to her children for playing on nearby land and because she had an IPad that the children left behind.
According to the sheriff’s office, Lorincz also threw a skateboard at Owens’ 10-year-old son and then threw an umbrella at him and his brother.
The fact that Loricz was not arrested or charged immediately after Owens’ death sparked outrage among the African-American community, which mobilized to demand justice.
Sheriff Billy Woods justified that Lorincz was not in custody because they had to determine whether a controversial Florida self-defense law known as “Stand Your Ground” could be applied to the case.
Such a law that allows a person who believes they are at risk of death or serious bodily harm to use “deadly force” instead of fleeing the scene.
In an interview with MSNBC on Monday, Owens’ mother said her daughter acted “as any parent would.”
“She just knocked on the door, she was unarmed, no weapons. She just wanted answers. She wanted to talk to another adult about the incident with her 9-year-old son,” she said.
Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, said that Her grandchildren, who range in age from 3 to 12, have been affected “in many ways” since their mother’s death.
She noted that both of Owens’ children, including a 9-year-old boy who watched his mother being killed, blame themselves for her death.
Several area residents said in interviews with NBC News that Lorincz has a history of bullying children in the community and using racial slurs against them.. Some even said that he recorded minors and sometimes pointed weapons at them.
Lorincz bought the gun a year ago.
Lorincz bought the gun used in the murder about a year ago after an altercation with her neighbor, according to an arrest affidavit.
Authorities have said Lorincz had a long-standing “neighborhood dispute” with the victim, because the children were playing in a grassy field near the defendant’s rented home.
Lorincz said she had “had a problem” with the children for about two years “due to their lack of respect for her peace and privacy,” according to the affidavit.
Also alleged that the children had threatened to kill herit states.
She told investigators that bought a .380 caliber Remington pistol “for protection after an altercation” with Owensalthough it is unclear when the alleged incident occurred.
Lorincz also owns a .22 caliber Ruger, the affidavit says.
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