Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.
A woman from Florida described her time in jail as ‘one of the greatest’ moments in her life shortly before receiving a life sentence for the murder of her boyfriend.
In February 2020, Jorge Torres Jr. was discovered deceased after being left inside a zipped suitcase, leading to his suffocation.
In October of this year, 47-year-old Sarah Boone from Orange County, Florida, was found guilty of second-degree murder.
According to a press release from State Attorney Andrew A. Bain, Boone and her partner were said to be playing a game of hide-and-seek on February 23.
Boone alleged that Torres ‘voluntarily climbed inside a suitcase as part of the game,’ which she then ‘zipped’ shut, and proceeded to ‘record herself taunting the victim as he asked to be released.’ “She did not and instead went upstairs to sleep,” the report reveals.
Boone later ‘discovered’ Torres ‘unresponsive’ and called 911, with authorities finding Torres ‘lying near the front door of the residence next to a blue suitcase’.
Torres was discovered with multiple injuries, which Boone ‘denied causing’. During the trial, video evidence from Boone’s phone was shown, displaying Torres ‘frantically pleading to be let out while Boone laughed and refused multiple times,’ Torres telling her he couldn’t breathe.
Boone claimed Torres had abused her and that her actions were in ‘self-defense,’ adding she didn’t ‘intend to hurt him’.
However, following a ten-day trial, she was convicted of second-degree murder. In her final remarks before being sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday (December 2), Boone explained why, despite common perceptions of jail as ‘one of the worst experiences,’ it has been ‘actually one of [the] greatest’ experiences in her life.
She added: “If I were not beaten to death, I was going to work myself to death on the outside and I never had time to get back into my Bible and to pray and to be with the Lord.
“And being here, incarcerated I have had time to get closer to God, to reacquaint myself to him and realize what it’s all about – this is all temporary. And when I say temporary, I don’t mean by being set free in jail, or from prison or whoever else, it means being set free and temporary meaning that you work for something higher, you work for God, you strive for your crown to be placed upon by Jesus Christ, by being said, ‘You have done well my good and faithful servant.'”
Boone mentioned she’s ‘always tried to be a good and faithful servant’ but has grown ‘so much closer to the Lord’ since being in jail.
Boone concluded: “It’s made me such a better person and I hope I am an example going forward of the Lord’s light and can draw many people to me because of it.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can speak confidentially 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.