SERIALously - 347: Netflix Showed the Bodycam but They Didn't Show This | AJ Owens

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Ajike “A.J.” Owens was a devoted 35-year-old mother of four. She was the kind of woman who fought for her kids without hesitation. But on a June evening in Ocala, Florida, what began as one of many neighborhood disputes, turned into a national flashpoint. After an argument involving her children and the woman next door, A.J. walked to her neighbor’s home seeking answers. Moments later, a single gunshot fired through a closed, windowless door ended her life. Now, with the case back in the spotlight and the coroner’s findings, trial testimony, and forensic contradictions resurfacing through documentaries and public debate, unpack the explosive questions her murder continues to raise… . If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise.  . 🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks. . 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel! 🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives. 💚 Spotify 🔴 YouTube 🎙️ All Other Platforms . 📸 Follow Annie on Socials  Instagram: @_annieelise TikTok: @_annieelise Substack: @annieelise Facebook: @10toLife . ⭐Sponsors OPositiv: Take proactive care of your health and head to http://OPositiv.com/AE or enter AE at checkout for 25% off your first order. 1800 Contacts: Order online at http://1800contact.com or download the free 1800 Contacts app today. Homeaglow: Head to http://homeaglow.com/AnnieElise to get your first 3 hours of cleaning for only $19! IM8: Go to http://IM8HEALTH.com/AE and use code AE for a Free Welcome Kit, five free travel sachets, plus 10% off your order.  Factor: Eat smart at http://FactorMeals.com/ae50off and use code ae50off to get 50% off your first box plus Free Breakfast for one year. . 👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves!  ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy  Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon . 🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a Case About Annie: www.annieelise.com For Business Inquiries: [e-mail] . 📚 Episode Sources  10 Tampa Bay | A&E | AOL | Ben Crump Law | Cosmopolitan | Court TV | E! News | Forbes | Fox 35 Orlando | Interrogators Playbook | Law & Crime | NBC News | People | Scribd | Seattle Medium | Standing in the Gap Fund | The Independent | The Mirror | The Tab | TheLawPOV | TODAY | WESH 2 News | WCJB TV20 News | WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando •••••••••••••••••• 🚨Disclaimers 1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me.  2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research.  3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

9-1-1, what is the accident? Somebody got signed. Newly released affidavits and 911 calls offer more insight to what happened in the shooting death of mother of four, A.J. Owens. Somebody got side. His mom got side. She had love.

She had compassion. We are truly the divided states of America, not the United States of America. I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands. Justice for AJ. Justice for AJ. Justice for AJ.

We believe. in salvation and liberation. Please don't let our baby girls' death go in vain. Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serial asleep. The night of June 2nd, 2023, was not a typical night for the Quail Run neighborhood in Ocala, Florida. It was normally a very quiet, very peaceful neighborhood, full of younger working-class families just trying to make a living and raise their kids. And on any regular evening, you could actually hear the neighborhood kids playing outside.

There were a lot of them, too, all varying in ages, and spending time together outside was really what they loved to do. so much so that many of the adults had become friends over the years as well. Just think of it as like a traditional neighborhood. Not necessarily block parties, but with that kind of vibe, right? With everybody outside, the kids all playing, the parents getting to know one another. Everyone really looked out for one another. And the adults would even take turns watching the kids while they were playing outside. Almost like the neighborhood parents considered the neighborhood kids to all be their kids. And the kids, they were all each other's best friends. There was just this, really great sense of community there. And I have to say in this day and age, that is like music

to my ears because it's not often that kids choose to play outside and get dirty rather than stay inside and play video games or stare at their phones or their tablets. I know for me when I was growing up, it was play outside until the streetlights come on. You are riding your bike. You're making obstacle courses. You're playing fake restaurant. You're using chalk. And there's something so nostalgic and wholesome and comforting about that, right? In today's day and age, and I'm speaking based on experience with my own kids and even what I've seen, it is more, let's stay inside, let's do tablets, let's do video games. I think not only because technology has advanced so much, but also because there's a fear of kids being outside. No parents really are allowing

their kids to just play until the streetlights go on. I mean, depending on where you live. So hearing that this neighborhood really had that, kids just playing out, until all hours really coming together, having imaginary fun, and all, like, it's just so nice to think about. The parents would all watch them run from house to house, just gathering all of their toys, inviting their friends to come outside and play. And for these parents, it was like watching these core childhood memories being made. But on the night of June 2nd, other memories were made, ones that people should never have to relive, let alone kids, because instead of laughter, there was a single, loud, and very distinct gunshot that rang through the entire neighborhood.

And nothing in the community of Quail Run would ever be the same again. And what happened next was absolute chaos. Hey, is your mom laying in the grass? Yay! Yeah. 9-1-1. What is the average? Somebody got shot.

His mom got shot. Okay, sir. We think his mom's laying in the grass, like, nobody wants to go over there. We ain't trying to get caught. They're very important. 9-1-1 operators were being flooded with phone calls about a woman being shot. And in the background of many of these calls, you can hear a very young boy crying. I mean, just really, you know, wailing and just sobbing.

Those sounds are something that personally will haunt me for a very long time. And most of the calls all reported more or less the very same thing, that a woman was on the ground, that she had been shot, and that they didn't know exactly what had happened. and it was 35-year-old Adjica Owens, also known as A.J. by her family and friends. Now, one of these phone calls that came into dispatch, it was very, very different because this phone call actually came from the perpetrator. 911 with the address for the emergency seat. Oh, my God, this lady just tried to break down my door.

I shot through the door. Okay, repeat that address for me to make sure I have it correct. Okay, what is your name? I was going to come in my house. Okay, what's going? Take a deep breath on me, calm down. Oh, my God. You said someone try to break down your door, is that correct?

What? The woman was screaming and yelling and she was trying to break down my door. Okay, it was a female? Yes. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed my gun and I saw that at the door. She was going to get me.

Oh, my God. Oh, did you say you shot at the door? Is that correct? Yes, I shot at the door because she wouldn't. I told her dead away and she wouldn't. What is it? I can say. Okay.

Where is your gun now? It's in my bedroom. I didn't want the door is panicking. This is the woman who attacked me. Okay, do you still see the subject? I don't know where she is. I'm still in my house. I didn't open my daughter. Is it just only you in the home? Yes, it's just me.

That's right. One of the callers was the woman who pulled the trigger and shot A.J. Now, if you haven't heard about this case yet, just based on the 911 calls and everything so far, you might be thinking to yourself, okay, it sounds like maybe it was some sort of dispute between neighbors, maybe even something more severe like a potential break-in, vandalism, something like that. Well, the story that the caller tried to tell that night isn't even close to what really happened. The woman on that 911 call was 58-year-old Susan Luritz. She had made it sound like somebody had been trying to hurt her or was somebody trying to get inside her home. But as you will come to learn very quickly in today's episode, this case is not

straightforward. And it isn't at all what it appears to be on the surface. Now, you might be familiar with this case if you watched the recent documentary The Perfect Neighbor. But that documentary, while very, very incredibly well done in moving, it consisted primarily of body cam footage, not the story and the details behind everything. And that's why I wanted to cover this episode today. I want to not only give you some of that footage and those sound bites, but I want to explain the story to you as well, just so that you have full context. Now, if you have not watched the perfect neighbor yet, I do want to warn you, for me personally, I watched it before we researched this case and dug into it more. And at one point, and I'm not going to say what point in case you have not seen it,

at one point in the middle, I had to stop watching. I ended up finishing it because I knew I needed to, but it is a very difficult watch because, again, so much of it consists of the actual firsthand account from the body cam footage. So today, like I said, I want to just break down this story for you and the reality of everything and all of the parts that weren't left in because they didn't really give narrative at all in this documentary and explain the truth. because something horrific happened that night between these two neighbors. But when these 911 calls were pouring in, nobody had the full story yet. However, this wasn't the first time that the investigators had been called to Susan's house.

They were more than familiar with the name Susan Luritz. Like I said, I want to take you deeper inside this case into the lives of the people involved and into the community where it happened. Because there were all of these strong neighborhood bonds. yet they masked attention that really simmered for a long time with this neighbor, and it eventually exploded into violence. So on the night of June 2nd, 2023, it really started off like any typical night. It was the middle of summer. All the kids in the neighborhood were out of school for summer break, so that meant having way more time to play outside. And a group of kids made up of multiple

neighborhood families had been playing in this particular section of the block where it's kind of just like this open field. There's a lot of properties on the block, and it looks. looks to be two duplex properties, but then in between the two of them, this big, wide open field. So they would go in that field, they'd play football, they'd kick around the ball, they would bring toys over there. It was really kind of like, I don't want to say a park, but like the footprint of a park, if you will, a very big extended area of grass. And this was where the kids usually played. I mean, sure, they might go to one family's yard or another, but with the large amount of kids that all came together on a regular basis, sometimes it was difficult.

to play in those smaller yards. They would need this big open field to play tag, kickball, football, whatever it is. So now, like I said, this field was completely empty. I'm not sure if maybe there was a home there in the past and it was torn down or if it had always been an open field. But the point being, it was an empty field between two rental properties, meaning that the land itself was privately owned. Now, I'm not sure if the owner lived in the neighborhood or not.

But apparently, he did know that this was a spot where all of the kids would gather to play with each other. And he had absolutely no issues with it at all. It's not like they were doing anything harmful or illegal, right? It was just kids getting together and playing. They were just playing football, tag, or other childhood games. And according to some of the neighbors, the guy who owned the field would even sometimes play with the kids, kind of join in on the fun, like he enjoyed the spirit of it all. The kids also never damaged the property or disrespected it. The worst thing that they could possibly do was maybe forget some of their toys on the lawn and then leave them behind when they returned back home, which they of course would eventually

come back for them the following day since this was like their stomping grounds, this is where they played. So again, the owner just didn't care. He gave them and their parents full permission to use this field whenever they wanted. Now for those of you who have seen the documentary, the perfect neighbor, while the documentary was yes, really well done, a lot of people out there are demanding for more information about AJ, who she was, what she was like as a person. And so I want to touch on that for a moment here. AJ was a mother of four young children, 12-year-old Isaac, 10-year-old Izzy, seven-year-old Africa, and Titus, who was just a baby.

Now, being a mother was absolutely the most important role in the world to AJ. She loved her kids more than anything. She was also a very hard-working mom. She would clock in for very long shifts at McDonald's where she worked as a manager. She didn't care if she was overworked, if she was tired, she would go, she wanted to support her children. And when it came to work, a work-life balance was also really important to her. She took this job very seriously because, yes, she wanted to provide for the kids, but she also wanted to be as present as possible in her kids' lives.

Which, what's that saying? Work to live, not live to work, I don't know. But her family had said that she always made sure to cook dinner every single night. She also would volunteer in the kids' classrooms whenever she could. A.J. just really wanted her kids to know that they were the most important part of her life. She always wanted to be present, to be their best friend, to be their confidant. Her older three kids were very athletic and very into sports, and that's something that she very much encouraged them to do. And with that, she always made sure to be at their practices or their games just on the sidelines, cheering them on, encouraging them.

So A.J. was a great mom to her kids. But she was also a great mom. to everybody's kids. On most days, even after those long shifts at work, instead of sitting inside or relaxing, watching TV, just vegging out and taking time for herself, she'd be outside in the neighborhood, playing with all of the kids, her own, and the other neighborhood kids. Phyllis Willis, one of her neighbors, had a son around the same age as AJ's boys. And AJ knew that they all loved playing football together in the neighborhood, so she encouraged Phyllis to sign him up for football. But unfortunately, Phyllis was working a lot at the time. She wasn't able to take him. But AJ took it upon herself to step in and to sign him up herself. She also continued taking him to every single practice and game that Phyllis couldn't make it to. Just again, really taking on this mama bear role for the whole neighborhood. Now out of everyone in the neighborhood, Susan was the odd one out. She was the only one who didn't get along with everyone, the only person who ever caused any type of trouble. And Susan rented her place. she had moved into her duplex across the street from AJ back in 2020.

When she moved in, everyone in the neighborhood already had built these relationships and bonds with each other. And here she was now the newcomer coming in and kind of trying to like find her path. I mean, it didn't mean that Susan couldn't come into the neighborhood and make friends with people. Of course she could. Granted, she was a bit older than most of the other people on the block. But it still was tough for Susan, all by her own doing. And what I mean by that is Susan could have been the neighbor who waved it everyone every morning or handed out juice boxes to the kids who were playing on the lawn and all hot and sweaty from being out there for hours on end, but that wasn't the reality of things. Could not be further from the truth. From the moment that she moved in, she was just extremely standoffish. Which fine, yeah. Okay, I get it. Sometimes people aren't very chatty. Trust me, I get that. I'm somebody who's like, I peer out my window to see when the door dash driver drops the food and then and only then and only,

then once he's driven away, will I open the door? Or if I'm going out to get the mail and I see my neighbor coming out to get the mail, I like kind of hurry and scurry back in, which I know that sounds awful, but it's like my social battery usually at the end of the day is just drained. So I get it. Sometimes you don't want to be overly, I don't want to say like participatory, but maybe you're doing your own thing. And that's okay. However, by 2021, she really started showing her true colors. Because this is when it wasn't just her being standoffish or not participating and not waving to the neighbors. She started calling 911 on these kids. The county sheriff's office later stated that between 2021 and 23, she had called the police between six and eight times, all in

relation to the children. She claimed that the kids were being loud, that they were being obnoxious, that they were trespassing on her property. But as we already touched on, that field, that that all of these kids played on, that was private property owned by somebody else, somebody who gave them permission to be there. It wasn't like they were going on her porch or behind her gate or on her driveway, no. And I get it, her duplex did, you know, on the side of it, kind of back in to this lawn area. So they were close to her property, but they certainly were not on her property. Like literally, all the kids, because that's an open spot right there, all that is not her property. I got you. She would say,

that the kids were yelling at her, threatening her, stomping on her no trespassing signs, messing with her truck. I mean, the list, it just goes on and on. Hello, Sheriff's Office. What's going on this evening? All the children screaming their full heads off running around. I had my truck and parked from here, so I didn't have to listen to the screaming and yelling. As soon as I know the truck, the kids are coming up, I'm like, guys, stop. They know they're not supposed to be over here. They were told them at the time. They've previously stolen.

There's a trespassing sign. And he went to take it tells me to shut up to my face. I said, don't be disrespectful to me. And he was exchanging back and forth. I'm like, my name is back and forth. And my name is calling me. I'm like, no, no, no, no, we're not going to do that. I said, go wherever you live.

Well, suddenly, you're not going to come up. His mother comes over here. If you cheat my son like that again, I'm going to rip your ass out and go beat you up. Excuse me? I have a bloody wife. And I said, she got no trespassing, sign. Get off my watch. Now, what she failed to tell the police in all of this was that she would regularly threaten the kids,

that she would also constantly call them a slew of not only hateful names, but very racial, slurred names. She would call them the R word, the N word. She would call them, quote, black slaves. She would tell them, quote, this isn't the underground railroad. I mean, truly unhinged behavior. So were you the guys that this lady was mad about? Yes, and I just want to say that every time, like even if we're not... Hold on, hold on. Let's bring it down.

Okay, I'm sorry. You're okay. Every time, even if we're not on our property and we're just like being loud and playing basketball, I got you. Like, she just calls us names. Okay. What kind of names is she calling you guys? She's a retards, the B word.

The pee were everywhere in the book. Like, one time we're, look, the kids were playing right there. And it was his dad outside. And then she came out. Your dad? Cowboy? She came out yelling and she was talking about a little girl getting raped and stuff. Like, she's crazy. Like, she'll come out just yelling about.

Yeah, she just says weird. Like, I have said stuff to her before because I, one time I just happened to come outside. And she was calling them ratards. And I'm like, hey, like, relax. I'm like, these are kids here. I got you. I'm sure we can all agree that these are just disgusting things to say. to anyone, but especially as a grown-ass woman to children. I mean, give me a break. Yet,

she never filled the police in on any of that. If you asked Susan, she was always the victim. In fact, she once told the investigators that she was, quote, the perfect neighbor, insinuating that she had no idea what the kids and what their parents had against her, that, you know, poor her, they had it out for her from day one, they never wanted to include her, they never wanted to be nice to her, which you can now see where Netflix got the name for The Doc, The Perfect Neighbor, that was a self-proclaimed title. But all to say that when the police arrived the night of June 2nd, they now already knew this address. They were all too familiar. Okay, ladies, let's talk about something that nobody warned us about, how unbelievably sensitive vaginal health can be.

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hey, if she starts calling you names and bothering you, just don't feed into it because she's trying to make you guys look bad. So because of that, just ignore her. Go get your parents, do whatever you need to do. Just really try not to interact with her. The police had also learned very early on that this open field that all of the kids would play on, they were allowed to be there.

They knew that Susan didn't own it, that they weren't trespassing, that whenever she called to say that the kids were trespassing, that they really weren't. And body camp footage from after receiving one of Susan's calls even captures the responding officers talking with each other, you know, amongst each other, concluding that Susan was the problem in all of this. Mom said that they were over football. Old man, I guess, lives over. They said he comes out and plays with him. Yeah, he has no problem. She's the only problem. But essentially what happened was that her nine-year-old son

and her older son were playing football together. She came out, started mounting off. The nine-year-old now back to her. Yeah, that's not talking about. The older son came and got mom, brought little brother home. Older brother told mom, hey, that he was melvin off at her. So mom grounded son. Oh, okay.

Mom came back over here to try and resolve the issue. Well, she never opened up the door. She only talked to him through the screen door, first of all. Never even opened up the door. But the 9-year-old said that with mom, she stepped towards me, and she walked towards me in a gross of manner. I didn't know what she was going to do, and I thought she might hurt me there.

So, mom went over there and was like, listen, I don't know what happened. This is what my son said. I'm going to get your set of the story, and she's like, no, you're trespassing. Get the stuff out of here. You're in your bastard children. She's like, okay, well, listen, if you don't want to resolve this next time, if you step towards my kids, you're going to have to do with me as what the mom said to her.

You even heard in that clip that the adults in the neighborhood were all pretty strict with their kids when it came to Susan. They didn't want their kids giving Susan any sort of attitude or mouthing off to her. I mean, they knew that she was kind of a problem, so they wanted their kids to be respectful and keep their distance all the way to point where one of the kids even got grounded for talking back to Susan once. But that's the thing. The kids would be playing, they'd be mining their own business, doing their thing, and then Susan would be the one to come outside and antagonize them, calling them names, getting things stirred up, and then the minute that they would kind of stoop to her level or push back, she would play the victim card, saying that she was scared, that she needed the police to get involved, that she

felt threatened. And I think it's worth noting that these were not bad kids. The fact that they loved to be outside and actually play, it says a lot about them. And it says a lot about their childhood. And quite honestly, it says a lot about their parents in a great way. It's refreshing. But that being said, I also don't know any kid who isn't going to get maybe a little sassy or maybe a little bit of talking back if somebody catches an attitude with them purposefully. If somebody's trying to intentionally hurt their feelings. I mean, it's just not realistic. Kids don't know how to regulate their emotions as well as adults do. So just to step away when things, are getting bad isn't something that a lot of kids understand, which is exactly the way Susan

intentionally would set it up every time. She knew that she was the antagonizer. She knew that she was going to get something out of them and like poke the bear until they, you know, I guess like, what is it, growl back, fight back, whatever it is. And she did that until finally it exploded. On the night of the second, AJ's two older children were out playing outside like they have done so many nights before. And usually the field was full of kids. But on that, That night in particular, it was a little less busy than usual, as far as number of kids went. AJ's oldest son, Isaac, who was 12 at the time, was shooting basketball on the street. Her second oldest son, 10-year-old Izzy, was playing in the field by himself.

Now, Izzy was in the field and had his iPad with him, but he had momentarily laid it down and then moved on to something else, which tell me a 10-year-old who doesn't get distracted. But this is the moment when Susan came outside, picked the iPad up from off the ground, and was raging pissed. Izzy says that he asked Susan to give it back to him, but instead of handing it over, she threw it on the ground and she started yelling at him. He also had a pair of roller skates that were in that field with him,

and that is when, according to Izzy, this is what he told the investigators, Susan picked up the skates and threw them at him, hitting him in the toe. Now at some point during this dispute between this grown woman who was almost 60 years old and two literal children, because remember, Isaac was also close by during all of this, only 12 years old, Susan apparently even started swinging an umbrella at the kids.

So after this whole altercation, a 911 call came in. This wasn't the call that was reporting the shooting. This was a different one. It was Susan on the other end of the line. And she was quoted as saying, we got kids trespassing, standing there, leaving all the toys around, just screaming, yelling, and just being absolutely obnoxious. She even admitted during the 911 call

that she did pick up some of the skates and that she, quote, threw them to the side. She didn't say she threw them at the child. She said she threw them to the side. But she didn't stop there. She also claimed to the 911 operator that Izzy, the 10-year-old, mind you,

that he had threatened to beat her up for throwing his skates. She even claimed that he said that he was going to go get someone to come and kill her. So the 911 operator, of course, asked, okay, well, are you inside or are you outside? Are you in any danger? Are they on your property? Like, those kinds of things. Trying to assess this situation and see, where are you at? Are you protected? Are you indoors? Is your door locked? Are you out there with them? Like, what's going on? So Susan said, quote, yeah, there are several kids out there right now. And I'm fearing for my life. I'm very scared. Now, of course, the 911 operator was trying to diffuse and calm down what seemed over the phone like a potentially scary situation. right? I mean, 911 operators don't have the full backstory, the same one that the police do. They don't know that this is kind of a pattern in this neighborhood. To them, this very well could have been a life or death situation. If someone calls in and says they are in fear for their life, you have to take that seriously until you know more. So the operator instructed Susan to stay inside, to avoid the kids, to lock her doors, to close her windows, and said, you know, the police will be there soon. Just hunker down, basically, until the police get there. However, within two minutes, two minutes, another call went into 911. And this, this was the call

from Susan about shooting AJ. Now, the key witnesses in this case are AJ's two sons, because apparently after Susan had yelled at the kids and swung that umbrella at them and threw the skates at them, the boys went and got their mom. It's also worth mentioning that during a previous time that the police had been called out to this neighborhood by Susan, the officers literally told the kids that they wanted them to go get their parents if Susan ever came outside or was saying mean things to them. So in this situation now, you know, fast forwarding from them, the kids were literally doing exactly what they had been instructed to do by the police officers. Things were escalating and they went and got their mom. So AJ, with her son, Izzy at her side, went to Susan's front

door, knocking and demanding that Susan come outside so that they could settle whatever had happened between her and the kids. And you know, AJ was hearing things from her kids really awful things. And to her it wasn't fair. I mean, if Susan had a problem with her kids, she needed to take it up with her, the adult in the situation. If one of my kids came to me and told me that someone, whether it be a neighbor, a parent, whoever it was, had thrown something at them or was yelling at them, I'd be at their doorstep too being like, uh, no bitch, take it up with me. You don't talk to my 10 year old and you certainly don't throw things at them. So this is what AJ was doing. Like, come out. Susan, let's talk about this, let's settle this. But instead of Susan coming outside and having a mature adult conversation, things escalated. And very quickly, Susan fired a gunshot through her front door, a shot that hit AJ. It all happened incredibly fast. Detectives later learned that from the time that Susan called 911 about the boys, to them going and getting their mom AJ, to when AJ knocked on Susan's door, and then Susan fired her gun, it was only two minutes. All of that happened within two minutes. And it was only a single shot, but it was enough to make blood run cold in

every single person in that neighborhood. They knew that sound. They knew what was happening, and they were in fear for their life. When the police and the first responders arrived, they found AJ lying there on the ground near where Susan lived. She had been shot in the upper chest, and she had a very faint pulse. She wasn't moving, she wasn't responding to anyone. And you could hear some of the neighbors who, at this point, were more like family to AJ, they were just begging and pleading with her to wake up. And at the same time as AJ was being loaded up into the back of an ambulance

and being rushed off to the hospital, the police, were handcuffing Susan. Run around. Where's your gun at? You got hands, you got hands? Is there anybody else in the house? Can I just get my daughter? No, no, no, no right now. All right. You're not under rest.

You'll be entertained. Okay. Come over here. I wait, please. I have two cats inside. Hold on. Good, man. Too up.

Now, the fact that A.J. was shot in general is heartbreaking. But what's even worse is that Isaac and Izzy saw everything. Izzy was standing right next to her. And Isaac was close enough that he saw everything as well. He heard the gunshot. He saw his mom fall to the ground. He saw his little. brother, his 10-year-old brother, panicking, things that no child should ever have to see.

According to Isaac, this moment is something that haunts him for many reasons, but mainly because he feels responsible for his mother's death. He's told his loved ones that he regrets not knowing how to perform CPR on her, and he feels like it's his fault that she died. Which, can you imagine that incredible weight and burden that these young boys are caring because of the actions of this woman. Because the reality is, Isaac performing CPR on his mom likely would not have helped. And I believe another neighbor actually did come over and tried to perform CPR. So you can't tell that to a 12-year-old little boy and expect them to process it. And guilt is a huge part of anyone's grieving process, especially when you add in all these other

awful factors. But the burden of that is heartbreaking to think about. Phyllis, one of the neighbors that I know I mentioned earlier, she recalls hearing a loud bang at her front door. When she opened the door, she saw that it was Isaac, a boy that she knew, a boy that she loved like her own. He was clearly distressed and in desperate need of help. And I heard a bang on my door so loud that my windows were shaking. And I came outside and her son was literally gasping for air telling me that his mother had been shot by the lady across the street. You said you knew who that was.

I knew who it was immediately. I hope she rots in hell. Unfortunately, A.J. didn't make it. The medical staff did everything that they could, but her injuries were too extensive. She passed away just a few hours after being taken to the hospital. And even though she had only been shot once, there was a lot of internal damage. Now, I think for a lot of people who aren't as familiar with gunshot wounds, they think that the bullet enters your body and then either stays in the area that you were hit or it goes right through you. But AJ's injuries proved just how untrue that really can be, because the bullet entered her body.

It then went right, then left, then downward. So first, it hit her rib, then it went completely through her right lung. But it also went through her heart, her esophagus, her diaphragm, and her spleen. So many crucial organs. And I don't know the exact percentages when it comes to chances of survival with those kinds of wounds, but I would imagine that her chance of survival from the moment the bullet entered her body was probably extremely low. AJ's cause of death was ruled as a gunshot wound. The only question now was would the manner of death be premeditated homicide, or would it be homicide by means of self-defense?

Okay, tell me if this sounds familiar. The holidays roll in. You've got a million things to do. Gifts to wrap, kid events, work deadlines. Suddenly, people are coming over. And meanwhile, your house looks like it survived a crime scene. That used to be me every single year. Heck, it still is most of the time. But this year, I actually got ahead of it because I booked a home cleaning through HomeGlo. And I'm not kidding. This has been the biggest sanity saver of the season. I first did it for Thanksgiving. Now I'm doing it for Christmas. And HomeGlow is a top-rated home service platform. that connects you with trusted background-checked cleaners in your area. I was able to go online, pick the exact date and time I needed, see reviews and photos from other customers, and then book somebody instantly. No guessing, no back and forth, no hoping the person who shows up is legit. They even have cleaners who go through a rigorous certification process and maintain a 4.8-star average rating, which honestly made me feel so confident when I booked.

Like I said, I used HomeGlow before hosting Thanksgiving, and it was just such a weight off my shoulders. Instead of spending the whole day scrubbing bathrooms, wiping down countertops, I actually got to just like enjoy decorating, cooking, baking with the kids, and not feeling like I was running out of time. Having a clean home going into the holidays, it changes everything. Your mood, your stress level, and definitely your productivity. And the best part is their forever clean membership. Once you've had a cleaning, you can save $30 an hour on future cleanings. You can get somebody weekly, biweekly, monthly, whatever fits your level of chaos. And it's backed by Omoglo's happiness guarantee. If you start now, you can even get something on the calendar before the

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I started using daily ultimate essentials because I was tired of feeling like I was operating on 60%, you know, low energy, no focus, and just constantly dragging myself through the day. but now I actually feel like I've gotten like my spark back or what are those people say my sparkle back. It's because it's now become something I rely on and I genuinely don't want to go without it. IMA's daily ultimate essentials has become my go-to because instead of taking a dozen different supplements, I get everything in one single tasty drink. It's co-founded by David Beckham, which I also like that because he doesn't like David Beckham. And it's crafted with insights from experts at places like the Mayo Clinic, Cedar Sinai, plus a former NASA chief

scientist. So it's not just like another trendy powder that's out there. And it simplifies my routine and makes supporting my wellness so much easier. This drink has 92 nutrient-rich ingredients, vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, COQ10, MSN, pre-plus pre-pro, post-piotics, I mean, all of the things. And what makes IM8 stand out is how it combines science with nature. They use effective ingredients and they back them with research, including clinical trials where 95% of participants reported feeling more energetic, and 85% said that their digestion improved and they experienced less bloating. Another big one for me is the ingredients. It's vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, and NSF certified, which means everything is third-party tested.

So if you're somebody who cares about what you're putting into your body, this makes it a no-brainer. So this is the one to go. Give your body what it deserves with IM8. Go to IM8health.com slash a. And use code A.E for a free welcome kit, five free travel sachets plus 10% off your order. That's I M. Number 8, H-E-A-L-T-H dot com slash A-E. Code A-E for a free welcome kit, five free travel sachetshays plus 10% off your order. I-M-8Health.com slash A-E, code A-E. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Those who knew and loved AJ said that she had big dreams and goals that she wanted to accomplish.

As I mentioned, she was very business-oriented, and she had learned a lot from her managerial position and from her former jobs, and she one day wanted to become an entrepreneur. She wanted to own her own store. Apparently, she even told her friends and family that one day, the whole world would know her name, which it gives me chills because, of course, now the world does know her name, but for very different circumstances. Her friends and family used words like warm, gentle, kind, and loving to describe her. And those are the kinds of words and characteristics that we all hope to be described in, right? All in all, AJ seemed like an amazing woman and an

incredible mother, the kind of person that anybody would want to have in their corner. And this is what made AJ's death all the more tragic. She had died protecting her children. And yes, I do say protecting and standing up for her children, and I don't say that lightly, because the night of her death was not the first time that there had been issues with Susan. This had been a long-standing feud. And truthfully, it wasn't a feud between just AJ and Susan. It was a feud between Susan and literally everybody else in the neighborhood, the parents, the kids. I mean, Susan didn't like anyone. And she made that very well known and clear. So this wasn't some sudden misunderstanding or some sort of crime of passion. It was the boiling point of a very long pattern. Like I said,

the calls, they had been coming in from Susan for years. Why are they on private property that they have no means? I mean, they don't rent here. Well, if those people aren't complaining, I can't kick them off that property. Well, then I'll send a cease and desist letter to them. Okay. Well, I mean, as long as they're not on your property, I mean, they can pretty much play wherever they want to play. I don't want to be intimidated by them screaming and yelling at me, telling me I'm a calling me Karen.

Now, sidebar, this situation obviously is not funny at all. But the fact that Susan essentially called the police because she was butt hurt about them calling her a Karen is kind of like hilarious in a way. the Karen of all Karens. I think we can all agree on that. Sorry to any Karens who are listening. There are some good ones out there. But for her, she was pissed off and enraged because they called her a Karen. Yet she was entitled to call them slurs. That was totally fine and acceptable to her, but they can't call her a Karen. I mean, come on here. Now, there was one specific time on February 25th, 2022, where Susan called the cops on the kids like she had done so many times. And AJ was directly involved speaking with the police as well. Susan had told this very long-winded story about how she worked from home for an insurance company that when all of the kids were outside playing and yelling, she couldn't hear her clients on the phone. She said it wasn't fair to her that she had the right to have, quote, a peaceful and quiet enjoyment. But then she said that AJ got physical with her. Now, she's

kind of all but clutching her pearls here saying that her heart was thumping out of her chest, that she never would have imagined AJ getting physical with her. But I want you to take a listen or the video version of these clips if you're on YouTube. I'm just, I'm sorry, my heart's thumping around. I just didn't know she was going to actually get physical with me. With the sign? Yeah. I'm probably.

You know, that's not cool. You don't get physical. I mean, does she just threw it? No, she whipped it at me. I mean, so she claimed that AJ basically took the no trespassing sign out of the ground and then hit her with it, which the cops went over,

They talked with A.J. about this, and she had a very different story to tell. Her sign, she went and bought a little private property sign, and she went to pick it back, and she went to pick it back up. I picked the sign up, and I threw the sign. I literally picked the sign up, and I walked up to the sign, and I could go and buy a sign, too. It still doesn't mean anything. At that point, I guess she's already on the phone, and she, I'm being attacked. So one's attacking me. I'm literally in the street now. Okay.

Where this happened? Right over the box. Okay. Now, because this was a busy neighborhood where all of these other people were always outside, people saw this whole thing go down. And you want to guess whose story had been backed up the most in everybody else's account of what really went down? Spoiler alert, it wasn't Susan's.

She didn't throw it at the lady. She didn't touch the lady or nothing. But even... And all she did was tell a lady to stop yelling at her kids. The lady yells at everybody's kids out here. Okay. Well, I mean, I wouldn't go over there anymore. So the conclusion was kind of the same as so many times before.

The police recommended that AJ keep her kids away from Susan that she tell them not to interact with Susan. And they told Susan that there was nothing that they could do. They didn't have any proof of any sort of assault or any wrongdoing. And again, she did not own this field that the kids were playing in. Yet the calls, they continued, and Susan continued to not get along with any of her neighbors. So finally, Susan talked to law enforcement and asked them what could be done. And when she did, they gave her some great advice. Get it on camera.

You're accusing these kids of stealing your things? Great. Get it on camera. They're banging on your door. They're being on top of your porch. They're doing things like that. Use your phone. Get it out.

You know, start recording. Get outdoor cameras. Do whatever you need to do to document it. something to back up what you're saying. Otherwise, until then, it's always going to be a he said, she said. They stole the do not trespass sign. They've been coming, throwing bottles of water against my sliding glass door. They've actually banged on the door so hard they broke the I don't know what, the casing around the door. And I look out of my truck, they're screaming at me. They, as soon as I work for the truck, they come up to me and just scream like idiots.

And I finally, I lost my nerve today. I just couldn't take it anywhere. I called the kids retards. Then the mother comes screaming at me. Don't call my children retards. I'm going to put you in a nursing home. Like, why? I mean, I don't understand what's wrong with these people over here.

I've never had an area where I lived in where they've been so, you know, a barring in behavior. right um is there anything i can do with these people uh i mean the one thing i would say is if you have a smartphone or anything like that or if you have outside cameras um you know getting it all recorded and documented um that way when we do come there then they can it's not the neighbors oh he said she said type thing you have video evidence of like if you have an outside camera the kids throwing stuff at your house or you know anything in that or if you're getting out of your truck or going to your truck and they're doing that if you have a smartphone just start recording and say you know hey what i'm

i'm recording y'all of y'all's actions and try to keep a level head with it and everything like that and then just tell them like you know if y'all keep continuing law enforcement will be involved And then that way you have that video and everything like that. That way when we get there, neighbors are not siding with her side or anything like that. So we have that proof. So like I said, in theory, it was pretty good advice. It was the one way to really be sure that nobody on either side of the situation was lying or making things up. Now, to just level set the timeline here, that call was in November of 2022.

And a few months later, in April of 2023, Susan called the police again. Hello, how are you? How are you? Aggravated? Okay, so what's going on? Okay, I've got young ladies who just keep coming by and think it's hysterical while I'm working to bring their animals and scream while I'm on the phone. There's signs no trespassing by the windows for a reason.

There's no trespassing because they can't be here. And then they're staying here telling me, okay, count one. enough. They need to be trespass at a lot of here. Okay, so according to Susan, we have some kids who are trespassing directly on her porch by her window, laughing and carrying on while she's working being loud. So she called the police to do something about them trespassing. But what's even better is that she listened to the cop's advice.

She took a photo, just like they had told her to do. So what I'm looking at, where they're at, We can't, you can't trespass anybody from another cave. They're right in front of my windows. But here is showing them in the parking lot. The whole, this whole thing is part of the property. Yes. The issue is, is that the parking lot is a common area. But they don't live here.

If they live in the park and they just cut through the parking lot? No, no, they're not in the parking lot. They're on the, they're on the grass. That's technically part of the parking lot. So unless they're like in here or... But this is all the whole thing is private property. You understand this whole, all right, this whole development is private. Even the road is private, okay?

I'm a real estate license, trust me. This is all private. Even the road is privately owned by the owners in this development. Okay, so everything is private. It's all privately owned. Well, first of all, you can't trespass somebody from a road. Okay. but they were still on the property.

The other main issue is they're not here, so I can't trespass them any of those. You don't have sole control over the parking lot. There's four people here. Yeah, but those children don't look here. I mean, they literally live across the street on the other side. They don't... I understand what you're telling me, and I get it,

but you don't have sole power to say, hey, they can't be in this parking lot. But he's asked them to leave. I mean, you can call Charles. I mean I'm just telling you it's trespassing it's the first time

civil it's not it doesn't become criminal until they're wrong okay but he's already told him no trespassing who's he

alright and he's just trespassing right now he's trespassing right now he's trespassing right now he's trespassing he came over to come ask us a question

what do you need us to do what do you want us to do tell the girls not to they can't come on and when I'm on the phone. I mean, literally they cannot come on when they are. I mean, I can talk to them if I can figure out who they are. I mean, he needs to get, because he's screaming all the time too.

Okay. He just needs to get off. Okay. All right. I mean, I just don't want it to do with these kids. I mean, it's ridiculous and so at this point. I mean, they can't come when I'm on the phone. It's a hip violation.

I mean, what do I do with these children? If you're, are you inside the house? I'm inside the house. Can they hear you on the phone? Absolutely. How can they hear you on the phone? Because I told them leave and they told me, so often I can hear that through the window.

So they can hear your phone calls. Oh yeah, absolutely. The only thing I can suggest would be maybe try and sound proof of the room so they don't hear the phone call. Now there is just so much to unpack there. I mean, can we start with the fact that every time the cops come, Susan gives them a different profession that she's had? And I don't know, maybe she just switched jobs a lot.

but I find it interesting that in one video, she's a doctor. In the next video, she's an insurance agent. Now in this one, she has her real estate license, which somehow makes her a professional on trespassing laws. I don't know. It's just bizarre to me. And remember, this specific clip was taken in April of 2023, just a few months before AJ was shot. Even then, law enforcement officials were so clearly over Susan and her antics. This had been going on for years at this point, and somehow she still didn't have a single piece of evidence to prove anything that she was saying was actually happening. It's just craziness. And I love that they straight up told her, like, look, you don't have sole ownership over this neighborhood. And common

areas, like the road and like this lawn, you don't get to have the playbook for this. You don't own them. It wasn't hers. No matter how many times she called 911, and no matter how many times the police had to waste their time coming out and talking to her, it was never going to become her property or her rules. It just wasn't, which also, not for nothing, but remember in that previous 911 call, she said that the kids were being so loud that she couldn't even hear her own phone calls,

yet now they're eavesdropping, they're listening in on her phone calls. It's a HIPAA violation. It's almost like she realized that when this field argument and trespassing argument wasn't going to carry much water, that she had to think of something else and think quickly on her feet of like, okay, well, they're not going to let me say that they're trespassing on the lawn. That's open space for them. But let me say this. There is a violation

happening. I mean, it just reeks of desperation. Truly, it does. And she clearly just wanted to think of something, anything to get these kids in trouble again. I mean, that's just my opinion, but I also think it's pretty obvious. So there were all of these incessant calls from Susan to the police department that were leading up in the years, months, weeks, and days to AJ's death. There were a lot of very bold claims, but remember, none of it was ever backed up with any kind of actual proof or evidence. All to say, by June 2nd, this wasn't just a one-time conflict. It was just the latest chapter in a years-long war between these neighbors, a war that Susan created. Susan escalated and a war that Susan ultimately ended with a bullet.

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it really sets up this perfectly painted picture of who Susan was as a person. She was a liar, a manipulator, and more than anything, she was always the victim, no matter what. No matter how many times the police said that she had no proof, no matter how many times they told her that she was in the wrong, she had to always be the victim. And after shooting AJ, through a closed and locked door, by the way, when the police were already on their way there, Susan once again saw herself as the victim. Right away, she made it very clear that she was protecting herself and that she only shot AJ because she thought that she was in serious danger and she thought more directly

that A.J. was going to kill her. So what happened tonight that led to the conclusion? Well, I just, I'm like, kids go home. So they go home and then all a sudden she comes out and she is just banging on my door. I'm like, go away. I'm not dealing with her

tonight. But then she started banging so hard, everything starts shaking. And I'm like, you really need to leave. And I'm going to fucking kill you. And she's just banging me, banged away. You know, and like, oh, it's crazy. And since she has, actually, walking me, I'm like, it just keeps getting worse and worse.

I'm like, I don't know what to do with her. And she banged so hard, and I'm glad my door was going to fly off. And that's, I just, I panicked. And I was like, oh, my gosh, she's really going to kill me this time, you know? And so, I don't even actually remember putting up to that. I just remember shooting.

Where do you keep the gun, usually? It's in my bedroom. That's where you keep it, like, in a cabinet or something? Or just like? It's just, I actually. keep it in the trash can. Okay. Next to it then. Nobody would look in there probably, right? You know, and I didn't think about it.

And I'm like, oh, my God, and I just started panicking. And I really feared for my life. So she describes A.J. coming to her door, and apparently yelling at her through it, saying that she was going to kill her. So, AJ, she came to your door. Oh, yeah. And she was...

She was pounding on it. I was like, what the hell? My cats went to flinging. What was she saying? What? Was she saying anything? You don't talk to my sons. I'm in a fucking kill you. I'm going to fucking kill you. I'm like, oh, Jesus Christ, you know? And I just, I was like in tears. I'm like shaking and I'm like, oh my God. And I thought she had gone away and then she starts banging again. I'm like, oh, shit. Did she like try to come inside? She was trying as hard as she could. What do you mean? That door was, I mean, that door was moving. I'm like,

holy shit. Did she try the door handle or she just beating on it to try to push it in? She was just, you know, just trying to push it and try to put it to it to it. And I was like, oh, my God. Now, my interpretation of this interrogation is that right away, the investigators were not buying it. Because they brought up a very important detail. The 911 call that Susan made herself. She claimed that she had made that call before AJ even came over. And that the reason that she even had called 911 was because the kids were telling her that they were going to go get someone to come over and kill her, right? Which is interesting. Because Susan never mentioned a single thing to the operator about the kids saying that they were going to kill her or that they were going to go get someone to come and kill her. Which, if something serious like that is happening in reality, those operators are taking notes.

They're giving those direct details to the investigators. So the investigators and the responding officers will know what they're walking into. So you mean to tell me that Susan just forgot about that part, that she didn't think about mentioning it, that the 911 operator just happened to be very bad. at their job and didn't note that one very important detail, or is it more likely because it never actually happened? Now, you had initially called, did you call 911 or did you use the non-emergency number would you call? When the first time, because kids said, I'm going to kill you, and my friends kill you,

I'm like, oh, my God, you know, what the hell's going on now? You know, I'm like, I don't need the segregation. Okay. So you called, was it 911? Yeah, I called 911. Okay. And that was before H.I came over? Okay.

And the kid, okay, so we get, like, as the deputies are responding, the call takers talking to you, they're putting information that you're telling them into the computer, which goes to us as we're going out there. So in that call notes, there's never any mention of you saying that they said that they're going to kill you, it was more or less that they're harassing you,

that they're... Oh, no, I told the lady that they said they were going to kill me. Okay. No, no, no. I was very specific when I spoke. Okay. And when the investigators asked her about everything the witnesses were bringing up, from her taking the kid's tablet to throwing the skates to swinging the umbrella at the kids,

she just denied it. Denied, denied, denied. How can we explain that then with people saying, like, multiple people that weren't, like, talking to each other, that if they were saying that that's what they saw? I don't know. Maybe I did step out and I'm like, guys go away, go away, but I would never touch them. Okay. You know.

Maybe like swat at them with it, but not? Exactly. If I did it, it was probably because I was just so, you know, like, come on. But I know, at least if you did, but is that what happened? I mean, we've got to kind of get specific about this because it's a big deal. I understand. Someone's dead. Jesus Christ.

Now, I know I sound like a broken record here, but again, she's the victim. She would never hurt a kid. she would never throw something out a kid. Her? Never. Not in a million years. Now, probably the most important part of this interview was that Susan brought up a law that she felt provided her a security blanket. She brought up Florida's Stand Your Ground Law. Now, I've probably talked about these kinds of laws before in different episodes, but if you don't know exactly what it entails in Florida's case, let me break it down. Quote, a person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent

imminent death or great bodily harm, and that the person, quote, does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground. So basically what this means in layman's terms is that if you're being threatened or you are scared for your life, literally, that you have the, and you have the means and the opportunity to protect yourself that you have the right to stand your ground. But in Susan's case, law enforcement still had to gather whatever information they could to prove that Susan was not in any kind of imminent danger and that what she did was unnecessary. Did she really have the right to enact stand her ground laws here? Or was she not in imminent danger? And did she just carefully craft this because she had researched stand your ground

laws and knew that this could get her out of a very sticky situation. And discerning the two, I'll be honest, it's a lot more difficult than it might seem. So after being informed that AJ unfortunately didn't make it and doing an interview with the investigators, Susan ultimately was let go. They didn't have enough information and evidence at that point to arrest her. So it was almost an issue of until they could prove she didn't have the right to do what she did, a Susan essentially did have the legal right to shoot A.J. And if you're dumbfounded and your jaws on the floor hearing that, you're not alone. It caused a major public outcry. AJ's family was not only heartbroken and mourning the loss of such an amazing person,

but they were terrified that Susan was going to get away with it and that AJ was never going to receive any justice. There were multiple protests in the area demanding that Susan be arrested, while also simultaneously begging for justice for AJ. People just could not understand why Susan was still free. Even if the authorities couldn't prove that her actions went beyond the stand-your-ground laws, she had thrown those skates at AJ's son, the skates that hit him. But again, it goes back to he said she said, and whether or not they could even prove that Susan had thrown them at him.

The whole thing was just incredibly messed up. The police department was also receiving so much backlash that they had to make a public statement explaining their actions and explaining why Susan was still a free woman. This has basically been a neighborhood feud over time. I've got reports that these things have, they've called one side or the other. Either the mother, Ms. Owens is called or our shooter is called, complaining about the children. I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands. I wish Mrs. Owens would have caught us in hopes we could have never got to the point in which we are here today. My hopes is it will be resolved quickly, as in all of my cases.

Sometimes my hopes and the path in which they are are not equal, or they don't always agree. Meanwhile, AJ's family had to prepare for a funeral. They had to navigate how they were going to go on not only with the next few weeks and months, but years. Her children depended on AJ. They were all so young. Their dad was involved in their life, and AJ's mom was also very present in their lives, so they did have people in their corner, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just need the anchor of your mom. Now, when we see victims in these cases, we of course think about them and we think about their lives being taken, but sometimes we forget about their families, which I cannot imagine going through a loss

this great and grieving it and also trying to fight for justice as it's all happening. It's unthinkable. I stand before you truly humbled. I thank God for allowing me to birth such a beautiful baby girl. I'm thankful to each and every one of you that has poured into her soul. I cannot and I do not take soul. for the phenomenal woman and mother that Ajaqa was. My plea to everyone in this sanctuary and across the nation,

please don't let our baby girls' death go in vain. A change must come. Amen. Ashoka, AJ Owens, is depending on us. Yes. Those four kids are depending on us. To my Bootsie, you'll always be Bootsie. I love you, I miss you, and I vow to keep your four beautiful children together as I promise.

as I promised you, as you so desired. Thankfully, the investigators were building their case against Susan. And finally, on June 7, 23, Susan was arrested. She was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. Her trial took place the following year in August of 2024. During the trial, Susan's attorneys did everything in their power to try and convince the jury that Susan felt like she was in actual danger.

that her actions were absolutely justified under the stand-your-ground law. Agica Owens was trespassing on Susan Lawrence's property. And Susan Lawrence was in her home where she had a right to be, and she had no duty to retreat. She had a right to stand her ground and defend herself because she was reasonably afraid. But the prosecution brought up a lot of really great points in all of this. Starting with AJ's sons, who testified as witnesses, they described Susan harassing them. and throwing things at them, and another witness testified that they only saw AJ knock or pound on the door, whatever word you want to use, two times. It wasn't like this incessant pounding,

like, get out here, get out here, over and over. She knocked twice. The prosecution also brought up the fact that Susan herself admitted that the door was shut, locked, and deadbolted. A.J. wasn't in her house. She wasn't trying to break into her house. She wasn't trying to get in there. Not to mention, Susan had already called the police. They were on their way. We heard from the defendant's 911 call in the interview with the detectives that there was some altercation between the defendant and Ms. Owens' children. It involved a tablet, roller skates being thrown, an umbrella being shaken, something.

The facts of that that altercation really aren't important or relevant. What's relevant is that that is the catalyst. That is what causes the children to go and tell. Ms. Owens. And that's what causes Ms. Owens to come over and once again deal with an issue regarding the defendant and her children. After the witnesses all testified and closing arguments were given, the trial began wrapping up and the jury only took two hours to deliberate. Then they came back with their verdict. Verdict doesn't count one. We the jury fine as as to count one of the charge. The defendant is guilty of manslaughter. Did the state prove

beyond a reasonable doubt that during the commission of the offense, the defendant personally used a firearm. Yes. So say we all dated the 16th day of August, 2024. The other charges that Susan had initially faced had been dropped, but now on November 25th, 2024, Susan was sentenced to 25 years in prison, this for the shooting and killing of AJ. Her release date is April 8, 2048, if she makes it that long, because remember, she's older. Now, even after everything was said and done, Susan still defended herself and stood by the fact that both A.J. and her kids were threatening to kill her. And as for the verdict and her sentencing, she said, quote, it just makes me sick. I just never thought in a million years that this would happen. And it just, it breaks my heart. I can't take it back. I can't replace her. But get this. Where that statement sounds like maybe there is a sliver of remorse, the I can't take it back, it breaks my heart. I can't replace her. Susan is doubling down in my opinion because just recently in November of 2025, AJ's family is filing a wrongful death suit against Susan. But Susan has stated she plans

to counter sue and that she's planning to sue AJ's own children for defamation. Are you out of your mind? I mean, read the room. It's disgusting. I can't imagine that it'll go anywhere, but it's like The audacity. Like, do you realize what you're saying, you're going to sue these children who lost their mother because you shot her through a door that was locked and deadbolted and closed as police were already on their way? The nerve of this woman. Which, honestly, enough about her. She will likely die in prison or she'll get out not having much time left anyway. I mean, not to be morbid, but it's the truth. So AJ's family is happy that she received justice and they are just taking life day by day. About seven months after AJ's death, her son's Izzy and AJ's mom, Pamela, did an interview. And in this interview, Izzy talked about his mom, about the movie she loved, her favorite color being purple, and that he was excited to be a part of the Netflix documentary that was coming out. They talked about how Izzy and Isaac were also going to summer camp that was dedicated to children who are experiencing loss and grief. Izzy said he was really excited to meet new friends. And I never knew camps like that existed. I think that is such an

amazing idea. A summer camp where kids can be kids, but that it's dedicated to them who are experiencing loss and grief and hopefully also provide, I don't know much about it, but hopefully providing the tools to grieve and cope. I mean, that is incredible. That is a cause that I can like fully get behind. As a mom myself, it just comforts me to know that these kids are in good hands and that they have resources available, that they have support systems in place for them, and that they're doing okay. I mean, that's all a parent could hope for. and it doesn't make anything any easier, of course, but hopefully AJ looking down can take a little bit of peace in knowing that and knowing that her kids are okay because something else I want to mention.

Her young son who was next to her when this all happened, Susan didn't know where she was pointing the gun. She knew she was pointing her through the door. What if AJ saw the gun go off and it hit her child? Not to say this is any easier or any better, but as a mom, I would much rather go than my own child any day of the week. So my point in saying that is like, this could have ended. so differently too. And I hope that AJ is looking down and proud of her children for how strong they've been, how resilient they've been, and just the outpouring of love from the entire country, probably even the world, because it has now gone international. I don't know. I'm curious to know your thoughts on there. I have seen a couple trolls out there saying that

the kids were obnoxious, that this was warranted. I cannot get on board and subscribe to any of that. But happy to hear that argument. If you think that that, just let me. know in the comment section on YouTube, but please always be respectful in the comment section. I don't want to see any fighting going on in there. I'm not a babysitter, guys. But I am curious to know what you guys think about this case. So thank you so much for listening or thank you for watching on YouTube. As a reminder, if you're listening to the audio version of this, all of the clips I played, the video version is available. And you can watch on my YouTube channel, Annie Elis. So you can check that out here. And as another reminder, too, we now have both podcasts,

seriolously and 10 to life. You have to make sure that you're following both on whatever podcast app you listen to, whether it's the purple app on your iPhone or Iheart radio or whatever it may be. Search seriolously, press follow, search 10 to life, press follow. And that way you will get new episodes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday. All right, thank you so much. And until the next one, be nice, don't kill people, and just truly be a good neighbor. Thanks, guys.

Bye. Thank you.