An Orange County jury has convicted Sarah Boone, 47, of second-degree murder in a case that has garnered national attention. Boone was found guilty of causing the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., who died after being confined in a suitcase, according to the State Attorney's Office of the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
The incident occurred on Feb. 23, 2020, when after a night of drinking, Boone zipped Torres inside the luggage, engaging in what she initially described as a game of hide-and-seek. Boone went to sleep, leaving Torres trapped, and upon waking found him unresponsive. Pleading multiple injuries, which Boone denies causing, detectives found Torres’s demise near the J. Torres unresponsive lying next to a blue suitcase at the front door of their Winter Park home.
Throughout the trial, evidence was presented, including videos on Boone’s phone where Torres can be heard desperately asking to be set free while Boone taunts him. "That’s what you get," Boone can be heard saying in the videos, as Torres indicated his inability to breathe. Boone's defense that the act was in self-defense and that she did not intend to harm Torres was undermined by these recordings, which depicted her mocking the victim's pleas.
When she took the stand, Boone claimed her intention was not to kill Torres and cited past abuse as the context for her actions that night. She implicated alcohol as a contributing factor after deputies placed her under arrest, informing the detectives that her actions on the night of the murder had been influenced by drinking. These defenses, however, stood in stark contrast to the recorded evidence and her earlier statements.
The trial spanned ten days, culminating in the jury's guilty verdict. Judge Michael Kraynick has ordered a presentencing investigation ahead of Boone's sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. As reported by the State Attorney's Office of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Boone faces a possible life sentence for her actions.
