Not everyone in Susan Lorincz’s community saw her as a model citizen.
Following the release of The Perfect Neighbor, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, who investigated the June 2023 death of Ajike “AJ” Owens at the hands of Lorincz, complimented the documentary filmmakers while pointing out the project’s ironic title.
“I think they did a good job,” he told Ashleigh Banfield in an interview with NewsNation’s Banfield that aired Oct. 22. “The only thing I always said is [Lorincz] was far from ‘the perfect neighbor.’”
Indeed, the Netflix doc explores what led to Lorincz, 61, fatally shooting Owens after repeated confrontations with the 35-year-old and her four children. Notably, the film consists almost exclusively of found footage including police body cam videos, ring cameras and CCTV, which Woods said lent itself to the project’s credibility.
“It’s all body cameras. It’s all videos. So you can’t really make up anything,” he continued. “You get to see the raw stuff of what my deputies dealt with on a regular basis.”
Meanwhile, some have speculated that race may have played a factor in the case, as Lorincz is white while Owens and her kids are Black. However, Woods dismissed the idea as a non-factor in the crime.
“Do I believe that Lorincz was probably racist? There’s a very good possibility,” he said. “Do I think it was racially motivated? Absolutely not.”
Similarly, longtime neighbor Phyllis Wills previously said that Lorincz—who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for manslaughter in November 2024—had similar feuds with other families in the community, including her own.
“Everybody in this neighborhood has feuded with this lady over our children,” she told NBC News in June 2023, days after the fatal incident. “Every time they’ve went even in the patch of grass over there, she would be like, ‘Get off of my lawn, you b---h or you r----ds or you N-word.’ She would wave guns at them.”
For more on the chilling story documented in The Perfect Neighbor, read on…
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Who was Ajike Owens?
Ajike "AJ" Owens, 35, lived with her children Isaac, Israel, Africa and Titus in Ocala, Fla. They were between 12 and 3 when their mom died.
"My daughter, Ajike, was joyful, vibrant and devoted to her four children," Owens' mother Pam Dias told CNN in October 2025. "She was supermom. She was the football mom...She worked hard to provide a better life for them."
Owens was a McDonald's manager and, as seen in Netflix's The Perfect Neighbor, another resident of her neighborhood told deputies she "sacrificed" so they could attend private school and do activities like dance and gymnastics.
Who Is Susan Lorincz?
Susan Louise Lorincz lived across the street from Owens in Ocala.
As seen in sheriff's deputy body cam footage in The Perfect Neighbor, the now-61-year-old said she worked from home, where she lived alone.
Her younger sister Ellen Lorincz testified during Lorincz's 2024 criminal trial that their family had a "history of mental health issues" and their father was "physically, emotionally and sexually abusive to all of us."
Friend Crystal Maksou testified that Lorincz was "always working," but also sang at church and "baked for us and cooked for us for many years."
Asked if Lorincz was "violent or aggressive," Maksou's answer was no.
"It’s almost the opposite of the person I know,” Maksou told the court. “She was very much a giver, and during this friendship I learned from her how to treat people."
Why Did Susan Lorincz Call the Police So Many Times?
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said at a news conference after Owens was killed that his department received "six to eight" reports of incidents involving the victim and Lorincz.
During one of their trips to Lorincz's house at 1662 Southwest 107th Lane, as seen in The Perfect Neighbor, deputies spoke with Owens after Lorincz accused the woman of throwing a yard sign at her.
Owens told deputies Lorincz was "basically like ramming the sign in my face." When Lorincz "went to pick it back up," she continued, "I picked the sign up and I threw the sign...I did toss it, I'm not gonna lie."
But multiple neighbors told the deputies that Owens did not throw the sign at Lorincz, one saying, per the footage, "I will say that that lady is always messing with people's kids. She's always trying to record the kids and always talking crap."
Lorincz—who, like Owens, was one of the many renters on the block—told a deputy during this encounter that "real estate laws" dictated "the right to peaceful quiet enjoyment of your property" and the kids "shouldn't be screaming and running around."
Detectives asked Lorincz after Owens' death if there was "any reason someone would have video of you saying the n-word?"
To which she replied, "I have no idea. And if I did let it go, I'm sorry. I mean, it could have slipped out."
What Happened the Night Susan Lorincz Killed Ajike Owens?
Lorincz shot Owens on the night of June 2, 2023, firing a single gunshot through her closed front door that hit the 35-year-old in her upper chest. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Earlier in the evening, Lorincz had called 911, alleging that kids were "trespassing, screaming, yelling" and she was "fearing for [her] life."
"His mom's gonna go out and wait for the officer and run and say, 'Oh my god, I was threatening her kids,'" Lorincz told the dispatcher. "Which just isn't true."
Bystanders told deputies, per body cam footage in The Perfect Neighbor, that they heard Owens knock on Lorincz's door. One boy said he heard "a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, 'Why did you take my son's tablet?'"
Another boy told deputies, "I see a pair of roller skates flying at [Owen's son] Izzy, he said he had a tablet and the woman took it." Then, he continued, Lorincz "came out with the umbrella and started swinging it, calling us 'jackasses.' Next thing, I heard Izzy say, 'Go get Mom.'"
Owens then headed across the street and, by all accounts, starting knocking on Lorincz's door.
One witness told deputies, "Literally two knocks."
What Did Susan Lorincz Say About Shooting Ajike Owens?
Lorincz was handcuffed and taken into custody. She told detectives June 3, per interview room footage in The Perfect Neighbor, that about 10 minutes had passed between her 911 call and Owens showing up at her door.
"Then she started banging so hard, everything started shaking," Lorincz said, "and I'm like, 'You really need to leave.' And she's going, 'I'm going to f--king kill you!'"
Claiming she didn't know whether deputies would show up at all, "I just panicked, 'Oh, my gosh, she's going to really kill me this time.' So I don't even actually remember picking up the gun. I just remember shooting."
What Was Susan Lorincz Charged With in the Killing of Ajike Owens?
Talking to Lorincz on June 6, per interview footage, detectives informed her that, after her five-minute call to 911 ended at 8:59 p.m., only two minutes went by before she called again to report someone banging on her door.
"Within two minutes she showed up and did all these things," a detective said, "you pulled the trigger, then found your phone and called 911."
Lorincz said that in her mind it was "much longer." She also denied any premeditation, insisting she felt "tremendous fear" in the moment.
Left in the room with a notepad and a pen in case she wanted to relay anything to Owens' children, Lorincz wrote, as read aloud by a detective, "I am so sorry for your loss. I never meant to kill your mother. I was terrified your mom was going to kill me. I shot out of fear."
She was arrested moments later and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault.
Where Is Susan Lorincz Now?
Lorincz pleaded not guilty at trial, putting a spotlight on Florida's controversial "stand your ground" self-protection law that permits deadly force if a person, per the statute, "reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm."
But Lorincz was convicted of manslaughter on Aug. 16, 2024. She was sentenced Nov. 25 to 25 years in prison.
"I find that the shooting was completely unnecessary," Marion County Circuit Court Judge Robert Hodges said in court. "In this case, Ms. Lorincz was behind the door. The door was locked."
Lorincz is currently serving her time at Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City, according to the Florida Department of Corrections, which lists her release date as April 8, 2048.
“I am so sorry I took AJ’s life," Lorincz said at her sentencing hearing. "I never intended to kill her. I am just profoundly sad. Not only did a mother die but a daughter, a sister, I think of your family's loss."
She maintains she feared for her life that night, telling ABC affiliate WCJB from prison in September 2025, "I never even saw the shot. I was just so terrified. I remember I was shaking, I was crying. It was horrible."
Asked if she was capable of manslaughter, she said no.
"It just makes me sick, what happened," Lorincz said. "I just never, ever thought in a million years this would happen. It breaks my heart...I wish I could change things."
What Did Ajike Owens' Family Say After Susan Lorincz Was Found Guilty of Manslaughter?
“I stand before you not only mourning the loss of my daughter, but also the loss of our hopes, dreams and the future that we often spoke of,” Owens' mother Dias said in court during Lorincz' sentencing, per NBC News. “I‘m still trying to grasp and cope with the fact that my daughter, my baby girl, is lying six feet underground, breathless, lifeless.”
Noting all of the family milestones Owens would miss, Dias continued, "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.”
Where Are Ajike Owens' Children Now?
Dias has been caring for her grandchildren since her daughter's death.
“It’s been very hard for the children—they were very young when they lost their mother, and it’s something no child should have to endure,” Dias told CNN in October 2025. “At the same time, they’ve shown strength and resilience that continues to amaze me.”
And she could "see the values my daughter instilled in them," Dias continued. "Her kindness, her love, her faith—and that means they carry a piece of her wherever they go."