Oct. 27 (UPI) — A Florida jury found Sarah Boone, 47, guilty of leaving boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr., 42, trapped inside a suitcase until he suffocated and died 4 1/2 years ago.
The Orange County jury rendered its verdict Friday following a 10-day trial, finding Boone guilty of second-degree murder on Feb. 23, 2020, in Winter Park. She faces up to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 22.5 years.
The jury deliberated for 60 minutes before reaching its guilty verdict.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Kraynick scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 2.
Torres died on Feb. 23, 2020, while trapped inside a suitcase that Boone claimed he hid inside while they were drunk and playing hide and seek inside their apartment in Winter Park.
She said the pair agreed it was funny that Torres could fit inside the suitcase after she zipped it closed while he was inside it.
Boone told investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office she went upstairs and fell asleep while Torres was still inside the suitcase.
When she awoke, she said she remembered Torres was still inside the suitcase, but he was dead when she opened it.
While Torres was still conscious and trapped inside the suitcase, Boone told the jury she raised the matter of alleged abusive behavior toward her.
She recorded the conversation with her cellphone, but the video clips recorded him begging her to let him out of the suitcase and saying he could not breathe.
State Attorney Andrew Bain said Boone maliciously intended to kill Torres to punish him for the allegedly abusive behavior toward her and struck him with a baseball bat while he was trapped inside the suitcase. He died of asphyxiation.
Boone’s attorney James Owens argued she suffered from battered spouse syndrome and said she would appeal the verdict, but with a different attorney.
Owens is a state-appointed attorney, and his time with her is done. Boone will have another state-appointed attorney handle her appeal.
Boone rejected a plea offer that would have sentenced her to 15 years in prison for manslaughter.
Boone went through several state-appointed attorneys before her trial got underway, which delayed the proceedings for nearly four years.
