Hello, Tigers! It’s staff reporter Nayeli Gutierrez, bringing you my second article of the year. I am bringing all EPHS students a shocking, mysterious, and sad article.
The Case of The Perfect Neighbor:
Intro: A peaceful neighborhood in Ocala, Florida, where there were many kids and loving families living, had a tragic event take place on June 2 of 2023. Ajike Owens, also known as AJ, was a mother of four: three sons and one daughter with the names of Isaac, Israel, Titus, and Afrika. Their ages range from three years old to twelve. According to AJ’s neighbors, AJ wasn’t just any mom, she was “the mom”. AJ was known as a very hardworking, loving mother who would do anything for her kids. AJ got along with every neighbor she had but one. For some reason, this one neighbor by the name of Susan Lorincz just didn’t get along with AJ, and we will later find out that this was because of her race.
Build up: Susan was a white woman who lived next to the field that AJ’s kids (along with other children) would play on. They played football and some days just goofed around there. According to Susan, however, AJ’s kids, along with other kids in the neighborhood, would try to touch her truck, be disturbing, and play on what she called “her property”. The kids playing on this field made Susan very upset; she didn’t want them playing on her so-called “property”. Technically, that big piece of land belonged to no one, though. Neither of the individuals who lived on either side of the property, including Susan, could claim ownership of the land. Still, Susan made multiple reports to the police about the neighborhood children causing disturbances and playing on “her property”. Everyone in the neighborhood was aware that this piece of land did not belong to Susan, so they continued allowing their kids to play on the property.
AJ did, however, continuously tell her kids to just try to keep it down, not be so loud, and just stay far enough away from Susan’s house to not make Susan upset. But AJ knew that kids were going to be kids. Years went by of Susan calling the cops on these children and nothing was done about it. This started to build up aggression within Susan. When Susan would get upset, she would start to call the children racial slurs and derogatory names; much of this was caught on police body cams. Nothing was going Susan’s way, and this led to the tragic night of June 2, 2023.
The Night: On the night of June 2nd, AJ’s kids were playing on the field and left one of their roller skates along with an iPad on the field that Susan called “her property”. One of AJ’s sons returned to the field shortly thereafter to retrieve his iPad and saw that Susan had it. He told her to put it down. Instead, Susan threw the roller skate that was left behind at AJ’s son, then continued to yell at him and call him racial slurs. Susan was so mad at that moment that she also threw the iPad at the boy, hitting him and causing the iPad screen to crack. With the son being in shock, he went to tell his mother, AJ. Once AJ heard this, she went outside to confront Susan about her behavior. AJ was very upset about Susan taking and cracking her son’s iPad by throwing it, as well as a roller skate, at him. She then started to bang on Susan’s door, telling her to come outside. Suddenly, a single gun shot was fired through the door. Susan shot AJ as one of AJ’s sons stood right beside her. AJ’s kids and others started to scream, cry, and call 911. A little while after AJ arrived at the hospital, she was pronounced dead.
Aftermath: This incident caused four children to lose their mother, a mother to lose her daughter, siblings to lose a sister, and others to lose a friend. This tragedy caused a big hole in the neighborhood where AJ was living. She was and is still missed by many. After the terrible incident, Susan was questioned about her shooting AJ, and she told the police that AJ was saying that she was going to “kill her” and, overall, that she was “scared for her life”. Susan was allowed to go to her home and gather some of her things while the investigation was still going on, but AJ’s family friends and others stood up to this. They began to say that if it was the other way around, AJ would’ve been in custody by now without any hesitation (assuming that police were letting Susan go because of her white race). Not too long after AJ passed away, Susan Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison in South Florida.
Overall: After the passing of AJ, her sons felt like they were at fault. AJ’s 9 year old son expressed that he felt that if he had never left his tablet at the field that day, his mother would still be here. AJ’s other son, Isreal, stated that “In his soul, in his heart, it’s his fault”. AJ’s youngest son, Titus, was just a toddler when his mother AJ passed away; yet, he became very irritable, confused, and inconsolable after her tragic passing. AJ’s mother stated that it was and still is hard for AJ’s four children, especially since they were so young when this took place. But AJ’s mother did continue to say that even though it was hard and is still hard for them, they still show a lot of strength and resilience that continues to amaze her. The children’s grandmother also says that she can see values in her grand kids that her daughter (AJ) had, like her kindness, love, and faith. Hopefully, the killer of AJ being in custody makes AJ’s kids and the rest of her family feel a bit better and causes them to have some closure. Now and always, however, AJ will be missed by many loved ones.
Sources:
https://people.com/where-are-aj-owens-kids-now-11831981
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a69123722/the-perfect-neighbor-susan-lorincz-stole-ipad/
https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-perfect-neighbor-ending-explained
