Susan Lorincz Trial Day 2: Suspect was on narcotics during deadly shooting, prosecutors say
OCALA, Fla. - Susan Lorincz was on a painkilling narcotic when she shot and killed AJ Owens, according to investigators. That detail emerged on the second day of Lorincz's trial, raising questions about her clarity and honesty with Marion County Sheriff’s Office detectives.
Video footage of detectives Ryan Stith and Daniel Pender interviewing Lorincz showed them urging her to be truthful. "This really is not adding up to me," one detective told her. "It doesn’t make any sense."
"It’s a big deal! Someone’s dead!" another detective emphasized.
Lorincz buried her head in her hands.
RELATED: Susan Lorincz Trial Day 1: Neighbors, deputies, investigators recall night of shooting
Witnesses told detectives that Lorincz had thrown roller skates and swung an umbrella at Owens' children, prompting Owens to confront her. There was also some dispute over a stolen or misplaced iPad, which Lorincz denied.
The central issue in the trial is whether Lorincz was acting in self-defense when she fired a shot through her front door. Lorincz's attorneys argued that she feared for her life when she pulled the trigger.
"I just remember her saying, ‘Don’t talk to my sons that way,’ and 'I’m going to kill you,’" Lorincz told investigators.
However, detectives pointed out that the recording of her 911 call, made just before the shooting, did not mention any threats, and no witnesses reported hearing Owens say, "I'm going to kill you." Multiple witnesses testified to this on Tuesday.
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"Did you ever hear Isaac and Izzy’s mom say, ‘I’m going to kill you?’" Assistant State Attorney Adam Smith asked Jerreth Gardner, a neighbor who often played with Owens’ children near Lorincz's home.
"No sir," Gardner replied.
A 13-year-old who also played with Owens’ kids gave the same response when asked the same question.
"I’m just having a really hard time understanding how this unarmed person on the other side of the wall is somehow going to get into your house and kill you," a detective said during an interview with Lorincz. "Within two minutes, a shot was fired through that door."
AJ Owens’ family has attended the trial every day. Her mother, Pamela Dias, said the support of friends and family has been helpful, but the experience of sitting in the courtroom, just feet away from the woman accused of killing her daughter, has been excruciating.
"The anguish, the pain. To sit there, literally feet away from the woman who took my daughter's life," Dias said. "Difficult is putting it mildly."
The family has expressed concern that the jury is all white. The petite jury, consisting of only six jurors and two alternates rather than the traditional 12, is due to this being a manslaughter case. The family had hoped Lorincz would be charged with murder.
"She has no regard for any form of human life. Certainly not my family," said Dias.
Owens’ children, Isaac and Izzy, who witnessed the shooting, were expected to testify on Wednesday or Thursday. However, the state chose to rest its case before calling them to the stand.
The defense called a single witness on Wednesday, a neighbor named Rosalie Smith. Smith testified that the apartment complex is in a low-income area. She added that although she lives about a football field away from where the incident occurred, she could still hear Owens banging on the door and shouting. Smith called 911 after hearing the gunshot.