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Trial begins in case of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during dispute

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Trial begins in case of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during dispute
News

News

Trial begins in case of white woman who fatally shot Black neighbor during dispute

2024-08-14 01:59 Last Updated At:02:01

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida jury will determine whether a 60-year-old white woman was justified when she fired through the door of her central Florida apartment a year ago, killing a Black mother during an ongoing dispute over neighborhood children.

In opening statements on Tuesday, jurors were told that shortly before Ajike “A.J.” Owens was killed on June 2, 2023, the children had been playing in a small field outside the apartment where Susan Lorincz lived in Ocala, which is 80 miles (128 kilometers) northwest of Orlando in central Florida.

Lorincz told investigators that the children were running and yelling outside her apartment. She went outside, saw some skates on the ground and threw them at the children.

She went back inside her apartment, defense attorney Morris Carranza told jurors.

Owens, who was the mother of several of the children and who lived across the street, went to Lorincz's apartment to confront her. Owens was apparently angry at how Lorincz dealt with the children, lawyers said in opening statements.

Owens banged loudly on her door, Carranza said.

“A.J. was pounding, and she was cursing,” Carranza said during opening statements. He said that Owens had threatened his client, and she feared the woman would break the door down.

He said Lorincz was standing a few feet from the front door, beside her table as the pounding on the door continued.

Prosecutors said the door was locked and told jurors that Owens was not armed.

Carranza argued that Lorincz was fearful that Owens would harm her.

She believed “in her mind, in her soul and in her core that she had no choice” but to fire one round from her .380-caliber handgun, her attorney told the jury.

Yvonne Costa, who lived in the apartment that shared a wall with Lorincz, testified Tuesday that she heard loud voices shortly before the shooting, but she couldn't understand what was being said.

Then the pounding started. It was loud, she testified.

“The wall in between our two apartments started shaking,” Costa said. “It was very loud. And it scared me.”

She testified she then heard a loud pop, followed by more screaming. She ran to her bedroom to call 911.

Witnesses said that Owens stumbled from the porch, and she yelled for someone to call 911 before falling to the ground.

Lorincz is charged with manslaughter and faces up to 30 years in prison.

State Attorney William Gladson has said his office contemplated filing a second-degree murder charge but that prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence that Lorincz had “hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent” toward Owens.

Both the state and defense attorneys convene at the bench as Judge Robert Hodges holds a side bar during Susan Lorincz's trial Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. Lorincz is charged with manslaughter in the June 2023 shooting of her neighbor Ajike “A.J.” Owens. (Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP, Pool)

Both the state and defense attorneys convene at the bench as Judge Robert Hodges holds a side bar during Susan Lorincz's trial Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. Lorincz is charged with manslaughter in the June 2023 shooting of her neighbor Ajike “A.J.” Owens. (Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP, Pool)

Defendant Susan Lorincz takes notes during her trial Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. Lorincz is charged with manslaughter in the June 2023 shooting of her neighbor Ajike “A.J.” Owens. (Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP, Pool)

Defendant Susan Lorincz takes notes during her trial Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Ocala, Fla. Lorincz is charged with manslaughter in the June 2023 shooting of her neighbor Ajike “A.J.” Owens. (Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner via AP, Pool)

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Susan Lorincz, center, is escorted by law enforcement following her arrest in Ocala, Fla., Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Lorincz is accused of fatally shooting her neighbor, Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four. (Marion County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Susan Lorincz, center, is escorted by law enforcement following her arrest in Ocala, Fla., Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Lorincz is accused of fatally shooting her neighbor, Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four. (Marion County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - A protester holds a poster of Ajike Owens and demands the arrest of a woman who killed her during a rally at the Marion County Courthouse, June 6, 2023, in Ocala, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

FILE - A protester holds a poster of Ajike Owens and demands the arrest of a woman who killed her during a rally at the Marion County Courthouse, June 6, 2023, in Ocala, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

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'Time to say goodbye': Kevin De Bruyne to leave Man City

2025-04-04 19:29 Last Updated At:19:31

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Kevin De Bruyne says he will leave Manchester City - confirming these are his “final months" with the Premier League champion.

The Belgium playmaker, who is out of contract this summer, announced the news in an emotional post on X on Friday.

“Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here,” he wrote.

De Bruyne joined City from Wolfsburg for around $71 million in 2015 and has gone on to win every major honor with the club, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

In all he has won 14 major trophies at City and established himself as one of the all-time Premier League greats.

“This city. This club. These people... gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING back! And guess what — we won EVERYTHING," he wrote. “Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye.”

De Bruyne did not say if he would take part in the Club World Cup, which runs through June and July in the United States.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates at the end of the English FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, England, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates at the end of the English FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, England, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

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