Imagine a world where a simple knock on a neighbor’s door could cost you your life. This isn’t the plot of a dystopian thriller—it’s the chilling reality exposed in Netflix’s documentary The Perfect Neighbour. The film dives into the tragic story of Ajike Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four, who was fatally shot by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, after a dispute over children playing in a shared area. But here’s where it gets controversial: Lorincz claimed self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, a statute that has sparked fierce debate across America. Is this justice, or a license to kill?
On June 2, 2023, Owens approached Lorincz’s home in Ocala, Florida, to discuss an incident where Lorincz had allegedly shouted at and thrown objects at Owens’s young son. Without answering the door, Lorincz fired a gun through it, leaving Owens to die in the street. Her son, who witnessed the shooting, ran back across the street in tears, pleading for help. The aftermath was a community in shock and a mother, Pam Owens, grappling with unimaginable grief. The Perfect Neighbour doesn’t just recount the tragedy—it dissects the systemic failures and racial biases that allowed it to happen.
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the documentary won the Directing Award for US Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and is a frontrunner for next year’s Academy Awards. Gandbhir spent two days reviewing over 30 hours of police bodycam footage, obtained through a freedom of information request, to piece together the events leading up to Owens’s death. What she uncovered was a pattern of harassment by Lorincz, who had called 911 nearly a dozen times in the year prior to report minor infractions by neighborhood children—11-year-olds on roller skates, boys playing basketball. Yet, despite Lorincz’s history of racial slurs and even flashing a gun, police dismissed her as a nuisance rather than a threat. And this is the part most people miss: Lorincz, a white woman, weaponized her race and privilege, while Owens, a Black woman, paid the ultimate price.
The Stand Your Ground law, in place in over half of U.S. states, allows individuals to use deadly force if they perceive a threat. But research reveals a stark racial disparity: in states with this law, 45% of cases involving a white shooter and a Black victim are deemed justified, compared to just 11% when the roles are reversed. In Florida alone, gun homicides increased by 32% after the law’s enactment in 2005. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has called it a ‘license to kill,’ turning minor disputes into deadly confrontations.
Lorincz was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison, but Gandbhir emphasizes that this isn’t a victory. ‘Prison shouldn’t have been the answer,’ she says. ‘There is no happy ending here.’ Pam Owens, who bravely shared her daughter’s story, has since founded the Standing in the Gap Fund to support families affected by racial violence. ‘We want people to use their voices to make change,’ she urges.
The Perfect Neighbour is more than a documentary—it’s a call to action. It forces us to confront uncomfortable questions: How did we let one person’s hatred destroy a community’s trust? Why do laws like Stand Your Ground disproportionately protect certain groups while endangering others? And most importantly, what are we willing to do to prevent this from happening again? Is this the kind of society we want to live in? Stream The Perfect Neighbour on Netflix starting October 17 and decide for yourself.
