Susan Lorincz, the Ocala neighbor who is currently serving a 25-year sentence for the murder of Ajike “A.J.” Owens, has filed a countersuit for defamation of character in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of the late mother of four, claiming the family threatened her and violated her “No Trespassing” signs leading up to the fatal shooting in June 2023.
Lorincz filed the countersuit in response to the lawsuit from Pamela Dias and Owens’ estate on August 8 in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County. The response was not recorded and entered onto the court docket until September 2.
On June 1, attorneys representing Owens’ children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Lorincz for shooting and killing the mother through a closed front door on June 2, 2023. Owens had knocked on the Lorincz’s door in reference to an incident involving her children.
On June 26, 2023, Lorincz was charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of assault in connection with the fatal shooting. Lorincz pleaded not guilty to the charges in July 2023.
Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter by use a firearm in the shooting death of Owens just over one year later in August 2024. In November 2024, Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in the case.
In their wrongful death lawsuit, Owens’ family argues that Lorincz exhibited a pattern of aggression and “gross negligence” preceding the fatal incident. Lorincz disputes those claims, saying she has been defamed in public and that the allegations contained in Dias’s lawsuit are inaccurate.
“Ajike Owens and her children were trespassing [on June 2, 2023]. There were multiple ‘no trespassing’ signs on the property. Ms. Owens did in fact scream, threaten to beat me multiple times while trespassing. Ms. Owens was instructed to stay off the property along with her children, by the county’s sheriff’s department” reads the first paragraph of Lorincz’s response.
Lorincz continues that Owens allegedly approached her door aggressively on the day of the fatal shooting between the neighbors.
“Ms. Owens did not knock politely and speak reasonably on June 2, 2023. She pounded and screamed profanities like a lunatic. Ms. Owens children had lied to her and stated I hit [one of her children] with a roller skate,” says Lorincz in her response.
According to the complaint filed by Owens’ family, Lorincz allegedly contacted the Marion County Sheriff’s Office with “erroneous allegations of battery, assault, trespass, and theft against” the children and their mother for several months prior to the fatal incident. The allegations cited in the family’s complaint suggest Lorincz falsely reported that Owens and her children had trespassed, that she embellished instances of the children playing loudly, and that was threatened that they were going to “beat her” and “kill her.”
In her response to the complaint, Lorincz specifies that Owens’ son recanted a prior statement he’d made about her throwing a roller skate at him, clarifying that it “only came near him.”
“In depositions, all the children told different stories about their location at the time of the shooting,” reads Lorincz’s response. She goes on to state that another child who testified at trial saw Owens throw a sign at her.
“The female juvenile who testified at the trial stated she was an eye witness to Ajike Owens throwing a metal sign and seeing said sign strike me in the leg. I was seven weeks post operative for my neck fusion,” reads Lorincz’s response.
She goes on to cite another witness who stated that he had previously seen Owens walk near Lorincz’s patio and “threaten to fight” her.
“[The witness] testified she was trying to scare me, so that I would stop calling Marion County Sheriff’s [Office],” reads the response from Lorincz.
Lorincz furthermore cites two more depositions claiming Owens’ children would go over to her apartment and regularly play “ding dong ditch” at her expense. She also says she was struck by a water bottle that was thrown by one of Owens’ children.
“The fact that Ms. Dias is now asking for money, goes directly against her saying no for the family in the sentencing paperwork,” reads the letter.
Since the filing of Lorincz’s letter, the documentary film The Perfect Neighbor has been released on Netflix. That film, which documents the case, has been viewed over 36,900,000 times in the two weeks since its release on October 17. During both weeks, the film has been listed in the top two most-viewed films on Netflix.
Lorincz closes her letter to the court by asking it to accept her countersuit.
“I now wish to countersue for slander, libel, and defamation of character. For damages that exceed $50,000,” reads the letter. Lorincz names Dias and the other members that comprise the estate of the late Owens as defendants.
In addition to Owens’ family, Lorincz also names Charles Gabbard as a defendant. She accuses Gabbard, who is the landlord for the site where the fatal incident occurred, of “not securing the property correctly and allowing Ms. Owens and her children” to harass her.
The most recent filing in the court docket from last month shows that Gabbard’s attorney has filed a notice to take the deposition of Dias in January 2026.