The new Netflix documentary “The Perfect Neighbor” has recast 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 dispute rocked Marion County and reignited controversy over “stand your ground” laws — which allow a wider latitude for use of deadly force if there’s a “reasonable” fear of imminent death or danger.
The hour-and-a-half-long documentary unraveled Lorincz’s building agitation with neighborhood kids playing in a field near her home through 911 calls, deputy body camera video and detective interviews. In the documentary, Lorincz, then 58, is heard describing herself as the “perfect neighbor.”
Here’s how the shooting unfolded and where Lorincz is today:
The shooting
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 his 12-year-old brother went to speak with Lorincz, but when she opened the door, she swung at them with an umbrella. The kids then told Owens what happened, the sheriff’s office said.
Owens — who was not armed — went to Lorincz’s home, knocked on the door multiple times and demanded that Lorincz come outside to settle the dispute.
But a frank conversation never happened.
Instead, Lorincz fired a single shot from a .380-caliber handgun through her locked front door.
The bullet struck Owens in the upper chest as her 10-year-old son was standing beside her.
Lorincz was not initially arrested, which prompted outcry.
She claimed that she acted in self-defense and that she feared for her life. The sheriff’s department said the case did not meet “stand your ground” qualifications. Lorincz was arrested days later, on June 6, and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
Reputation for harassing kids
Multiple neighbors told NBC News in 2023 that Lorincz had a history of harassing children in the area — she had recorded them, taunted them with racial slurs and waved guns at them.
Phyllis Wills, who lived in the neighborhood for about 15 years, told NBC News that Lorincz would come outside often and harass the children.
“Everybody in this neighborhood has feuded with this lady over our children,” she said. “Every time they’ve went even in the patch of grass over there, she would be like, ‘Get off of my lawn, you b—- or you retards or you N-word.’ She would wave guns at them,” Wills said.
Trial and sentencing
The trial was held 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 is no evidence she was trying to break through the door.
Lorincz appeared emotionless as the six-person jury found her guilty of manslaughter on Aug. 16, 2024. Across the room, Owens’ family cried with emotion. A family member yelled out: “Oh, God. Thank you, Jesus.”
On Nov. 25 last year, Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Marion County Circuit Judge Robert Hodges said he found the shooting was “completely unnecessary.”
He noted that while Lorincz was a victim of child sex abuse and had no criminal record, “we also have a tremendous harm inflicted upon this family and the victim’s family.”
Pamela Dias, the victim’s mother, said at sentencing that her daughter’s death has affected every aspect of her life — as well as those of Owens’ four children, who were 3 to 12 years old when their mother was killed.
“Our pain and suffering didn’t end when Susan was found guilty of manslaughter. Our pain and suffering won’t end with today’s sentencing. Our pain and suffering will last a lifetime,” she said.
Lorincz, dressed in a yellow jail jumpsuit, told the court she regretted pulling the trigger.
“I am so sorry. I never intended to kill her,” she said. “I am just profoundly sad. Not only did a mother die, but a daughter, a sister. I think of your family’s loss.”
Where is Lorincz today?
Lorincz is 61 years old and serving out her sentence at the Homestead Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade County.
Her release date is set for April 8, 2048.
Anthony D. Thomas, an attorney for Dias, told NBC News on Wednesday that the family is taking things “day by day.”
“Pamela, the grandmother, her attention is all about the children. The kids are dealing with life without their mother, and a few of them witnessed their mother passing away before their eyes. So the psychological effects and everything else that comes afterwards, just trying to live day to day with kids struggling without their mom is her primary concern,” he said.
The children live with their grandmother, in a new home far from where the tragedy took place.
Thomas said Lorincz’s sentencing provided “some closure.”
“That’s what they wanted. They wanted her put behind bars,” he said, noting there has 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 of Gainesville about the high-profile shooting.
Asked whether she was capable of manslaughter, she responded: “No. It just makes me sick. I just never, ever thought in a million years this would happen, and it just, it breaks my heart. I can’t take it back. I can’t replace her.”
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