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Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor deconstructs a tragedy that happened in the peaceful town of Ocala, Florida, on June 2, 2023. Ajike AJ Owens, a 35-year-old Black mother of four, was shot dead by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. The killing stemmed from a heated altercation over the victim’s children playing near Lorincz’s house.
What would otherwise have been a neighborhood disagreement escalated into a fatal confrontation, leaving issues about race, gun regulations, and neighborhood tensions.
Lorincz, a 58-year-old white woman, shot a single bullet from her locked door, invoking self-defense under Florida’s stand your ground law. The raw police footage of the incident stunned the country and ignited protests.
The Netflix documentary pieces together the story using 911 calls and bodycam footage. The Perfect Neighbor was initially screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary. The documentary is set to be released on Netflix on October 17, 2025.
The Perfect Neighbor: Background of the dispute between Owens and Lorincz
Tensions between Ajike Owens and her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, had developed gradually over time. Since at least 2021, authorities have received several calls about neighborhood conflicts involving children playing, noise, or reports of trespassing, according to Associated Press.
Neighbors stated that Lorincz frequently complained about Owens’s children, at times using profanity, and instructed them to play away from her house, reported The Guardian.
The main issue was a small parcel of open land between the houses. Owen’s children regularly played there. Lorincz contended that they were trespassing, claiming the land was part of her property or under her control, as per The Guardian. A flashpoint occurred when Lorincz allegedly threw a roller skate that hit one of the children and swung an umbrella toward another.
She claimed that the children’s behavior had crossed a line, as per WKMG. Upon hearing about these incidents from her children, Owens went to Lorincz’s home to confront her. She knocked on the door to demand an explanation and to protest against how her children were being treated, according to a report by The Guardian.
Lorincz asserted on several occasions that the children had issued threatening words to her and claimed she felt unsafe, as per The Guardian. In time, what had perhaps begun as tensions between neighbors developed into suspicion and hostility between the two groups.
The Perfect Neighbor explores the frequent police presence prior to the confrontation and the emotional burden both sides carried, which set the stage for the events of June 2, 2023.
Also read: The Perfect Neighbor case – A detailed case overview
The fatal encounter on June 2, 2023, of The Perfect Neighbor
That night, at around 9:00 pm, on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida, the encounter became deadly. Owens went to Lorincz’s front door to confront her over the previous incidents.
Lorincz, who was inside her home, shot a solitary round from a .380-caliber pistol through the shut and locked door, hitting Owens. Owens was discovered outside, in a critical condition, and subsequently declared dead at the hospital, according to The Guardian.
During that time, authorities were already taking an earlier 911 call from Lorincz, who initially reported a complaint of trespass. In their report, when Lorincz fired the gun, Owens was trying to push on the door, but hadn’t busted it open. Several neighbors heard Owens’s son shouting, “They shot my Mama,” and the gunshot. A neighbor came running to perform CPR, as reported by AP News.
Lorincz placed two 911 calls: one before the shooting, regarding an alleged trespass and disturbance, and the second following the shooting. She subsequently informed investigators that she felt threatened and claimed that Owens was attempting to break in.
Afterward, detectives interviewed Owens’s children and neighbors and gathered contradictory accounts of what had occurred just before the shot, as per The Guardian.
The shooting generated instant fear and anger among the local population, with demands for Lorincz’s immediate arrest. Questions were also raised over whether the killing, later explored in The Perfect Neighbor, could technically be justified as self-defense under Florida’s stand your ground laws.
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Legal proceedings and sentencing of The Perfect Neighbor
Susan Lorincz was not immediately detained following the shooting. Prosecutors and police waited several days before actually detaining her, which some locals were critical of, as per The Guardian. She was charged with several offenses, including manslaughter by firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault.
At pre-trial motions, most debated whether or not the case should be escalated to second-degree murder, but prosecutors later opted for a charge of manslaughter, as reported by The Guardian.
In August 2024, Lorincz was found guilty by a jury of first-degree felony manslaughter with a firearm for the killing of Owens. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison in November 2024.
Judge Robert Hodges at sentencing told Lorincz that she could have remained in a locked room or called the police instead of shooting through the door. He underlined that the killing was unnecessary, as reported by ABC News.
Supporters of Owens’s family viewed the sentence as a move towards accountability, although many had called for a charge of murder and longer sentences. In the meantime, the position of Florida’s stand your ground law became the focus of public debate. The defense of Lorincz had relied on claims of self-defense, stating she feared for her life.
However, prosecutors retorted that Owens was not breaking in; the door was shut, and law enforcement was on the way, according to ABC News. In prison, Lorincz delivered an interview in which she said she could not “take it back” and insisted she was threatened, according to WCJB.
The other charges (culpable negligence, assault, battery) were dismissed or not pursued.
The Perfect Neighbor is releasing on Netflix on October 17, 2025.
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Edited by Riya Peter
