Convicted murderer Sarah Boone was left “shocked” after a jury found her guilty of murdering her boyfriend, despite a video showing her trapping him inside a suitcase.
Boone, 47, of Winter Park, Florida, was found guilty of second-degree murder on Friday in the February 2020 death of her boyfriend Jorge Torres, 42.
His attorney, James Owens, who “strongly” encouraged his client to consider a plea deal, said NewsNation She was “shocked” by the jury’s decision.
“Neither she nor I expected to be guilty of the charges, you know, we felt the jury might convict her on a lesser charge,” Owens said. “I was shocked when she was found guilty of the charges.”
During his trial, gruesome cell phone video showed Torres inside a large blue suitcase, pleading for his life, while Boone laughed.
Sarah Boone, the woman who killed her boyfriend after stuffing him inside a suitcase in February 2020, said she was “shocked” that a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder. (pictured: Boone arriving at court on Friday)
Jorge Torres, 42, was found dead in the luggage after Boone put him inside during a wine-filled game of hide-and-seek, he told police.
The convicted murderer recorded two clips of her laughing and mocking Torres as he called for help inside the suitcase (pictured), state prosecutor’s evidence revealed.
She told police she put it inside the bag during a game of hide-and-seek with wine at her home.
However, footage on his phone showed him rummaging through the suitcase, telling her “I can’t breathe” as she screams at him.
The convicted murderer recorded two clips of her laughing and mocking Torres as he pleaded for help, state prosecutors’ evidence revealed.
Torres repeatedly called out to Boone and she responded with a laugh: “For everything you’ve done to me, fuck you, stupid.”
“I can’t breathe, honey, seriously,” Torres said.
“Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me,” Boone responded.
Torres continued to cry for help, pleading that she couldn’t breathe, and Boone told her, ‘That’s what I feel like when you cheat on me.’
Her lawyer, James Owens, “strongly” encouraged his client to consider a plea deal, which would have put her behind bars for only 15 years for involuntary manslaughter, but she refused. (pictured: Boone and Owens in court on October 14)
“I can’t breathe, Sarah,” Torres said. Boone responded, “Then you should probably shut the hell up.”
The videos showed two different angles of the suitcase, one with the front of the bag face up next to a flip-flop and another with the front on the ground.
Interrogation footage showed investigators questioning how Torres suffocated inside the suitcase, which Boone claimed was an accident while they were playing drunken hide-and-seek.
Boone said she and Torres were painting pictures, completing a puzzle and drinking Woodbridge Chardonnay when they decided to play.
Boone said she hid upstairs in the shower, but Torres never went up to look for her.
When she went downstairs, she found Torres in the living room, and together they decided to zip Torres’ suitcase, and she claimed she left two of her fingers sticking out of the zipper.
He initially pleaded not guilty and rejected a plea deal that would have given him only 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
When she came downstairs that day, she found Torres in the living room, and together they decided to zip Torres’ suitcase, which she claimed left two of her fingers sticking out of the zipper.
Boone is seen demonstrating how he put Torres in the bag for the jury during his trial.
Boone represented herself for much of her time on the court after eight previous attorneys were removed or resigned.
After several complaints about his representation, Boone drew his own ad for a lawyer, which read “Inmate seeks lawyer.” She wrote on the hand-drawn ad: ‘Looking for a prosperous challenge? Ready for your close-up on national television? Are you jealous with an enthusiastic side?
“Show the WORLD who you are with your original creativity, extraordinary expertise, and confident ingenuity,” the ad continued, ending with the words “an epic opportunity awaits” and “invest in the downtrodden.”
During his trial, Boone also made a bold request, which was denied, for professional hair and makeup while on trial.
Boone had claimed that her boyfriend abused her. She told the court that Torres threatened to make her “unrecognizable” or “she would have lost her life.”
A former neighbor testified that she had seen marks on Boone’s arm and neck, and Boone was talking about the abuse during the conversation, she reported. Orlando News 6.
She testified that she had not let him out because he had been trying to force his escape and that he was angry, expressing that she “was always afraid.”
“His hand started coming out so I shook the suitcase to try to get it back in. I told him to please stop doing this to me,” she told the court.
“He used to tell me that he would make me unrecognizable, or I would have lost my life,” he added before claiming that he used a baseball bat to reach into her and hit her.
During questioning, she admitted that she wanted Torres to know how she felt about living with her alleged abuse.
Boone then went upstairs and “passed out” before waking up the next morning to find Torres still inside the suitcase.
A detective had pointed out to her that she had refused to release him while he “begged her to let him out,” to which she responded, “It wasn’t intentional.” I will put my hand on the Bible. “It wasn’t intentional.”
In the 911 call, played during the trial, she described him as “stiff and purple” with blood coming from his mouth and it was later determined that Torres died as a result of positional asphyxiation.
During the call, Boone was heard emotionlessly recounting what had happened.
When asked about the nature of her emergency, she calmly said, “My boyfriend is dead.”
The 911 operator then instructed Boone on CPR while she protested that she had already tried it and asked them to “hurry up.”
She told the court she was “horrified” and could not describe the “feeling of terror” upon discovering his body.
According to the arrest report, the autopsy found that Torres had scratches on his back, a large scratch on his neck, a cut lip, bruises on his left shoulder and bruises on his forehead from ‘blunt force trauma,’ he reported. Fox 35.
Boone was arrested in 2018 on a battery charge for strangling her boyfriend, and Torres was charged with battery for an alcohol-fueled altercation inside her home.
Both Boone and Torres had a history of violence. She was arrested in 2018 on a battery charge after the attempted strangulation of Torres, and he was charged with battery for an alcohol-fueled altercation inside their home.
According to the affidavit, Boone had put her hands around his neck attempting to strangle him, prompting Torres to kick her.
A year later, Torres was arrested twice in one month on assault charges.
As closing arguments concluded Friday, Boone’s defense attorneys asked for a mistrial after members of Torres’ family walked out while images of him locked inside the suitcase were shown.
The motion was denied.
Defense attorney Owen responded under cross-examination that Boone was “mentally convinced” that she had no intention of killing Torres and that “this was just a circumstance.”
He continued: “I think he felt bad about any murder conviction or alleging any type of murder as criminally responsible for Jorge’s death, and I think that was his way of thinking.”
After she was found guilty of the bizarre murder, State Attorney Andrew Bain said: “This is a very horrific homicide…Today, justice was served with the conviction of Sarah Boone.”
After four years of legal wrangling, unpredictable setbacks and several pretrial hearings, Boone is expected to be sentenced on December 2.