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Hi Crime House Community. It's Katie looking for another Crime House original podcast to add to your rotation. You will love Clues with Morgan Abshur and Kaylin Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaylin dig into the world's most notorious crimes, clue by clue. From serial killers to shocking murders. They follow the trail of clues, break down the evidence and debate the theories. It's like hanging out with your smart and true crime obsessed friends. Listen to clues on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Crime House. Was it self defense or was it a hate fueled killing? Behind three words stand your ground. Tonight's case is one that shook a Florida community, reignited a national debate and inspired one of Netflix's most talked about true crime films. It's a heart wrenching story about the realities of racism, fear, the power of the law and what happens when everyday harassment escalates into irreversible violence. On out of Florida and the sentence handed down after a dispute between neighbors turned deadly. Guilty.
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The 60 year old woman who opened.
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Fire through her front door and shot.
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A neighbor dead is convicted of manslaughter.
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It's a black mother who tragically lost her life when a white neighbor fired a fatal shot through a closed front door. Hi, welcome to Crime House Daily. I'm your host Katie Ring. Here we follow the cases making headlines now where justice is still unfolding. Follow us wherever you're listening and if you want ad free episodes, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This episode discusses active criminal cases and breaking news. The information we share is based on what's publicly available at the time of recording and may change as new evidence comes to light. We aim to inform, not to decide guilt or innocence. So everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Tonight we're diving into a killing that should never have happened. A moment of senseless violence that stunned the nation and exposed the danger of letting everyday hatred go unchecked. It's a story so disturbing, so raw, that when Netflix turned it into a documentary last October, it it instantly shot to the top of the platform. In the summer of 2023, 58 year old Susan Louise Lawrence pulled the trigger through a closed door and ended the life of her neighbor, Ajica A.J. owens, a devoted mother of four who had only come to defend her children. What the world would come to learn was that this wasn't a heat of the moment confrontation. It was the explosion at the end of years of harassment, racial slurs, police calls, and escalating threats for simply laying outside. And when AJ Knocked on that door, she had no idea she was stepping into the final seconds of her life. But to understand how it came to this, you have to know what life was like in their small Ocala community long before that fatal night, A.J. owens, home in 2023 was filled with the joyful chaos and of raising her four kids, Isaac, Africa, Titus and Israel. As a single mom, AJ Had a lot on her plate. She was raising four children on her own. She had a lot of responsibility and worked long hours as a restaurant manager to support her family. But she wouldn't have traded motherhood for anything in the world. Despite the long hours, she was extremely involved in her kids lives and even served as a team mom on their football and cheerleading teams. AJ Loved football herself and she'd throw the football around with her kids in her free time. Everyone in the neighborhood knew her, not just as a very present mother, but someone who was warm and generous. The other parents in the neighborhood trusted AJ to look after their kids if they needed it. She always made sure to especially lend a helping hand to other single moms. For example, one of the moms in the neighborhood had a son who wanted to play football as well. But her work schedule conflicted with practice. So AJ not only brought the boy to sign up for the team, but she took him to every practice as well. She was the kind of friend and neighbor we all need in our corner. And then there was Susan. When Susan moved into the building a few years earlier, she brought with her a deep mistrust of others. But instead of seeking community, she lashed out at it. Susan was in her late 50s and her social life revolved around going to church. One possible reason that Susan mostly kept to herself was her history of mental illness. Having grown up with parents who struggled with addiction, she'd also been sa'd as a child, so it's easy to Imagine why Susan may have had a hard time trusting people. The thing is, though, she took that lack of trust way too far. Once Susan moved into her new apartment In Ocala in 2020, she started making waves in the neighborhood, and not in a good way. There was a grassy field in between Susan's apartment building and another one, and the neighborhood kids liked to play there. It's important to note this field was not on anyone's private property. It's also important to note that most of the kids who played there were black. And Susan, who was white, made it clear that she did not like these children because of their race. Whenever the kids were playing outside, she'd go out there and start yelling racial slurs at them, telling them to go away. Susan literally said to them once, this is not the Underground Railroad, you slaves. But her hateful comments weren't even the extent of her alarming behavior. The kids weren't breaking any rules, but Susan was so enraged by them just being there that she would sometimes wave a gun at them. Other neighbors were obviously not okay with any of this and stuck up for the kids, including on the multiple occasions that Susan called the police on the children. Usually when officers responded to these calls, Susan complained about how the neighborhood kids were running around and being loud, which they were still doing when the police got there, which is how officers knew they weren't doing anything mischievous. They were literally just playing. On at least one occasion, Susan accused some of the kids of trying to steal her pickup truck. Police also spoke to other adult residents in the neighborhood, including people of different races, who all said that Susan just hated the kids and was out to get them. And there was no one who angered Susan more than AJ Owens kids. Starting in January of 2021, the police were called at least six times in relation to the arguments between Susan and AJ. Ultimately, there was very little the police could do to calm Susan down, which isn't surprising given the fact that racists and bigots like Susan are pretty much impossible to reason with. Conflicts continued to simmer, and In June of 2023, things came to a boiling point. AJ's son Israel, who was nine years old at the time, was playing with his iPad on the grassy field, and a few other kids, including Israel's brother Isaac, who was about 12, were playing basketball nearby. Predictably, the fun sucker Susan, came out and started berating the kids. She gave the children the middle finger and made a bunch of racist comments. At this point, the kids stood up for themselves. They shouted back and told her they were allowed to be there. And this got Susan heated. She went back inside for a moment before returning with a roller skate in her hand, which she threw at Israel, hitting him in the leg and also breaking his iPad. Then, when another child told her she couldn't do that, she swung an umbrella at him. After that, the kids knew they should distance themselves, so they left. By this point, Susan decided that she was the victim, so, as expected, she called the police. But before officers arrived, Susan did something deadly. When it comes to the holidays, sometimes it seems like the easiest option would be to just buy someone a gift card and call it a day. But if you're like me and really want to do something special, then skip the headache this year and gift an Aura Frame I've always loved the idea of a digital frame because I have so many pictures. I love and can never choose which ones I want to frame, but I never really loved the way they looked. But my sister, who is an interior designer, bought our whole family aura frames last year. She got us the Carver frame in white and it's the perfect blend of functionality and aesthetics. I just became an auntie so it's also so fun seeing pictures of my niece and nephew pop up on the frame from our shared family album for a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off ORA's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code Crimehouse at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code crime House. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout to terms and conditions apply.
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A little before 9pm on June 2, 2023, Susan Lawrence called 911 hysterically crying that there were children trespassing on her property. On the line with the dispatcher she admitted that she threw roller skates, but she made it sound like she had just tossed them over the fence and she failed to mention that they hit Israel. She started exaggerating even more and said that after she threw the roller skates the kids started threatening her and that now she was afraid for her life. Then there was a knock on Susan's door and her demeanor shifted from scared to angry. Susan hung up the phone and went to the door where AJ Owens was standing with her son Israel. AJ who was normally warm and level headed, was understandably upset. She told Susan never to touch her son and confronted her about the broken iPad. Susan started arguing with her, but AJ Wouldn't back down. She'd had enough of Susan's racist and antagonistic antics. When Susan realized AJ Wasn't going to simply walk away, she made a false fatal decision. Susan walked into another room, grabbed her pistol, then fired at the door where AJ and Israel were standing. The apartment door was wooden and the bullet went right through, striking AJ in the chest. AJ and Israel ran away but AJ collapsed on the ground. She told Israel to call 91 1- so he ran to a neighbor's apartment nearby and asked them for help. When Susan realized the gravity of the situation, she also called the police back. This time she told them she'd shot someone and she said she did it because she thought the woman was going to kill her. The police, who were already on their way because of Susan's first 911 call, arrived on the scene soon after. When they got there, several neighbors were crowded around AJ trying to stop her bleeding. Paramedics then took over and rushed AJ to the hospital, but once she got there there was nothing the Doctors could do. A.J. owens was pronounced dead. Meanwhile, officers at the scene spoke to Susan who kept telling them the same story about self defense. She said that AJ had yelled at her and she feared for her life, so she quickly grabbed her gun and that's when she claimed she thought AJ was going to come inside, so she fired. After Susan was taken down to the station, she started saying that she didn't remember what actually happened. She even said she had no memory of picking up the gun in the first place. She only remembered shooting. If Susan's side of events were to be believed, the killing could be justified under Florida's so called stand your ground law. Florida's law was enacted in 2005, and it allows state residents to use force to even deadly force if their life is in imminent danger. The law became incredibly controversial after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager. Susan argued that she was worried AJ was going to knock her door down and therefore the shooting was justified. That night, police let Susan go, pending an investigation. But this immediately didn't sit right with AJ's family. AJ's mother quickly spoke out about the fact that AJ was unarmed when Susan shot her, making it hard to believe that Susan could feel like her life was truly in danger. But she was sticking to that story. As the story spread, the case made national headlines and protesters took to the streets to demand that Susan be arrested. AJ's death was taking a greater significance beyond these tragic circumstances to Ocala's black community. It was the latest example of injustices they'd experienced for years. Tensions were getting high and the chief prosecutor on the case and the Marion county sheriff understood that. But they had to follow a specific process for this investigation. Because of how the stand your ground law worked, the authorities had to investigate Susan's claim first. They couldn't legally arrest her without proving she didn't act in self defense. As police continued investigating, they took statements from each of the children who Susan had yelled at. They also kept speaking to Susan, who eventually admitted that she had used the N word when yelling at the kids. But through talking to Susan, officers confirmed something else too. Susan's door had been locked when AJ and Israel were there. Not only that, but there were no signs that anyone had tried to force the door open. Pretty quickly, investigators realized that Susan hadn't needed to defend herself. Authorities determined that AJ didn't pose an imminent threat to Susan's life. So four days after the shooting on June 6, 2023, Susan was arrested and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. She pleaded not guilty in the case, continuing to use the stand your ground law as a defense. But the police weren't on her side. Marion County Sheriff Billy woods said after Susan's arrest, this situation is a prime example of when deadly force was not justified. It was simply a killing. Susan's bail was set at $150,000 for the manslaughter charge, with an additional thousand dollars for each of the remaining four charges. She didn't pay her bond and stayed in jail until her trial in August of 2024. Throughout the proceedings, both sides focused on where the line is drawn for the stand your ground law. The question at hand was what it meant for Susan to believe her life was truly in imminent danger. The defense argued that Susan really did believe her life was in danger and in closing arguments said, quote, the law does not say that you have to wait to get punched or attacked before you can do something. You can use deadly force to prevent someone from coming into your home and hurting you or attacking you. Meanwhile, the prosecution emphasized that there was a locked door between Susan and AJ in their closing arguments they said it had to be ready to happen. It had to be staring her in the face, such as she had to act at that moment to protect her life. If Ms. Owens would somehow have managed to bust through this locked, dead bolted metal door, enter her house and start coming at her, the defendant may have had a right to shoot. But that's not the situation we have here. For the jury, the question of Susan's mindset seemed to be the central issue character. Just a half hour into their deliberations, they asked to re listen to a pair of 911 calls Susan made that night. In one of them, Susan did say she was, quote, really scared. But reports have noted a lack of emotion in her voice. And when the dispatcher asked if Susan was in danger, she responded, I locked my door. About an hour and a half later, the all white six person jury came to a decision. They found Susan guilty of manslaughter. Three months later, on November 25, 2024, Susan was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Susan's attorneys argued that her history of abuse should be a mitigating factor to her sentencing. But the judge ultimately decided that it had no bearing on her case. Susan's release is currently set for April 8, 2048, when she will be 83 years old. But that's not where the story ends.
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At her sentencing, Susan Lawrence apologized to Ajika Owens family, promising that her death had nothing to do with race. But her apology also sounded like she was still making excuses for her behavior. She said, quote, I am so sorry that I took AJ's life. I never intended to kill her. The night I shot that gun, I was confused as to why she was screaming and pounding on my door. Please accept my humble and sincere apology for this tragedy. AJ's family was happy to get justice, but they didn't completely buy Susan's apology. AJ's mother didn't feel like Susan had actually shown remorse. At the same time, AJ's death reignited the national conversation about stand your ground laws. Currently, over half of the US states have them. There have been dozens of cases where a white person has killed an unarmed black person and claimed self defense under the stand your ground law. In April 2023, just a few months before AJ's death, a 16 year old black teenager named Ralph Jarl was shot in Kansas City, Missouri and thankfully survived. Andrew Daniel Lester, an 84 year old white man, shot Ralph through his front door after he rang the doorbell at the wrong house. Andrew claimed self defense under Missouri's stand your ground law. He ultimately pleaded guilty to second degree assault and died before his sentencing. Cynthia Ward, a law professor at William and Mary Law School, echoed the sentiments of many advocates for racial justice in speaking out against Stand your ground laws. These laws, she argued, mutated into a shoot first belief rather than a last resort protection. After AJ's death, her family began to advocate against those laws laws too. Her mom said, quote, it's an archaic law and I feel many racist people stand behind that law in terms of shooting people of color. There are studies out there that show that to be true. In this case, Susan invoked her standing the ground law and it took four days for an arrest when clearly that wasn't the issue. In July 2025, AJ's family filed a civil suit against Susan Susan claiming wrongful death. In response, Susan sent an angry letter from jail threatening to countersue for slander, libel and defamation, with damages up to $50,000. But it's hard to see a jury siding with Susan, especially after the recent release of the documentary the Perfect Neighbor. The film's director, Geeta Gonbier, has worked on a number of high profile documentaries, but this story was personal because her sister in law was AJ's best friend. Geeta and her filmmaking partners were concerned about Susan's use of the stand you'd ground law, so they decided to start making a documentary about the case. The film is mostly composed from body cam and security footage collected during the various run ins Susan had with the police, as well as uncut moments from the night of AJ's death. The filmmakers were able to obtain the footage through the Freedom of Information Act. It's rare that a film will use this kind of footage at all, so making it the entire focus of the film was an unprecedented step, but the filmmakers knew it would ground the story. In reality, I felt the public would never doubt the footage's authenticity, Gieda said. Right now there is a lot of doubt about the authenticity of things. I believe that people would trust what they were seeing as it unfolded. Also, she continued, police body camera footage for people of color like myself, for black and brown folks, oftentimes is seen as a violent tool. We wanted to take this footage and flip it on its head. The Perfect Neighbor premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2025 and immediately received rave reviews from critics. Netflix acquired the rights to the film for $5 million and it was released on the platform in October of 2025. It's already been receiving awards, including five of the critics Choice Documentary Awards. A lot of people think it'll take home the Oscar for best Documentary Feature next year. And while this is a great example of how storytelling can humanize cases like this and hopefully even help people heal heal, there are still some lasting scars. One really heartbreaking thing is that Isaac and Israel have been feeling a ton of guilt over what happened the day their mom died. They've been blaming themselves and wishing they could have saved her. They're so young, it's probably really hard for them to understand right now that the only person at fault is the one who pulled the trigger. AJ's mom, Pamela Diaz, is raising her four kids now. They're all doing their best to lean on each other and remember all of the happy, joyful times they had with their mom. So hopefully as they get older, Isaac and Israel will be able to move past this initial trauma. Pamela is definitely doing everything she can to make sure AJ's death wasn't in vain. She co founded a non profit called the Standing in the Gap Fund, which aims to support families impacted by gun violence and hate crimes and to fight for legislative change, Pamela told CNN. Quote AJ's name is now tied to change. What did you think of tonight's case? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you next time. If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel Rimehouse Daily and follow us on social media Rimehouse247 for real time updates. Because the pursuit of justice never stops. Looking for your next crime house? Listen, don't miss Clues with Morgan Abshur and Kaylin Moore Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaylin take you deep into the world of the most notorious crimes ever. Clue by clue. It's like hanging out with your smart choice true crime obsessed friends. Listen to Clues on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.