The Perfect Neighbor: Who is Susan Lorincz and where is she now? Details from the Netflix documentary explored

The Perfect Neighbor is a true crime documentary film that had a limited release on Netflix on October 10, 2025, before streaming on Netflix on October 17, 2025. It had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival (where director Geeta Gandbhir won the Best Director Award) and was also screened at the South by Southwest. Gandbhir has also produced the film with Sam Bisbee, Alisa Payne and Nikon Kwantu. Here is the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

Police bodycam footage reveals how a long-running neighborhood dispute turned fatal in this documentary about fear, prejudice and Stand Your Ground laws.

The film revolves around the killing of Shantrell Owens by Susan Lorincz. Let's find out about Lorincz.

The Perfect Neighbor: All about Susan Lorincz

The Perfect Neighbor chronicles the killing of Ajike Shantrell Owens aka AJ by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, on June 2, 2023. It mainly focuses on the things that led to this killing and what happened afterwards. This entire tragedy is told through bodycam footage in the documentary.

Lorincz is a white woman who used to live alone in a rented house in Ocala. A report from The New Yorker claims that she often had issues with kids playing in the area, which mostly consisted of the African-American population. Lorincz, being a Caucasian, saw this as a part of some conspiracy.

That evening, 58-year-old Lorincz had fired a bullet at Owens, who was 35 at that time and had four children. This took place after one of Owens' sons informed her about how Lorincz threw roller skates at him while they argued over where the kids could play.

Owens went to her house to ask her about this incident. However, Lorincz did not open the door and fired a shot at her. During the trial, the legal team of Lorincz argued that she was in panic and shot Owens in self-defence. They also attributed Lorincz's behavior to her troubled childhood, which was filled with addictions.

However, the judge rejected these claims, and she was found guilty of manslaughter by all the jury members.

Where is Susan Lorincz from The Perfect Neighbor now?

As shown in The Perfect Neighbor, Lorincz was given a 25-year jail sentence. The judge did not give her a maximum sentence of 35 years because of her lack of a criminal record. She has been serving her sentence in the Homestead Correctional Institution, which is situated in Homestead, Florida.

The film is produced under the banner of Message Pictures, Park Pictures and SO'B Productions. Soledad O'Brien is the executive producer.

The Perfect Neighbor is streaming on Netflix.