Where Is Susan Lorincz Now? Inside Her Life 2 Years After Killing Her Neighbor

Susan Lorincz sparked nationwide outrage in 2023 when she shot and killed Ajike “AJ” Owens through her locked front door in Florida.

Lorincz, a White woman in her late 50s at the time, and Owens, a 35-year-old Black mother of four, had a longstanding feud over children playing in the Ocala, Fla., neighborhood where they both lived, according to authorities.

Lorincz was frequently angered over local children (including Owens’) playing in a field close to her home. She had a history of harassing them and repeatedly contacting the police — as she did on the night of June 2, 2023.

That night, Lorincz allegedly threw a roller skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son as he played in the field neighboring her apartment building, striking him in the foot. After Owens’ kids informed her of what happened, she then went to Lorincz’s home, “knocked on the door multiple times, and demanded that Lorincz come outside,” according to authorities.

Lorincz then fired a single shot through the locked door, killing Owens, who was unarmed and accompanied by her 10-year-old son. Lorincz, who told police she felt “threatened” by Owens, claimed she acted in self-defense — but investigators ultimately disagreed and arrested her in the days following the shooting.

Owens’ death reignited the debate over “stand your ground” laws, which exist in at least 30 states (including Florida) and allow an individual to use deadly force if they reasonably believe they have been threatened. And now, the case is in the spotlight once again in Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor.

The Perfect Neighborwhich began streaming on Oct. 17, uses police bodycam footage to provide an unprecedented look at the tragic events leading up to and on the night of Owens’ death.

So where is Susan Lorincz now? Here is everything to know about her arrest, conviction and life in prison in the years since the shooting.

Who is Susan Lorincz?

Lorincz rented an apartment in Ocala, a city about 60 miles northwest of Orlando. While living in the building, she reportedly developed a reputation for harassing neighborhood children and directing racial slurs toward them, according to NBC News.

Lorincz allegedly had an issue with local children playing in an open field between apartment buildings. Neighbors reported that Lorincz would record the children when they were playing, call them racial slurs and other derogatory terms, wave guns at them and file reports with the police, per NBC News.

“Everybody in this neighborhood has feuded with this lady over our children,” one local resident, Phyllis Wills, told NBC News.

But Lorincz reportedly developed a particularly contentious relationship with Owens and her four children. Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods revealed that between January 2021 and June 2023, authorities responded to at least six calls related to the feud between Owens and Lorincz, the Associated Press reported.

What did Susan Lorincz do?

Lorincz’s name made national headlines after the ongoing dispute between her and Owens came to a head on June 2, 2023. On that evening, Owens’ children were playing in the open field near Lorincz’s apartment. According to The New York Timesshe reportedly began arguing with the children and threw a roller skate at Owens’ then-10-year-old son, hitting him in the toe. Lorincz was also reportedly overheard yelling at the children and seen waving an umbrella at them.

Lorincz called the police on them, telling the 911 dispatcher that they were trespassing on her property and that one of the kids had threatened to beat her up.

“Just screaming, yelling, just being absolutely obnoxious,” she said about the children, according to the 911 tape obtained by PEOPLE. “I went and threw the roller skate over to the other side, the kid says he’s going to beat me up for that, and he’s mouthing off to me. I feel threatened in my own home.”

Asked if the 10-year-old boy was still out there, Lorincz responded: “There are several kids out there right now,” she said. “I’m fearing for my life. I’m very scared.”

Meanwhile, Owens’ children had alerted her to what had happened. Owens, accompanied by her 10-year-old son, went to Lorincz’s apartment to confront her over the incident. Owens knocked on the door several times and demanded that Lorincz come outside. Lorincz then fired a single shot through the locked door, fatally striking Owens in the upper chest.

What crimes was Susan Lorincz charged with?

Lorincz was initially not arrested or charged following the shooting death of Owens. Due to Florida’s “stand your ground” law, individuals are allowed to defend themselves with force if they feel their lives are in danger. Therefore, authorities first needed to determine “whether deadly force was justified or not before we make an arrest,” Sheriff Woods told The New York Times.

The investigation included interviews with Lorincz, Owens’ children and other eyewitnesses to the shooting. Lorincz reportedly told authorities that she acted in self-defense and alleged that Owens had previously attacked her and was trying to break down her door before the shooting.

But Lorincz also admitted in her interviews with police to “having used the n-word toward children out of anger in the past and also to calling children other derogatory terms,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Through their investigation, authorities were able to determine “that Lorincz’s actions were not justifiable under Florida law.”

As a result, Lorincz was arrested on June 7, 2023, and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault. However, despite pleas from Owens’ family, Lorincz was not charged with second-degree murder, a first-degree felony.

State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson said in a statement that there was “insufficient evidence” to prove the elements needed for a murder charge.

What happened at Susan Lorincz’s trial?

Lorincz’s trial began in August 2024, according to the AP. During the course of the trial, which only lasted a few days, her lawyers argued that she was acting in self-defense — alleging that Owens was pounding and cursing at her door and threatening to kill her, causing her to panic, The New York Times reported.

The prosecution, however, highlighted how Owens was unarmed and that Lorincz’s door was also locked.

After just two hours of deliberation, the jury found Lorincz guilty of manslaughter. The charge carried a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

“This case is undoubtedly a tragic reminder of the devastating consequences of gun violence,” Gladson, the state’s prosecutor, said in the news release. “The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives.”

Gladson added, “While today’s verdict can’t bring AJ back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

What was Susan Lorincz’s sentence?

Three months later, in November 2024, Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting Owens through a door.

At her sentencing hearing, the defense called Lorincz’s sister and an expert in psychological trauma to testify on her behalf, CNN reported. Lorincz’s sister testified that they both were abused as children and were raised in a household with a history of mental illness and addiction. Additionally, Dr. Yenys Castillo testified that Lorincz suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of sexual and other abuse.

However, Judge Robert Hodges stated that any abuse Lorincz suffered in the past was not a mitigating factor in what he described as a “very aggravated manslaughter.”

“I find that the shooting was completely unnecessary,” the judge said in the Marion County courtroom. “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,” the judge continued. “For some reason, she went into her room and found a gun. She could have stayed in the room and put another locked door between her and Ms. Owens, but she came back out, put herself in front of the door, and at the time she fired the gun through the door, she was safe.”

Lorincz, who did not testify in her trial, addressed the court for the first time at her sentencing.

“I am so sorry I took AJ’s life. I never intended to kill her,” she said.

However, Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, felt Lorincz’s courtroom apology was insincere.

“She never showed remorse,” she told reporters, per CNN.

Where is Susan Lorincz now?

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

Lorincz spoke out for the first time since her arrest, conviction and incarceration in a September 2025 interview with the local ABC affiliate WCJB. In the interview, she alleged that both Owens and her children had threatened to kill her on the day she fatally shot the mother of four.

“I was terrified,” she said.

When asked 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,” she continued. “I can’t take it back. I can’t replace her.”