Perfect Neighbor: Why Susan Lorincz’s Sister Ellyn Was Arrested

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Susan Lorincz isn’t the only person in her family with notoriety.

Following the release of the Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbor, which details the events surrounding the fatal shooting of her neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, in June 2023, 61-year-old Connie Zonker has gained significant attention. Her sister, Ellyn Lorincz, also has a history with legal issues.

Police visited Ellyn’s home several times starting in October 2023, as detailed in an arrest report from WCJB. She was then arrested and charged with felony child neglect the following August, according to court records reviewed by TopMob News.

Before she was arrested, the 57-year-old woman was caring for a 9-year-old boy with autism. However, police discovered she hadn’t been providing him with proper food, supervision, or necessary medication, according to the arrest report. Investigators also found her home was unsanitary, with a large amount of cat feces, mold, and needles within a child’s reach.

According to the arrest report, Ellyn told detectives she no longer wanted to be responsible for the boy, as reported by WCJB.

According to court documents obtained by the Ocala Star-Banner, prosecutors interviewed the boy and decided they likely couldn’t win a conviction in court. As a result, the child neglect charge was dropped in October 2024, as confirmed by TopMob News. The case has now been closed.

TopMob News has reached out to Ellyn’s lawyer for comment but has not heard back.

I still can’t believe it, but Susan was convicted of manslaughter in November 2024. It just…it breaks my heart. She’s locked up at Homestead Correctional Institution down in Florida City, and the Florida Department of Corrections says she won’t be getting out until April 8, 2048. Twenty-five years…it feels like a lifetime. I’m counting down the days, honestly.

Sixty-one-year-old Susan says she feared for her life when she shot her neighbor, but she also expressed regret about how the situation ended.

Speaking to WCJB in September 2025 from prison, she said she never imagined this would happen. “It’s devastating,” she explained, “and I wish I could go back and do things differently.”

For more on The Perfect Neighbor, keep reading.

Ajike Owens, known as AJ, was 35 years old and lived in Ocala, Florida, with her four children: Isaac, Israel, Africa, and Titus. When she passed away, her children ranged in age from 3 to 12 years old.

Oh, Ajike… my beautiful Ajike. Everyone knew how full of life she was, just radiating joy. And those kids – her four precious children – she lived for them. She was the supermom, seriously! Always at every football practice, cheering them on, doing everything she could to make sure they had the best life possible. It breaks my heart, but I want everyone to know just how wonderful she was.

Owens worked as a McDonald’s manager, and as shown in the Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbor, a neighbor shared that she made significant sacrifices – like paying for private school and extracurricular activities such as dance and gymnastics – so her children could participate.

Susan Louise Lorincz lived across the street from Owens in Ocala.

According to body camera footage from the sheriff’s office featured in The Perfect Neighbor, the 61-year-old woman stated she lived alone and worked from home.

During the 2024 trial, Ellen Lorincz, the defendant’s sister, testified that their family struggled with mental health problems and that their father had been physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive to all of them.

Crystal Maksou, a friend, shared that Lorincz was a dedicated worker, but also actively involved in their community, regularly singing at church and generously baking and cooking for them over many years.

Asked if Lorincz was “violent or aggressive,” Maksou’s answer was no. 

Honestly, it was such a contrast to the woman I knew. She was incredibly generous and kind, and our friendship actually taught me a lot about how to connect with and treat people. I really learned from her example – she just had a knack for making others feel good.

Following the death of Owens, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods stated in a press conference that his office had received between six and eight reports concerning incidents involving both Owens and Lorincz.

As detailed in the book The Perfect Neighbor, police officers encountered Owens during a visit to Lorincz’s home on Southwest 107th Lane, following a claim by Lorincz that Owens had thrown a yard sign at her.

Owens explained to the deputies that Lorincz had deliberately used the sign to intimidate her, saying it felt like he was “shoving it in her face.” When Lorincz tried to retrieve the sign, Owens admitted she grabbed it and threw it, confirming, “I did toss it, I’m not going to lie.”

Several neighbors told deputies that Owens didn’t throw the sign at Lorincz. One neighbor, according to video footage, stated that Lorincz frequently harasses children, often trying to record them and making rude comments.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE what happened! This guy, Lorincz – he’s a renter just like most of us on the block, honestly – he actually told a police officer that the law is on our side! He said something about ‘peaceful quiet enjoyment of your property’ – can you imagine?! – and that those kids were totally violating it with all their screaming and running around. I mean, finally, someone said what we’re all thinking! It’s like, we deserve some peace and quiet, right? He was so articulate about it too, citing ‘real estate laws’ – it was amazing!

Honestly, after hearing about Owens passing, the detectives’ questions just… stuck with me. They actually asked Lorincz if anyone would have footage of him saying the n-word! It was so bizarre and unsettling. I keep replaying it in my head – why would they even think to ask that? It feels like they were digging for something, anything, to discredit him, and the whole thing just feels… wrong. It’s been haunting me ever since I read about it.

She said she didn’t know anything about it. If she had accidentally mentioned it, she apologized, explaining that it might have just slipped out in conversation.

On the night of June 2, 2023, Lorincz shot and killed Owens by firing one bullet through her front door, striking her in the chest. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Earlier that night, Lorincz had called 911, saying that children were on her property, making noise, and that she was afraid for her safety.

Lorincz told the dispatcher that the other woman’s mother would likely go outside, meet the officer, and falsely claim she had been threatening her children. He insisted that wasn’t the case at all.

According to body camera footage from the documentary The Perfect Neighbor, witnesses told police they heard Owens knocking on Lorincz’s door. One witness, a young boy, specifically recalled hearing a woman yelling, “Why did you take my son’s tablet?”

Another boy told the deputies that he saw roller skates flying toward Izzy, Owen’s son, and that Izzy had been holding a tablet which the woman then took. He said that Lorincz then came outside with an umbrella and began swinging it while yelling insults at them. After that, he heard Izzy tell someone to ‘Go get Mom.’

Owens then headed across the street and, by all accounts, starting knocking on Lorincz’s door.

One witness told deputies, “Literally two knocks.”

Lorincz was arrested and taken into police custody. According to interview footage from the documentary The Perfect Neighbor, she told detectives on June 3rd that roughly ten minutes passed between her 911 call and when Owens arrived at her house.

Lorincz said the woman began pounding so forcefully that everything in the room shook. He told her she needed to leave, but she responded by threatening to kill him.

She said she was terrified the police wouldn’t arrive, and in a panic, she feared for her life. She doesn’t recall consciously deciding to grab the gun, only remembering firing it.

 

According to interview footage from June 6th, detectives told Lorincz that she called 911 again to report someone banging on her door just two minutes after her first, five-minute call ended at 8:59 p.m.

According to a detective, she arrived on the scene within two minutes and recounted the events: “You shot the gun, then immediately got your phone and called 911.”

Lorincz stated that the event felt significantly longer than it actually was. She also maintained that she didn’t plan anything beforehand, explaining she was simply overwhelmed with fear at the time.

Left alone with a notepad and pen to potentially pass on a message to Owens’ children, Lorincz wrote a statement, which a detective read in court: “I am deeply sorry for your loss. I didn’t intend to kill your mother. I was afraid she was going to kill me, and I shot her out of fear.”

She was arrested shortly after the incident and faces charges including manslaughter with a firearm, careless behavior that led to harm, battery, and two counts of assault.

Lorincz entered a plea of not guilty, which brought attention to Florida’s “stand your ground” law. This law allows people to use deadly force if they genuinely believe it’s needed to protect themselves from immediate danger of death or serious injury.

Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter on August 16, 2024, and on November 25th, she received a 25-year prison sentence.

Judge Robert Hodges stated in court that the shooting was not justified. He explained that the woman, Ms. Lorincz, was located behind a locked door at the time.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Lorincz is incarcerated at Homestead Correctional Institution in Florida City and is scheduled to be released on April 8, 2048.

At her sentencing, Lorincz expressed deep remorse, saying, “I am truly sorry for taking AJ’s life. I never meant to kill her, and I’m heartbroken by what happened. It’s not just the loss of a mother, but also a daughter and a sister, and I keep thinking about the pain this has caused your family.”

She insists she genuinely feared for her life that night. In a September 2025 interview with WCJB while in prison, she said, “I didn’t even see the gunshot. I was just completely terrified, shaking and crying. It was a horrible experience.”

Asked if she was capable of manslaughter, she said no.

Lorincz expressed deep distress over what occurred, saying she never imagined it would happen and that it was heartbreaking. She wished she could go back and alter the events.

In court during the sentencing, Owens’ mother, Dias, shared her grief, stating she was mourning not only her daughter’s death, but also the loss of all the plans and dreams they had shared for the future. She described struggling to accept the reality that her daughter was gone, buried and no longer breathing.

Acknowledging the many family moments Owens would be absent for, Dias went on to say, “The grief and hardship we’ve experienced won’t stop with Susan’s conviction for manslaughter, and it won’t end today with her sentencing. This pain will stay with us forever.”

Dias has been caring for her grandchildren since her daughter’s death.

The children have been through a very difficult time, losing their mother at such a young age—something no child should experience,” Dias shared with CNN in October 2025. “However, they’ve demonstrated incredible strength and have been amazingly resilient.

Dias explained that she saw her daughter’s positive qualities reflected in others. “Her compassion, affection, and beliefs live on in them, and they’ll always carry a part of her with them.”

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2025-10-24 01:18