The Perfect Neighbor is a documentary currently streaming on Netflix that is making waves online.
In the film, you see the events of Ajike “AJ” Owens‘ death at the hands of her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. The doc solely uses police body cam footage, interview footage, and real life footage from the time period to display what went down. The time frame shows that Lorincz called police on neighborhood kids many times. On the night of the shooting, Lorincz called the police about the children outside, and just minutes later, shot Ajike. Ajike had four children.
A lot of the film focuses on Florida’s “stand your ground” laws. In summary, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law lets people protect themselves with force, even deadly force, if they think they are in serious danger. However, through their investigation, police found evidence that allowed them to charge Lorincz with manslaughter.
So, what’s the latest update on her?
Keep reading to find out more…
In June of 2023, she was arrested for the crime, and the trial began in August of 2024.
Her lawyers used the self defense argument, but prosecutors said that Lorincz‘s door was locked and Ajike was not armed herself. During police interviews, Lorincz allegedly admitted to “having used the n-word toward children out of anger in the past and also to calling children other derogatory terms.”
Jurors deliberated and found her guilty of manslaughter after 2 hours of deliberation.
In her sentencing, the judge told the court (via People), “I find that the shooting was completely unnecessary. 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.”
The judge continued, “She was in a relatively safe position. 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.”
She was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Today, she is housed at the Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida. She’s apparently got a release date of April 8, 2048.
About her crime, she said, “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.”
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