Florida woman sentenced to life in suitcase murder trial

A Florida woman found guilty of murdering her longtime boyfriend by stuffing him in a suitcase and leaving him to die has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

In October, Sarah Boone was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Jorge Torres Jr., who was found dead in a suitcase in the couple’s shared apartment on the morning of February 24, 2020. Before her sentencing, Boone’s request for a new trial was denied before she was sentenced to life in prison.

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In a series of interviews at the scene and the next day at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Boone told investigators that Torres willingly climbed into the suitcase while the couple played hide-and-seek after a night of drinking.

Key evidence in the prosecutor’s case included two videos found on Boone’s phone that were recorded while Torres was in the suitcase. The videos showed the victim begging to be released while Boone laughed and taunted him. Boone told police she went to bed shortly after taking the videos and fell asleep, leaving Torres behind in the luggage.

Boone was represented in court by James Owens, her ninth attorney in the case, who volunteered to step in as her attorney after Judge Michael Kraynick ruled that she had forfeited her right to an attorney. That ruling followed eight other attorneys withdrawing from the case, citing Boone’s conduct as a problem. Boone was vocal in her own defense, wrote several letters to the judge, and even created an ad for a lawyer that eventually caught Owens’ attention.

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Owens had filed a notice of intent to use battered spouse syndrome as a defense in the case, citing years of domestic violence and arrests in the relationship between Boone and Torres.

A few days before her trial began, Boone rejected a plea deal from prosecutors that would have sent her to prison for 15 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Boone apologized to the court at the sentencing: “I hope that everyone can forgive me, but especially the Torres family.”

This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV.