OCALA, Fla. – The Marion County woman featured in Netflix’s documentary “The Perfect Neighbor“ who fatally shot a mother of four is now threatening a defamation lawsuit against the victim’s children, recently filed court records show.
Read full story on website of News4JAX sister station, WKMG-6 in Orlando.
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Susan Lorincz is serving a 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter after a jury convicted her of killing Ajike Owens during a neighborhood dispute in 2023.
Prosecutors said Lorincz fired her gun through her apartment’s closed front door when Owens attempted to question Lorincz about allegedly throwing a roller skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son.
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Earlier this year, Owens’ mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lorincz on behalf of her late daughter’s estate.
Lorincz’s former landlord is also named as a defendant. He has filed court papers denying liability for Owens’ death.
Lorincz, who is currently incarcerated at Homestead Correctional Institution, recently penned a three-page letter responding to the family’s lawsuit.
“Ajike Owens and her children were trespassing,” Lorincz stated in the handwritten letter filed with the court Sept. 2. “There were multiple ‘no trespassing signs’ on the property. Ms. Owens did in fact scream, threaten to beat me multiple times while trespassing.”
Lorincz, who declined to testify at her trial, continued to insist she shot Owens in self-defense.
“Ms. Owens did not knock politely and speak reasonably on June 2, 2023. She pounded and screamed profanities like a lunatic,” Lorincz wrote. “Ms. Owens’ children had lied to her and stated I hit [the 10-year-old boy] with a roller skate.”
In her letter responding to the wrongful death lawsuit, Lorincz accused Owens’ children of playing “Ding Dong Ditch” by knocking on her apartment door and running away.
“I now wish to countersue for slander, libel and defamation of character,” Lorincz wrote.
Susan Lorincz sentenced to 25 years in prison after fatally shooting Ocala neighbor
She named Owens’ mother and three of Owens’ minor children as potential defendants.
Court records show Lorincz has not formally filed a countersuit against Owens’ estate or any of the victim’s family members.
In her letter, Lorincz accused her former landlord of failing to secure the property and “allowing Ms. Owens and her children for harassment (sic), physical threats of harm and mental duress.”
Anthony D. Thomas, an attorney representing Owens’ estate, told News 6 he could not make any comments while the litigation is ongoing.
“The Perfect Neighbor” was Netflix’s top movie in the U.S. last week, according to the streaming service.