News

(OCALA, Fla.) — At the funeral Monday for Ajike Owens, the Black mother of four who was shot and killed by a white woman, the Rev. Al Sharpton directed his ire at a judicial system he said laid the path for Owens’ death.

“They said, ‘I hope y’all won’t bring race in,’ when this woman called them [the victim’s children] the N-word,” Sharpton said of the suspected killer who was arrested four days after Ajike Owens was shot and killed in front of two of her children, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). “If it was the other way around, and a Black woman had shot through a door at a white kid you would have arrested her that night.”

Susan Lorincz, 58, is currently detained at the Marion County Jail, where her bond is set at $150,000, according MCSO. She is accused of shooting Owens, 35, on June 2 in Ocala, Florida, on the doorstep of Lorincz’s home.

“A racist white woman fatally murdered Ajika through a locked, closed metal door,” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, said to the congregation attending the funeral at Meadowbrook Church in Ocala. “Many say, ‘Wow, you are so strong. How do you do it?’ It is simply by the grace of God you see me in front of the cameras. I’m simply just a voice for my daughter and my four children.”

The incident happened after Owens went to Lorincz’s home to address an alleged dispute between the suspect and the victim’s children, according to MCSO. Lorincz admitted to calling children in the neighborhood the N-word and other derogatory terms in the past, according to a police report.

According to a police report, Lorincz claimed Owens threatened her while banging on her locked door. According to police interviews, other witnesses said Owens was yelling at Lorincz to open the door. Lorincz also said she did not intend to hit Owens, according to the report.

“Oh my God, this lady just tried to break down my door,” Lorincz told the emergency dispatcher on a 911 call ABC News obtained from the sheriff’s department. “I shot through the door.”

Through their investigation, the sheriff’s office said it determined Lorincz’s actions were not justified under Florida’s self-defense statutes, commonly known at Stand Your Ground laws.

“They say the killer of AJ is claiming [Florida] Stand Your Ground law as her defense,” Ben Crump, who is representing Owens’ family, said of Owens, affectionately known as AJ, during the eulogy. “Our call to justice today is that we’re going to stand our ground for respect for AJ. We’re gonna stand our ground for the dignity of AJ.”

Lorincz was arrested last week and charged with first-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, if convicted, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. She was also charged with culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.

In a statement, MCSO explained they conducted interviews with witnesses, Owens’ children and Lorincz.

“Ms. Lorincz’s fate is now in the hands of the judicial system, which I trust will deliver justice in due course,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement. “As I go to bed tonight, I will be saying a prayer for Ms. Owens’ children and the rest of her family. I’d ask all of you to do the same.”

Woods said there was an ongoing feud between Lorincz and Owens. On the day of the shooting, the children were playing in a field adjacent to the property where the suspect’s home is located. At that point, the suspect allegedly engaged in an argument with the children, the sheriff’s department said.

Lorincz allegedly threw a pair of skates at Owens’ 9-year-old son and hit the child in the toe, according to MCSO. Afterwards, the minor and his 12-year-old brother went to Lorincz’s home to speak to her. Lorincz swung an umbrella at them, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.

The children notified Owens, resulting in Owens going to the suspect’s home and demanding that she come out. That’s when Lorincz shot Owens through her closed door, striking her in the upper chest, according to MCSO. Owens’ 9-year-old son was beside her, police said.

“Our 12-year-old blames himself for the death of his mother because he couldn’t save her,” Dias said at a press conference last week. “He couldn’t give her CPR. His words, ‘Grandma, grandma, I couldn’t save her! I tried to give her CPR! I tried to give her CPR!'”

According to police records, when officers arrived on the scene, they found Owens under a nearby tree with a gunshot wound. She had a faint pulse as the officers applied medical aid. Owens was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased later that evening.

In a press conference last week, Woods said that Florida Stand Your Ground laws made it harder to execute an immediate arrest. The sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit was able to arrest Lorincz on June 6 after gathering enough evidence, the sheriff’s department said. Lorincz’s next court date will be on July 11, according to Judge Lori Cotton, who presided over Lorincz’s first court appearance.

Sharpton took the opportunity to point out what he said were inconsistencies of outrage among Florida political officials who have given their voice for particular social issues but haven’t said anything about Owens’ murder.

“They get outraged about certain things taught in school. You get outraged about migrants coming. You get outraged about those that have a different lifestyle,” Sharpton said in front of a roaring congregation.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SALT LAKE CITY) — A Utah woman who is accused of poisoning her husband with a lethal dose of fentanyl was denied bail in a court appearance Monday as she awaits trial.

Kouri Richins, 33, was arrested in May and charged with aggravated murder and multiple counts of drug possession in connection with the death of her husband, Eric Richins, 39, who was found dead at the foot of their bed last year, according to the probable cause statement in the charging document. The mom of three authored a children’s book on grief in the wake of her husband’s death.

A month prior to her arrest, Kouri Richins appeared on a “Good Things Utah” segment on Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX to promote the book. In the segment, Kouri Richins said her husband of nine years died “unexpectedly” and that his death “completely took us all by shock.”

Three witnesses were called at the detention hearing that saw Kouri Richins occasionally wipe tears from her eyes. The first witness was lead detective on the case, Jeff O’Driscoll, who answered questions from the defense and prosecutors. A digital forensics and financial forensics investigator also testified in the hearing.

Kouri Richins was visibly emotional as O’Driscoll described the scene where her husband’s body was found. O’Driscoll testified that Kouri Richins said she had attempted CPR on her husband, but an emergency medical technician told O’Driscoll on scene that Eric Richins began foaming at the mouth when they attempted CPR — a sign no one else had tried to resuscitate him.

Eric’s sister, Amy Richins, also gave a victim impact statement at the hearing, saying if Kouri is guilty it is the “ultimate act of betrayal.” She said he was a family man who “loved fully, laughed loudly, lived life with reckless abandon,” and got emotional as she thought about what Kouri Richins may have said to him in his last moments, how long he was conscious and wondered did his boys “catch a glimpse of their father taking his last breath.”

Amy Richins also pleaded with the judge not to let Kouri Richins out on bail. The judge agreed, saying “the circumstances of this case weigh soundly against pretrial release.”

Ahead of the detention hearing in Park City, Richins’ attorneys argued in recent court filings that the realtor should be eligible for bail because there is “no substantial evidence to support the charges.”

Prosecutors allege that Eric Richins was poisoned by a lethal dose of fentanyl on the night of March 3, 2022, according to the charging document.

Kouri Richins allegedly told police following his death that they were celebrating her closing on a house for her business that night and she “made Eric a Moscow Mule in the kitchen and brought it to their bedroom where Eric consumed it while sitting in bed,” according to the probable cause statement.

She allegedly said she went to sleep with one of their children who was having a night terror and returned to her and her husband’s bedroom around 3 a.m., where she found him “cold to the touch,” according to the charging document.

An autopsy determined that Eric Richins died from a fentanyl overdose, and that the level of fentanyl in his system was five times the lethal dosage, according to the charging document. The medical examiner indicated the fentanyl was “illicit fentanyl,” not medical grade, and that it was likely ingested orally, according to the charging document.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for their residence following the toxicology report, including for electronics, and alleged that a search of Kouri Richins’ phone uncovered “several communications” with an acquaintance of hers who had various drug counts, according to the initial charging document. The acquaintance reportedly told authorities they sold Kouri Richins fentanyl pills six days before Eric Richins was found dead, prosecutors allege.

Kouri Richins’ lawyers argued in the new filings that law enforcement never found fentanyl in their family home, and that there are “inconsistencies” in witness statements from someone reported to have been present at the alleged drug deal, including regarding dates and payments of the alleged pill transactions, between the initial and amended charging documents.

Regarding the alleged fatal poisoning, her lawyers said Kouri Richins made her husband a drink that he “consumed two sips of” and that he continued to use his phone for more than two hours. They stated that Kouri Richins had slept in one of her children’s rooms because their child was having a nightmare and when she woke up around 3 a.m. she discovered her husband “cold and not breathing” and called 911, the filings stated.

Her lawyers also addressed various financial dealings involving the couple that were detailed in the amended charging document.

Among them, prosecutors alleged that “unknown to Eric Richins,” Kouri Richins allegedly purchased four life insurance policies on her husband’s life between 2015 and 2017 amounting to nearly $2 million in death benefits. Kouri Richins’ lawyers refuted the allegations that she took out life insurance policies without her husband’s knowledge, arguing in new court filings that he would have known about them.

Her lawyers also responded to claims in the amended charging document that Eric Richins “broke out in hives” after eating a sandwich his wife had prepared for him on Valentine’s Day last year and reportedly used an EpiPen. Her lawyers argued that their nanny did not witness him acting ill or use an EpiPen.

A judge issued a partial gag order earlier this month, limiting what the prosecutors and defense can discuss, amid national interest in the case.

ABC News’ Alyssa Pone contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — 

One person has died after a tour boat capsized Monday morning at the Lockport Cave, a historical, underground boat ride by the Erie Canal in upstate New York, the local fire chief said.

Twenty-nine adults — 28 of whom were Niagara County hospitality employees — were on the small boat, which can handle 40 passengers, Lockport Fire Department Chief Luca Quagliano said at a news conference. At one point the boat became unbalanced and capsized, throwing everyone into the water, he said.

The man who died may have been stuck under the capsized boat, Quagliano said.

BREAKING: Multiple agencies are responding to a boat that capsized in the Lockport Cave Tours.

Working to learn more right now. Not sure how many people were on board/if they’re OK. @WKBW pic.twitter.com/89eiNQp6ye

— Kristen Mirand WKBW (@kristen_mirand) June 12, 2023

About 16 people were rescued by fire and EMS personnel, Quagliano said. Everyone else was able to get themselves to safety, he said, noting that the water is about 6 feet deep.

Eleven people were taken to hospitals for minor injuries, Quagliano said.

No one on board was wearing a life jacket, Quagliano said. 

My team is in close contact with local officials and emergency operations teams who have responded to a capsized boat along the Erie Canal in Lockport.@nyspolice, @NYSDHSES, @NYstateparks, and @HealthNYGov are on site to assist local officials in the response.

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) June 12, 2023

It’s not clear why the boat capsized, the fire chief said.

The victim, who was not identified, was believed to be about 60 years old, Quagliano said, noting that his wife was among the people taken to a hospital.

Lockport is about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted that her “team is in close contact with local officials and emergency operations teams.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A “potentially dangerous” asteroid the size of a bridge is expected to pass by Earth Monday, NASA said.

The asteroid — called 1994 XD — has a span of 1,500 feet, comparable to that of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, according to the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It even has its own satellite that circles it, which was discovered in 2005.

There is currently no danger of the asteroid hitting Earth, with the object passing the planet at a distance of about 1.9 million miles.

That’s roughly eight times the average distance between Earth and the moon but also about 20 times closer than Venus gets at its nearest to Earth.

Although it’s common for asteroids to make relatively close approaches, this is one of the bigger asteroids to do so. Because of its size, NASA has classified it as a “potentially hazardous object.”

1994 XD might be hard to see with the naked eye because it will be passing Earth at roughly 48,000 miles per hour, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.

Near-Earth objects are entities such as asteroids and comets that orbit the sun like the planets do. This asteroid orbits the planet every 1,310 days, roughly equivalent to about three-and-a-half years.

The asteroid has made several close approaches to Earth in the past and is expected to make at least three more over the next three decades, according to spacereference.org.

1994 XD is not the only asteroid that will pass Earth this week. Two other asteroids, each roughly the size of an airplane, will also pass by Monday. Additionally, one the size of a bus and another the size of a building, will pass by Earth Tuesday.

As of June 1, NASA has discovered 10,472 asteroids that are larger than 460 feet, with an estimated 15,000 left to be found. Overall, 32,103 near-Earth asteroids of all sizes have been discovered.

Additionally, there have been seven asteroids over the last 30 days and 105 over the last 365 days that have passed closer to Earth than the moon, according to NASA.

Recently, NASA has taken steps to purposely stop asteroids in case of a future impact with Earth. In September, the agency performed its first planetary defense mission known as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, which involved colliding a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with an asteroid to adjust its speed and path.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(HOWELL, Mich.) — A 2-year-old child in Michigan died from an accidental shooting Sunday evening after accessing an unsecured firearm, authorities said.

Police initially responded to the report of a shooting at 6 p.m. in the Rolling Oaks subdivision of Howell, Michigan, according to a statement from the Howell Police Department.

“It was reported that a 2.5-year-old child had gained access to an unsecured firearm that resulted in an accidental shooting,” the release noted.

The victim was transported to a local hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.

The Howell Police Department has not released additional details about the incident, and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, which also responded to the incident, declined to provide information as well.

Incidents involving children accessing unsecured firearms are common, with nearly one child shooting themselves or someone else using an unsecured firearm every day, according to gun-violence prevention nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety.

Between 2015 and 2022, at least 895 children under the age of 5 and preschoolers were able to shoot themselves or someone else, wounding or killing at least 933 children, according to Everytown.

The Howell shooting also comes less than two months after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills requiring safe storage requirements for firearms.

“Universal background checks and safe storage are long-overdue steps we are proud to take today that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and domestic abusers and children in the home,” Whitmer said at the time of the bill signing.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Monday protecting gender-affirming health care.

In celebration of Pride Month, Executive Order 32 will protect access to transgender care for people by preventing the use of city resources to detain, prosecute or investigate any individual who is providing or receiving gender-affirming health care services.

“As states across the nation continue their onslaught of attacks on our LGBTQ+ neighbors, New York City is doing what we have always done — standing up for justice and against discrimination,” said Adams in a statement.

He continued, “This executive order reaffirms the fact that hate has no place in our city and that all people deserve the right to gender-affirming care and protection against prosecution for being who they are.”

Gender-affirming care can refer to social affirmation, puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical procedures, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

At least 19 states have banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, with some efforting or implementing restrictions to care for transgender adults, as well.

Supporters of the bans for trans youth argue that transgender people should wait until they are legally adults before making these decisions.

Critics say gender-affirming care restrictions are an infringement on the rights of families to make their own health decisions.

Major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and more than 20 others agree that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial and medically necessary.

“Health care is a basic human right and no one should be punished for providing or seeking care that is essential to a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, in a statement.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is nowhere near out of the woods from the dangers of smoke billowing from hundreds of wildfires burning throughout Canada.

A grayish haze continued to linger over much of the Northeast on Monday, nearly a week after the air quality emergency in the region began to confine millions of people indoors.

Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index measured at 101 on Monday morning, or “Code Orange,” which is unhealthy for sensitive groups such as young children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with pre-existing lung and heart conditions, according to AirNow.gov.

New York City teetered toward Code Orange as well, with an AQI of 100 on Monday morning. Other major cities that remained in “Code Yellow,” or “moderate” air quality, included Boston, at 94; Buffalo, New York, at 76; Baltimore at 71 and Washington, D.C. at 65.

Canada suffered an “unprecedented” start of the wildfire season, which will continue to remain severe throughout the summer due to warm and dry conditions, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week as more than 400 wildfires burned throughout the country. A fire season outlook issued by the Canadian government last week said “the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity across most of the country throughout the 2023” is due to ongoing drought and forecasts for warm temperatures.

There are currently 450 active wildfires burning in Canada, with more than 4.8 million acres burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. More than 220 of the active fires have been deemed out of control, fire officials said.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Sunday to double the number of firefighters being sent to Canada in order to prevent a “summer of smoke” in the Northeast.

For weeks, the smoke from wildfires in different regions in Canada has been making its way South. In May, air quality alerts were issued in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona due to wildfires burning in Alberta. By May 31, smoke from wildfires burning on the other side of the country, in Nova Scotia, led to the first stretch of air quality alerts in the Northeast.

By last week, major cities in the Northeast were breaking records for deteriorating air quality due to wildfires burning in Quebec– with New York City reaching 484, nearly reaching highest end of “hazardous” AQI ratings at 500. The AQI in places like India and China are around 150 on any given day, according to IQAir, a website that publishes air quality data around the world.

As the wildfires continue in Canada and eventually start on the West Coast of the U.S., the smoke being emitted from the heavy flames will continue to compromise air quality as it moves east, experts said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(EAGLE PASS, Texas) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said authorities will install a floating water barrier to prevent migrants from attempting to cross rivers in heavily trafficked areas of the Rio Grande Valley.

The barrier will be made up of a string of buoys that can be placed and dismantled in different areas throughout the border, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw said at the ceremony.

“We’re securing the border at the border,” Abbott said. “What these buoys will allow us to do is prevent people from even getting to the border.”

The governor announced the initiative at a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday, where he signed six border-related bills.

McCraw said the first 1000-foot stretch will be placed by July 7 in Eagle Pass, Texas, which shares the border with the Mexican city of Piedras Negras. The buoys will range in size but will be about four feet long, he said.

When contacted by ABC News, a spokesperson for the city of Piedras Negras said they had been given no information about the barrier. It’s unclear if any other local Mexican officials have been consulted with or told about the governor’s plans.

The announcement followed the signing of several bills meant to address border security, including one that designates Mexican Cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

McCraw said safety risks were assessed before deciding to place the string of buoys.

“We don’t want anybody getting hurt, in fact, we want to prevent people from getting hurt, prevent people from drowning,” McCraw said.

Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the plan would only add to the risks immigrants face when crossing the river.

“Gov. Abbott continues to overreach and violate our U.S. Constitution by meddling in federal immigration and border issues. We need the Federal government to ensure that those seeking the safety of our country are welcomed with dignity. And we need our state government to focus on investing in our border communities. People already face the risk of drowning in the Rio Grande due to plants, debris, and an unpredictable current – these barriers would only add to the danger they already face,” said Garza.

DPS did not respond to a request for comment when asked if it had and information that signaled the placement of the buoys could lead to an increase in deaths for people attempting to swim across.

The current near Eagle Pass can be particularly dangerous. There are areas that are sometimes shallow enough to cross on foot, but sudden drop-offs and a strong current has led to drownings.

Bishop Evans, a sergeant with the Texas National Guard deployed to the border under Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star drowned in April 2021 attempting to save two migrants who appeared to be struggling to stay afloat in the river near Eagle Pass. His family spoke with ABC News as they sought more information from the Texas Military Department.

In June 2021, a spokesperson for the Texas National Guard told ABC News throw-ropes had been ordered but not delivered by the time Sgt. Evans went beyond his duties and dove into the water.

“If it could happen to Bishop, then certainly it could happen to anyone,” Sgt. Evans’ aunt Felisha Pulled told ABC News.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.