Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens’ Mother Reacts To Netflix Doc Detailing Daughter’s Murder, And It’s Heartbreaking
Today, the world will get to see the tragic timeline that occurred before the unfathomable death of Florida resident and mother, Ajike “AJ” Owens. And Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, had a heartbreaking reaction to the project months before its debut.
Pamela Dias played a huge role in bringing Owens’ tragic story to life.
The Perfect Neighbor, created by Emmy Award-winning director Geeta Gandbhir—which is now available on Netflix—is a chilling documentary that lays bare the grim truths of “stand your ground” laws through the tragic shooting of Owens. In 2023, the Black mother of four from Ocala, Florida, was fatally shot following a heated argument with her white neighbor, Susan Lorincz.
With detailed police bodycam footage central to the narrative, the Guardian reported on Oct. 6 that Gandbhir credited Dias as the driving force behind The Perfect Neighbor. It was Dias who bravely agreed to make the footage public. In those clips, Lorincz can be seen switching between playing the victim and the aggressor, repeatedly calling the police to complain about neighborhood kids, including Owens’ children, playing near her home. Those complaints ultimately led to Owens’ death.
Pamela Dias’ reaction to the completed documentary was deeply emotional.
“I showed Pam the film when it was completed, and I said, ‘Is this what you want?'” Gandbhir told the Guardian. “She said, ‘Yes, the world needs to know what happened to my baby’.”
Gandbhir initially approached Ajike Owens’ mother with a proposal to create a film that would both honor Owens’ memory and pursue justice, while potentially providing financial support for the family and raising broader awareness. With Dias’ support, the project gained its moral compass.
What happened to Ajike Owens?
As previously reported, premiering on Netflix Oct. 17 and in select theaters on Oct. 10, The Perfect Neighbor is entirely composed of police bodycam footage connected to the incident. Gandbhir’s powerful documentary chronicles the series of events that escalated Lorincz’s behavior into a deadly act of violence.
The trailer, released Sept. 23, provided a small glimpse into numerous prior incidents where Lorincz accused Owens’ children—and other neighborhood kids—of being disruptive, “screaming,” “yelling,” and “trespassing.” Several other community members stepped forward to share their experiences with Lorincz, with one stating bluntly, “She’s always messing with people’s kids.”
Notably, the documentary includes chilling footage from the night of Owens’ death, showing an emergency team arriving to retrieve her after the deadly shooting. The tragic incident reportedly happened after one of Owens’ children told her Lorincz had thrown a roller skate at them. Then, Owens went to confront Lorincz directly, but that confrontation ended in tragedy, with Lorincz fatally shooting the mother of four with a 380-caliber handgun through her door, and later claiming self-defense.
In November 2024, Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the shooting.
Police camera footage can be a powerful tool, says Gandbhir.
Speaking further with the Guardian, Gandbhir explained why she chose to use police body camera footage to tell the story through her Netflix documentary.
“For people of color like myself, for Black and brown folks, oftentimes [police body camera footage is] seen as a violent tool.” She added, “The police come into our communities and, afterwards, they use body camera footage to criminalize and dehumanize us, to justify violence they may perpetrate against the community. I wanted to take this footage and flip it on its head.”
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