‘A difficult childhood’: More details about Susan Lorincz’s life before The Perfect Neighbor

Susan Lorincz took the life of her neighbour Ajike “AJ” Owens, after shooting a single bullet through her locked and bolted front door. The chilling case is currently being examined in The Perfect Neighbor on Netflix.

Susan Lorincz shot her neighbour, who was a Black woman and mother-of-four. Lorincz argued she “feared for her life” but bodycam footage from countless police visits showed the relentless hatred Lorincz had for the local children, and her admittance of using racial slurs.

The Perfect Neighbor is called that as that is exactly what Susan Lorincz was made out to be in court: A lovely woman. The idea of the defence is to try and paint a good picture of the defendant, so no matter what they are accused of doing, they’ll try and only focus on good things they did.

Whilst those closest to her couldn’t believe what she had done, the Netflix film showed how the hatred for the local children in the area had built up over months and months. Through her witnesses’ statements during the trial, which is on YouTube, a much more detailed picture of the life Susan Lorincz was living was portrayed.

via CourtTV

‘She was always helping people’

In court, Susan was described as a “very kind and generous” person. She was called a “good friend” with a “big heart”. A further witness called her “kind and loving”.

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It was also said that Susan was “always helping people” and “all the time giving to people”. A friend said Susan was “always taking care of people”, including children and a close friend with disabilities. She had a close relationship with her sister Ellen, who has a young son. Susan was called an “incredible” aunt.

During her trial, people who knew Susan Lorincz gave more detail about her life. Crystal Maksou was brought in as a witness for the defence. Crystal had known Susan for around 13 years. She was asked if Susan was either “violent or aggressive” to which she simply answered: “No.”

Crystal described her friend as a “hard worker” who was “always working” – up to “50/60 hours a week.” She described Susan’s interactions with other people as “normal”. The pastor at the local church told the court Susan was polite, but “reserved”.

Susan’s friend Crystal, via CourtTV

Susan Lorincz was described as having a ‘difficult childhood’

Susan’s younger sister Ellen gave evidence in the trial, and spoke a lot about her and her sister’s upbringing and family life. She stated the family had a “history of mental health issues”.

When asked about hers and Susan’s mother, Ellen said: “She was a good mom but she had depression issues. My father was a drunk and he gambled a lot of money away. Mom always had to work extra to keep the family together.” She also noted that their grandfather took his own life just before Ellen was born, when Susan would have been around three.

Ellen described her and Susan’s brother as “also a drunk” and told the court he was violent at times. They don’t have any contact with him, after Ellen was assaulted by him. Their uncle also had mental health issues, and previously attempted to “burn their house down”.

Ellen also opened up about her own mental health issues, including PTSD stemmed from sexual and physical abuse from their father. “He beat us, a lot,” she told the court. “My father was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive to all of us,” she claimed.

Ellen said that she and Susan were expected to take on a lot of responsibilities at home. They cooked, cleaned, and did a lot of household duties. They were “yelled at” and “beaten” if this wasn’t done well enough.

Susan’s sister Ellen, via CourtTV

Susan’s friend Crystal also gave evidence about this. She was asked by a lawyer if Susan had ever opened up to her about her “difficult childhood”. Crystal replied: “Briefly. I know that she had some very specific trauma concerning her childhood with her father.”

Crystal noted Susan “never got into detail” about it. Crystal was then asked if she and Susan had ever prayed together for “what she went through in her childhood” to which Crystal said “a few times”. 

“Just [for] healing,” Crystal added. She explained it was for “the residue of the trauma.” Crystal noted that Susan had previously asked her to “pray for the people in her neighbourhood”. 

Susan was described as a keen baker

Crystal also said Susan was a good chef, and added she “baked for us and cooked for us for many years, even at our wedding”. Crystal said she would “cook amazing things”. At her friend Crystal’s wedding Susan cooked for “three straight days” to provide for all of the guests.

Susan Lorincz was also an opera singer, who would sing at church. The pastor said she had a “beautiful” singing voice.

via Netflix

Susan Lorincz worked as a chef in a nursing home

There has been a lot of confusion about Susan Lorincz’s job, after in the documentary she angrily corrected the children who didn’t refer to her as “Dr Susan”.

Details on Susan Lorincz’s job are incredibly scarce, but there are a few sources that claim her profession was in the insurance industry. She is said to have worked “steadily” in the field, largely handling insurance claims and administrative tasks. Susan said in the Netflix film she worked from home.

As well as this, it was said in court that Susan Lorincz worked as a chef in a nursing home.

‘It’s opposite of the person I know’

Susan’s friend Crystal described reading about her manslaughter case on the internet, and being shocked at what she saw. “It’s almost the opposite of the person I know,” she told the court. “She was very much a giver, and during this friendship I learned from her how to treat people. I believe God brought her into my life to teach me how to be a better person.”

Another witness described their shock and said the incident was “out of her character”. The pastor added “this is not the person we know” and noted it had “sent shockwaves through the church”.

The Perfect Neighbor is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.