Note: This article includes references to domestic violence that some readers might find upsetting.
A woman is accused of leaving her boyfriend to die while he was stuck inside a suitcase, even as he repeatedly told her he ‘couldn’t breathe’.
On February 24, 2020, Sarah Boone contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to report that her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, was found dead in a suitcase.
When authorities arrived at 4748 Frantz Lane #3 in Winter Park, Florida, Boone explained that she and her partner had been drinking the previous night.
According to Boone, during a game of hide-and-seek, Torres concealed himself in a blue suitcase.
She then allegedly went upstairs to sleep and discovered Torres lifeless in the suitcase hours later.
However, the arrest report indicates that the medical examiner’s office identified scratches on Torres’ back and neck, as well as bruises on his shoulder, skull, and forehead, which were deemed ‘blunt force trauma’. A cut was also noted on his lip.
The investigation centers on two videos recorded by Boone, who was charged with second-degree murder in February 2020.
In one of the videos, Torres is seen inside the suitcase, repeatedly calling Boone’s name.
“I can’t f****** breathe, seriously,” Torres is heard saying in the affidavit, to which Boone responded: “Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me.”
She then added: “That’s on you. Oh, that’s what I feel like when you cheat on me.”
Boone’s trial has started in Florida, with prosecutors claiming she acted with ‘malicious intent to punish him [Torres]’.
William Jay, assistant state attorney for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Court, stated: “She did this with the malicious intent to punish him, and then she (went upstairs to sleep) and left him to take his final breaths on this Earth alone. How many breaths there were? We don’t know.
“Jorge Torres is dead because of this defendant’s judgment that he deserved it.”
Boone has consistently maintained that Torres’ death was accidental.
However, her defense strategy shifted before the trial, with her attorney, James Owens, arguing that Boone suffered from Battered Spouse Syndrome and viewed her boyfriend’s death as her only escape from the relationship.
“Battered woman’s syndrome is the psychological effects of living with intimate partner violence,” explained psychologist Lenore Walker in her 1979 book, The Battered Woman.
Regarding Boone, James stated: “She loved her man. She hated the abuse.”
Opening statements for Boone’s trial commenced on Friday (October 18), with the trial expected to continue for three weeks.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, remember you are not alone. You can contact the national domestic violence helpline for confidential support 24/7 at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). A list of local resources can be found here.