The new Netflix documentary “The Perfect Neighbor” has shined the spotlight on the case of Susan Lorincz, the white Florida woman who fatally shot her black neighbor through a locked front door.
The June 2, 2023, shooting killed Ajike “AJ” Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four.
The deadly conflict has rocked Marion County and reignited controversy over “stand your ground” laws – which allow greater latitude to use deadly force if there is a “reasonable” fear of death or imminent danger.
The hour-and-a-half documentary exposed Lorincz’s hustle and bustle in the building with neighborhood children playing in a field near her home through 911 calls, deputy body camera video and interviews with detectives. In the documentary, Lorincz, then 58, described herself as the “perfect neighbor.”
Here’s how the filming went and where Lorincz is today:
The filming
Lorincz got into an argument with Owens’ children on June 2, 2023. She yelled at them and threw a roller skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son, hitting him in the toe, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
The child and her 12-year-old brother went to talk to Lorincz, but when she opened the door, she threw an umbrella at them. The children then told Owens what happened, the sheriff’s office said.
Owens – who was unarmed – went to Lorincz’s home, knocked on the door several times and demanded that Lorincz come out to settle the dispute.
But a frank conversation never took place.
Instead, Lorincz fired a single shot from a .380-caliber handgun through his locked front door.
The bullet struck Owens in the upper chest as her 10-year-old son stood next to her.
Lorincz was not arrested at first, sparking an outcry.
She claimed she acted in self-defense and feared for her life. The sheriff’s department said the case did not meet the “stand your ground” criteria. Lorincz was arrested a few days later, on June 6, and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
Reputation for harassing children
Several neighbors told NBC News in 2023 that Lorincz had a history of harassing children in the area — she recorded them, taunted them with racial slurs and brandished weapons at them.
Phyllis Wills, who had lived in the neighborhood for about 15 years, told NBC News that Lorincz often went out and harassed the children.
“Everyone in this neighborhood has argued with this lady over our children,” she said. “Every time they went to the patch of grass over there, she’d say, ‘Get off my lawn you bastard or you’re retards or you’re an N-word.’ She was brandishing guns at them,” Wills said.
Trial and conviction
The trial took place in August 2024 in Marion County Circuit Court.
Lorincz claimed her actions were in self-defense, but prosecutors argued that Owens did not pose an imminent danger and that there was no evidence she was trying to force the door.
Lorincz appeared impassive as the six-person jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Aug. 16, 2024. Across the room, Owens’ family cried with emotion. A family member shouted, “Oh, my God. Thank you, Jesus.”
On November 25 last year, Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Marion County Circuit Judge Robert Hodges said he found the shooting to be “completely unnecessary.”
He noted that although Lorincz was a victim of child sexual abuse and had no criminal record, “we also suffered tremendous harm inflicted on this family and the victim’s family.”
Pamela Dias, the victim’s mother, said during the sentencing that her daughter’s death affected every aspect of her life, as well as those of Owens’ four children, who were between 3 and 12 years old when their mother was killed.
“Our pain and suffering did not end when Susan was convicted of manslaughter. Our pain and suffering will not end with today’s sentencing. Our pain and suffering will last a lifetime,” she said.
Lorincz, dressed in a yellow prison jumpsuit, told the court she regretted pulling the trigger.
“I’m so sorry. I never intended to kill her,” she said. “I am deeply saddened. Not only has a mother died, but a daughter, a sister. I think of the loss of your family.”
Where is Lorincz today?
Lorincz is 61 years old and is serving his sentence at Homestead Correctional Facility in Miami-Dade County.
Its release date is set for April 8, 2048.
Anthony D. Thomas, Dias’ attorney, told NBC News on Wednesday that the family is taking things “day by day.”
“Pamela, the grandmother, her focus is completely on the children. The children have to deal with life without their mother, and some of them have seen their mother die before their eyes. So the psychological effects and everything that comes after that, trying to live day to day with children who are struggling without their mother is her main concern,” he said.
The children live with their grandmother, in a new house far from the scene of the tragedy.
Thomas said Lorincz’s conviction provided “some closure.”
“That’s what they wanted. They wanted her put behind bars,” he said, noting that there had been no communication between the family and Lorincz.
An attorney for Lorincz did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Last month, Lorincz spoke to WCJB-TV in Gainesville about the high-profile shooting.
When asked if she was capable of manslaughter, she replied: “No. It just makes me sick. I never thought this would happen in a million years, and it breaks my heart. I can’t go back. I can’t replace her.”
