Susan Lorincz is sentenced to 25 years in prison for manslaughter with a firearm, at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala, Fla., in 2024.Doug Engle / Ocala Star-Banner via USA Today Network file
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 documentary unraveled Lorincz’s building agitation with neighborhood kids playing in a field near her home through 911 calls, deputy body-camera footage 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:
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 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 wasn’t initially arrested following the shooting, which prompted outcry.
She claimed she acted in self-defense and 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, charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
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, had 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.
The trial was held in August 2024 in Marion County Circuit Court.
Lorincz claimed her actions were in self defense, but prosecutors argued Owens didn’t pose an imminent danger and there’s no evidence she was trying to break through the door.
Lorincz appeared emotionless in court as the six-person jury found her guilty of manslaughter on Aug. 16, 2024. Across the room, Owens’ family cried with emotion. One 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 Court 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, spoke at sentencing saying her daughter’s death has impacted every aspect of her life — as well as Owens’ four children who were between 3 and 12 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 told the court. “I am just profoundly sad. Not only did a mother die but a daughter, a sister, I think of your family’s loss.”
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 Wednesday 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 now 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 hasn’t been any communication between the family and Lorincz.
An attorney for Lorincz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Wednesday.
Last month, Lorincz spoke to ABC affiliate WCJB about the high-profile shooting.
When asked if 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.”
