'It feels like an eternity': AJ Owens' mom awaits justice in daughter's death
Pamela Dias sobbed loudly and had to be consoled by three of her late daughter's friends outside Circuit Judge Robert Hodge's courtroom Thursday morning.
Dias' daughter, Ajike "AJ" Shantrell Owens, was standing outside her neighbor's home in the Quail Run subdivision off Southwest 27th Avenue when she was shot through the front door the night of June 2.
Owens, 35, stumbled to a nearby grassy area and collapsed. An ambulance came and took the single mother of four children to a hospital, where she died.
Dias and her daughter's friends were at the courthouse on Thursday to attend a hearing for the woman who fired the fatal shot through the door: Susan Louise Lorincz. Sitting in the front row of the courtroom, Dias was comforted by her daughter's friends. During the hearing, Dias wiped tears from her face.
Lorincz had written to the judge demanding a speedy trial. She said she wanted to resolve her case swiftly because of her medical issues and her treatment at the Marion County Jail. She said she doesn't know how much longer she can hold on.
The judge told her she cannot write to him on such matters and directed her to speak to her lawyer, Amanda Sizemore from the Public Defender's Office.
The judge allowed Sizemore and her client to go to the back to discuss her request. After several minutes, the lawyer and Lorincz returned. Lorincz told the judge she didn't know what to do and that's why she wrote him the letter.
Sizemore told the judge the defense is not ready for trial and doesn't think her client can represent herself.
The judge told Lorincz that the charges she faces — manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault — could land her in prison for 30 years. The judge said her decision should not be rushed, and advised her to let her lawyer handle her defense and also address any medical problems she has at the jail.
Sizemore told the judge she has spoken to jail officials and they're working on the situation.
In the end, the judge rejected the request for a speedy trial.
Addressing reporters not far from the courtroom, Dias said seeing Lorincz brought back horrible memories of June 2. She said Lorincz tried to take the law into her own hands and has no regard for life.
Dias said she feels hurt, disgusted and anguished, and considers Lorincz's actions selfish.
The woman said Lorincz never thought about her daughter when she shot her. She said her daughter's heart will never beat again, and her grandchildren's hearts will never beat the same.
"She thinks she knows the law," Dias said.
Dias said Lorincz knows what she did was wrong and now she's talking about how she doesn't want to die in jail.
Asked about the trial, Dias said she has been waiting on one since the shooting.
"It feels like an eternity," she said.
Dias later broke down in tears and was hugged by her daughter's friends.
Lorincz, 59, has pleaded not guilty and suggested that she acted in self-defense on the day of the fatal shooting. She has been locked up at the county jail since her arrest. The jail is operated by the Sheriff's Office and medical care for inmates is provided by Heart of Florida Health Center.
Quail Run: Children in Quail Run receive Christmas gifts from A Helping Hand Charity Outreach Inc.
Lorincz's next hearing is in June.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Emotional day at Ocala courthouse: When will trial in AJ Owens case begin?
