Where is ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ subject Susan Lorincz now?

Susan Lorincz once claimed to be “the perfect neighbor,” but she ignited widespread fury in 2023 after a dispute with residents in her Ocala, Fla. community resulted in murder.

Lorincz’s fatal confrontation with neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens is the subject of Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor, a new documentary directed by Geeta Gandbhir. Tension between Lorincz and the rest of the neighborhood began with her frequent complaints to the police about local children playing near her home. On June 2, 2023, those tensions boiled over when Lorincz shot Owens through the door of her home, killing her.

Gandbhir’s documentary, which hit Netflix on Oct. 17, revisits the devastating case with police bodycam footage and 911 calls that expose how the conflict spiraled out of control.

So where is Susan Lorincz now? Here’s what happened since her arrest and what her life looks like today.

Who is Susan Lorincz?

After renting a duplex apartment in Ocala, Lorincz made few friends in the commnuity. According to NBC News, neighbors accused Lorincz of repeatedly harassing their children.

“That lady is always messing with people’s kids. She is always trying to record kids,” one neighbor tells police in footage from The Perfect Neighbor.

Lorincz was particularly fixated on local children playing in an open field close to her home. At the time, neighbors alleged that Lorincz used racial slurs and derogatory insults when addressing the children, and that she would record them and wave her guns at them.

This animosity led to a feud with Owens and Owens’ four kids. According to the Associated Press, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods revealed that deputies responded to at least six incidents between the two women from January 2021 through June 2023.

Who is Ajike “AJ” Owens and what happened to her?

Owens was a 35-year-old Black mother of four. “Ajike, as a mom, she was the mom,” says a friend of Owens’ in The Perfect Neighbor. “She was a manager for McDonalds. You know, Ajike would switch her schedule around … just so she could be there for her kids. Someone who sacrificed for the children to have private school, football lessons, gymnastics, dance, everything.”

In the documentary, neighbors, friends, and family describe Owens as a caring and attentive mother who stepped in whenever her kids were antagonized by Lorincz.

On the night of June 2, 2023, Lorincz called the police, claiming that the neighborhood kids were trespassing and terrorizing her. Per reports and witness statements featured in the documentary, Lorincz allegedly hurled a pair of roller skates at Owens’ son Izzy and was later seen screaming at the group and threatening them with an umbrella. 

After Owens’ kids went home and told her what happened, Owens walked to Lorincz’s house. She knocked on the locked door repeatedly and called for her to come outside. Moments later, Lorincz shot Owens through the door. She then called 911 to report the shooting.

In The Perfect Neighbor, viewers hear the chaos of the 911 calls, see the police and paramedics responding to the scene, and witness the heartbreaking moment when Owens’ kids learn their mother has died.

The local community was saddened and outraged by Owens’ murder, and public anger intensified when Lorincz remained free for a few days as investigators considered whether her actions and claim of self-defense fell under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

What happened to Susan Lorincz?

As mentioned, Lorincz was not immediately arrested or changed after fatally shooting Owens because Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law permits the use of deadly force by anyone who feels that their life is in danger.

At the time, Sheriff Woods told the New York Times that the police were looking into “whether deadly force was justified or not” before they could make an arrest.

In police bodycam footage shown in The Perfect Neighbor, Lorincz claims that Owens had been banging on her locked front door so hard that her house started shaking. “She banged so hard, it looked like my door is going to fly off,” she said, saying she feared for her life and believed Owens was going to kill her.

However, per PEOPLE, investigators concluded that her “actions were not justifiable under Florida law.” She was arrested on June 7, 2023 and charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault.

Her legal team still argued she acted in self-defense, but a jury found Lorincz guilty of manslaughter via firearm in in August 2024. Three months later, she was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Where is Susan Lorincz now?

As of this writing, Lorincz is serving her sentence at the Homestead Correctional Institution in South Florida. Records from the Florida Department of Corrections indicate that her expected release date is April 8, 2048. 

In September 2025, Lorincz spoke with WCJB-TV from prison, claiming that her crime makes her “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,” she said. “I can’t replace her.”

Where can I watch The Perfect Neighbor?

The Perfect Neighbor is now streaming on Netflix.

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