Prosecutors say there is insufficient evidence to maintain a murder case against the white woman who fatally shot a Black mother of four after a years-long, neighbor feud, according to NBC News. However, she still faces a criminal culpability.
Susan Louise Lorincz, the vicious Karen from the block, will be prosecuted on charges of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault in the shooting death of Ajike “AJ” Owens. State Attorney William Gladson said his office declined to pursue second-degree murder charges because prosecutors could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Lorincz had a “depraved mind” toward the victim at the time of the killing.
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Gladson said his office “carefully examined the viability of both second-degree murder and manslaughter with a firearm, both first degree felonies.”
“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,” the statement read. “While some may not agree with that decision, I can assure you that the decision was thoughtful and made without consideration of any factors other than the specific facts of this terrible crime.”
Gladson added his office “will do all it can to seek justice for Ms. Owens and her family.”
Lorincz’s charges stem from an incident on June 2, when Owens’ son alleged he and his sister were being racially harassed and threatened by the woman. Owens knocked on Lorincz front door to discuss her childrens’ complaints but was shot through the door. She died later at the hospital.
For a few days, Lorincz went without being arrested until the police found the incident was not one of self-defense, as she and her attorney have maintained. Lorincz still faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted, per the report.