Where is Susan Lorincz now? What to know about the true story of Ajike ‘AJ’ Shantrell Owens’s tragic killing

Netflix’s new documentary, The Perfect Neighbor, explores the tragic death of Ajike “AJ” Shantrell Owens, a single mother who was shot and killed by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, on June 3, 2023.

Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the film, which had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, utilizes bodycam, ringcam and cellphone footage to tell the story of how a neighborhood dispute in Florida turned deadly in the summer of 2023. The documentary shows the events that immediately preceded and followed the moment that Lorincz, 58, who is white, fired the shot that killed Owens, 35, who was Black.

Gandbhir, whose sister-in-law was best friends with Owens, deliberately chose not to interview Owens’ family and friends for the documentary, telling Variety that she didn’t want to “retraumatize” them.

“We had all the material, so why make them talk about what happened and relive it?” said Gandbhir.

When did ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ premiere on Netflix?

The Perfect Neighbor was released on Netflix on Friday, Oct. 17.

Who was Owens?

Owens, 35, was a mother of four children, Isaac, Afrika, Titus and Israel. Owens and her family lived in Ocala, Fla.

“Ajike was a single mom; she was a sole provider for her four beautiful children,” Pamela Dias, Owens’s mother, told MSNBC on Oct. 15. “She had a strong sense of faith; she instilled education (and) respect in her children. She had big dreams for her life as a single mom.”

Dias also told Netflix’s Tudum that the film is a way of paying tribute to who Owens was as a mother.

“It means everything to honor her legacy,” she said. “My daughter always would say the world would know her name, and The Perfect Neighbor has made her word come true. Her legacy lives on, and the world will know her name.”

Why did Lorincz kill Owens?

The Perfect Neighbor begins in the fall of 2022 and documents Lorincz’s constant complaints to the local police about the children in her neighborhood, who were primarily Black. The children, who ranged in age, were often outside riding bikes and scooters and playing noisily on the lawn or nearby vacant lot. At one point in the documentary, the police tell Lorincz that there doesn’t need to be a 911 call every time children are playing in the yard.

Footage shown in the film charts the gradual escalation of Lorincz’s complaints, which culminates in the deadly altercation on June 2, 2023. Lorincz, during her June 2 call to the police, said she felt “threatened” by Owens’s children.

According to a CNN report, one of Owens’s older sons informed his younger brother, then 9, that he had left the electronic tablet that he’d been playing with in a nearby field, which Lorincz ended up retrieving. When the younger brother asked Lorincz to return the tablet, she reportedly threw it to the ground and yelled at him. Lorincz reportedly threw roller skates at the child as well, per the affidavit.

Before confronting Lorincz himself, Owens’s older son instructed his younger brother to inform their mother of what had happened. The older son then approached Lorincz’s front door and yelled, “You want to throw something, throw it at me!” It was at this point that Lorincz reportedly stepped outside, told the boy that he was trespassing, and swung an umbrella at him.

According to the affidavit, Owens then approached Lorincz’s door herself and yelled to Lorincz that if she wanted to throw something, she should throw it at her.

Lorincz called 911 and said that Owens had attempted to break down her door and had threatened her life. Lorincz then called back two minutes later to report that she had shot Owens through the door. Owens was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said during a June 2023 news conference that at least two of Owens’s sons may have witnessed the shooting.

What is the ‘stand your ground’ law?

Lorincz was not immediately arrested or charged with killing Owens because authorities were investigating whether her actions met the criteria for the state’s “stand your ground” law. Florida’s “stand your ground” law states that an individual has the right to “stand his or her ground” and threaten to use nondeadly or deadly force in their residence as a form of self-defense.

Deadly force, as stated in Florida’s law, can be used if “he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”

Ocala, Fla., the city where Owens and her family resided, is approximately 82 miles from Sanford, Fla., where George Zimmerman fatally shot an unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. The killing sparked public outrage and drew national attention to Florida’s “stand your ground” law, as Zimmerman was eventually acquitted on self-defense grounds.

What happened to Lorincz?

Following a five-day investigation, the sheriff’s department arrested Lorincz on June 7, 2023. She was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault. On Aug. 16, 2024, Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

“I find that the shooting was completely unnecessary,” Judge Robert Hodges said, per ABC. “In this case, Ms. Lorincz was behind the door. The door was locked. She had already called law enforcement. They were en route. She knew they were en route. She was in a relatively safe position. For some reason, she went into her room and found a gun.”

Lorincz apologized to Dias and to Owens’s children during her sentencing hearing, saying, “I’m so sorry that I took AJ’s life. I never intended to kill her.”

Dias, when asked about Lorincz’s apology, said, “Susan’s apology was a last-ditch attempt to save herself. It wasn’t sincere. She never showed remorse. As I stated before, her remorse that she showed, if any, at best, was for herself.”

Where is Lorincz now?

Lorincz is serving her 25-year prison sentence at Homestead Correctional Institution in South Florida, according to WCJB. Per the Florida Department of Corrections, her release date is set for April 8, 2048.

Lorincz spoke out in September 2025 — for the first time since her arrest and incarceration. When asked by WCJB if she was capable of manslaughter, Lorincz replied, “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.”