Overview:

Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor is reigniting public discussion around the 2023 killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a Black mother of four, by her white neighbor Susan Lorincz in Ocala, Florida. The documentary delves into how years of neighborhood tension and racial bias led to a senseless death — and how Florida’s “stand your ground” law played a role in the aftermath.

In June 2023, a simple neighborhood disagreement in Ocala, Florida spiraled into a tragedy that would make national headlines. The confrontation between Susan Lorincz, 58, and Ajike “AJ” Shantrell Owens, 35, began over children playing near a property line — but ended with Owens shot dead at Lorincz’s front door.

Two years later… The story returns to public consciousness through Netflix’s gripping documentary The Perfect Neighbor, released on October 17, 2025. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the film reconstructs the events leading to the fatal encounter using police body-cam footage, 911 calls, and interviews with both families and local law enforcement.

Susan Lorincz: From Complaints to Conviction

Lorincz, a white homeowner, had reportedly complained for years about children — including Owens’s — playing too close to her property. On the night of June 2, 2023, after allegedly throwing a roller skate at one of Owens’s children, Lorincz fired her gun through her locked front door when Owens came to confront her. The single bullet struck Owens in the chest.

Lorincz claimed self-defense under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, but prosecutors argued that her fear was unreasonable and racially charged. In August 2024, she was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

AJ Owens: A Life Cut Short

Owens was remembered as a devoted mother of four and a peacemaker who simply wanted the harassment against her family to stop. Her death sparked nationwide grief and anger, as well as renewed scrutiny of how racial bias intersects with self-defense laws.

Owens’s family has since become active in advocacy efforts for community safety and legal accountability. Her mother, Pamela Dias, has publicly supported the documentary for showing “the truth about what AJ endured.”

Inside the Netflix Documentary

The Perfect Neighbor premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, earning praise for its raw, unfiltered storytelling and taking home the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. The 97-minute film avoids dramatic reenactments and instead lets surveillance and police footage tell the story.

Critics describe the documentary as “quietly devastating” — not only for its portrayal of the fatal night, but for its examination of the everyday tensions, fears, and prejudices that can build unnoticed between neighbors.

As the film trends on Netflix, searches for “Susan Lorincz,” “AJ Owens,” and “The Perfect Neighbor” have spiked globally.

A Mirror to Modern America

The documentary raises questions far beyond a single neighborhood. It explores the dangers of fear-based policing, racial suspicion, and the breakdown of community trust. It also challenges viewers to reflect on how laws intended to protect can sometimes be used to justify tragedy.

“The perfect neighbor,” the film suggests, may be less about perfection — and more about empathy, patience, and understanding across divides.

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