Ajike Owens’ family members have been forced to relive her tragic death following the release of Netflix’s documentary about Susan Lorincz’s crimes, The Perfect Neighbor.
Some might question why AJ Owens’ family agreed to do the documentary, after all, some of the scenes are incredibly difficult to watch, even for us with no connections to the case. But in the words of AJ’s mum, Pamela Dias, “Yes, the world needs to know what happened to my baby.”
Still, it has to be insanely difficult to see it all play out through doorbell footage and police body cameras – at least it was for Gablet, AJ’s cousin.
Ajike Owens’ family member has been ‘in tears’ over the doc
@gabbythebeaute I don’t wanna talk about it but I have to acknowledge it :/ this sucks balls
#theperfectneighbor #netflix #fyp #truecrime
In a clip set to TikTok’s viral Maui Wowie sound, Gablet stood in front of her TV with The Perfect Neighbor at the number one spot in the chart.
“Telling everyone I’m ok after I just relived my cousin’s death,” she captioned the post. “(I’ve been in tears since yesterday).”
When someone asked how they could support the family going forward, Gablet linked out to her aunt’s Standing in the Gap Fund. Money from the fund, which was set up as a direct response to AJ’s death, is used for Black arts programmes, “proactive” stances against inequality, and access to resources for victims of race-based violence. She also linked out to the GoFundMe, which has raised nearly half a million for AJ’s kids.
In her most recent TikTok, Gablet detailed why the documentary is so important in light of ongoing violence against Black people in America.
She explained: “The Perfect Neighbor documentary is not for your enjoyment or entertainment. It’s a story that is meant to make you uncomfortable. It’s a story that tells itself. I see a lot of people on here saying that they can’t watch the movie; it’s black trauma porn. The goal is to raise awareness.”
@gabbythebeaute
She went on to reference the famous case of Emmett Till, who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman.
“You know that name you may or may not know very well: Emmett Till and how his mother was posing with him at the coroner’s office. His face beaten beyond recognition,” she said. “He literally was 12 years old. Y’all want to talk about somebody being too young to die. This is the reality for black people in America. It’s just how it is.”
Rounding off, Gablet talked about how it’s not just the case of AJ Owens and her family, but an issue so prevalent in America that there are countless AJ Owens and Emmett Tills.
“But that documentary is showing you a very grim reality for people like me, and maybe you, who are subjected to this and could be subjected to it literally every day. So yes, while it’s heartbreaking, it might be hard to watch. Imagine living through it. We are literally saying look. Look! How many more times are black American families just gonna have to say look? Something’s gotta give,” she said.
The Perfect Neighbor is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.
Featured image credit: @Gabbythebeaut/TikTok and Netflix
