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The true crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: police body cam footage. Faces of victims, witnesses and possible perpetrators loom up to the cameras, sometimes in the harsh glare of vehicle beams or torches as the officers approach, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or fear or anger or dubiously feigned naivety. And we frequently incidentally glimpse the expressions of the officers themselves, one standing by blankly while the other asks the questions with what occasionally seems like remarkable hesitation – though maybe this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Documentary Filmmaking

We have previously seen the Netflix true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an Instagram influencer by her boyfriend, whose main point of interest was officer recordings and in which, as in this film, the police seemed surprisingly lenient with the suspect. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, composed entirely of body cam film. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the tragic incident of a Florida mother in a city in Florida, a woman of colour whose children reportedly bothered and tormented her white neighbour, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the authorities were repeatedly called, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when the victim went to Lorincz’s house to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and Legal Context

The arresting officers found evidence that the suspect had done online research into the state's self-defense statutes, which permit residents and others to use firearms if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The documentary constructs its narrative with the officer recordings generated during the repeated police visits to the location before the killing, and then at the disturbing and disordered crime scene itself – introduced by 911 audio material of Lorincz calling the police in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also jail video of Lorincz which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Depiction of the Suspect

The film does not really suggest anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any extenuating circumstance. She is clearly unstable, although the kids are heard calling her “the Karen”, an hurtful taunt. The production is presented as an illustration of how self-defense regulations generate senseless and tragic bloodshed. But the fact of gun ownership and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a deceased pundit famously claimed made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Police Interrogation and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the police interrogation scenes here and feel surprised at how minimal concern the police took in this point. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? Where did she store it in the house? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The authorities aren’t shown asking any of these undoubtedly important questions (though they could have inquired in recordings that were not included). Or is gun ownership so normal it would be like asking about microwaves or toasters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her local residents a very long time, the suspect was not even taken into custody and indicted, only held and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another parallel, incidentally, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was finally officially taken into custody in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which Lorincz simply refuses to stand, will not extend her arms for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose mental health means that she is unable to comply. Did the gentle handling up until that point encouraged her to think that this might actually work?

Final Outcome and Judgment

It was not successful; and the panel's decision is revealed in the closing credits. A very sombre portrayal of U.S. justice and consequences.