Netflix’s new true-crime documentary The Perfect Neighbor tells the heartbreaking story of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a mother of four from Florida who was shot and killed by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, in 2023. The film doesn’t just recount the shocking event — it delivers a warning about racial bias, fear, and how laws like “Stand Your Ground” can be dangerously misused.
The documentary pieces together police body camera footage, 911 calls, doorbell videos, and security recordings to show how tension built over several years between AJ and her neighbor. Starting as early as 2021, Lorincz repeatedly called the police, accusing AJ’s children, all under 15, of trespassing and damaging her property. The film shows how those claims were false. The kids were simply playing outside, yet Lorincz’s anger and racial prejudice kept escalating.
By June 2023, things turned deadly. After Lorincz threw a roller skate and an umbrella at AJ’s children, AJ walked over to confront her. Lorincz called 911, saying she was scared, and within minutes, she fired a gun through her locked front door. The bullet hit AJ in the chest while her children stood nearby. Her oldest son tried to save her with CPR, but she didn’t survive.
Lorincz later claimed she acted in self-defense under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, a law that allows people to use deadly force if they believe they are in danger. But investigators discovered she had used racist language about the children, and even searched online about how to use that same law before the shooting. The court ruled that she wasn’t acting out of fear but aggression, and she was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The filmmakers behind The Perfect Neighbor, Geeta Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, and producer Alisa Payne, said their goal was to make people think deeply about racial bias and how easily it can turn deadly when mixed with fear and guns. AJ’s mother, Pamela Dias, continues her daughter’s legacy through a community fund called Standing in the Gap, which supports families affected by racially motivated violence.
In interviews, Dias said the film’s message is about compassion and awareness. She hopes it helps people see how “Stand Your Ground” laws are often used unfairly, especially when race is involved. Studies have shown that white defendants are far more likely to succeed with this defense when the victim is Black.
Producer Alisa Payne compared AJ’s case to that of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Black teenager shot in 2012 by George Zimmerman, who also claimed self-defense under “Stand Your Ground.” Payne said both cases highlight how such laws often harm Black communities instead of protecting them.
Through AJ’s story, the filmmakers hope to push for real change, more empathy, fairer laws, and safer communities where fear and prejudice no longer cost innocent lives.