OCALA, Fla. – A feud among Ocala neighbors over where kids could play led to a fatal 2023 shooting and fueled a nationwide conversation about Stand Your Ground laws.
It’s also the subject of a new documentary on Netflix.
“The Perfect Neighbor” features police body camera video, 911 calls and interviews surrounding the case of 58-year-old Susan Lorincz, who shot and killed neighbor Ajike Owens, a mother of four, the culmination of a year of complaints and confrontations about children playing near her home.
Lorincz, who said she was in fear of her life and defending herself under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, was not arrested initially.
However, a law enforcement investigation called Lorincz’s claims into question, and she was arrested.
In 2024, Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
[WATCH: Susan Lorincz sentenced to 25 years in prison after fatally shooting Ocala neighbor]
News 6 covered the case extensively; some of that coverage is shown in the Netflix documentary.
A neighborhood confrontation
Lorincz, who had lived in the neighborhood since at least 2020, frequently called the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and accused the neighborhood children of trespassing on her property. Records show deputies were called to the neighborhood a dozen times over the course of the feud.
However, neighbors said the children were actually playing in a common area next to her home, which was the largest field in the complex.
As part of our coverage, we combed through the same Marion County Sheriff’s Office body camera videos that are featured in the documentary.
[WATCH: Prosecutors detail evidence against woman accused of killing Ocala mom]
The videos, released as part of the investigation, document deputy responses to the numerous calls Lorincz made between February 2022 and April 2023. You can watch all of the videos HERE.
Lorincz complained to deputies that she worked from home and needed peace and quiet, but the children were constantly screaming and yelling.
Lorincz accused the kids of calling her names, screaming at her, stealing her “no trespassing sign” and banging on her sliding glass door so hard that they broke the door.
However, neighbors told deputies that Lorincz was crazy, that she yelled at the children, calling any Black children racial slurs.
[WATCH: What body camera video tells us about suspect in Ocala mother’s shooting death]
In April 2023, a neighbor asked to speak to deputies about Lorincz.
“I was trying to reason with her ‘cause we were all playing over there, the kids were jumping, ‘All right let’s go,’ and she’s like, “Hey, you know what? One day you guys are gonna die” and I just went like, whoa,” the neighbor told the deputy.
The neighbor also said Lorincz thinks she owns everything and calls law enforcement officers very often.
The night of the shooting
On June 2, 2023, Lorincz called the sheriff’s office, saying neighborhood kids were threatening her and that she was in fear for her life.
According to deputies, one of Owens’ children had left a tablet in the field next to Lorincz’s home and went to retrieve it. The child told deputies they found Lorincz holding the tablet.
Deputies said Lorincz then threw the tablet and a pair of roller skates at the child, and then brandished an umbrella.
Owens went to Lorincz’s home to confront her. According to 911 calls, Lorincz claimed Owens was trying to break down her door and screaming and yelling, so Lorincz shot Owens through the door with a gun she bought a year earlier after a previous confrontation with Owens.
Despite receiving CPR, Owens died at the hospital.
The sheriff’s office delayed arresting Lorincz because she claimed she felt in “mortal danger,” which is in line with Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws.
That sparked protests and outrage, especially from people in the neighborhood who felt Lorincz was in the wrong.
[WATCH: Deputies interrogate Susan Lorincz after Owens’ death]
Deputies, however, said Lorincz’s timeline of events contradicted the 911 calls, and Lorincz admitted to researching self-defense laws.
According to Netflix’s “Tudum” news site, “The Perfect Neighbor” centers the documentary around Ajike Owens as a protective mother standing up for her children and others in the neighborhood.
The filmmakers say they want people to come away from the documentary with “a deeper understanding of the consequences” of Stand Your Ground laws, and push for changes.