A critically acclaimed new documentary, The Perfect Neighbor, is set to air on ITV, exploring the tragic 2023 Florida shooting where a white woman killed her black neighbour through a locked door. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the film uses groundbreaking techniques, with around 90% of its footage coming from police body cameras and CCTV.
The incident occurred in June 2023 in Marion County, Florida, when 58-year-old Susan Lorincz shot 35-year-old Ajike Owens, a single mother of four, through a locked metal front door. Lorincz later received a 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter. The documentary reconstructs events without narration, relying entirely on real footage to capture the build-up and aftermath.
Viewers see the moment Lorincz is arrested in a police interview room, where she repeatedly refuses to cooperate, saying, 'No. I can't. I'm sorry.' The film reveals that only two minutes before the shooting, Lorincz had called police to complain about a dispute with Owens's child over an electronic tablet. She claimed she fired in fear after Owens banged on her door and threatened to kill her, though the judge later stated the shooting was prompted 'more by anger than fear'.
The documentary includes doorbell camera audio capturing the gunshot and Owens's son screaming for help, as well as bodycam footage of paramedics trying to save Owens. It also shows police breaking the news to the children that their mother 'isn't coming back'. Director Gandbhir, a family friend of Owens, obtained 30 hours of video from lawyers, including multiple emergency calls from Lorincz complaining about neighbourhood children, whom she called 'the perfect neighbour'. The footage highlights Lorincz's alienation from her multiracial community, who looked out for each other.
