Florida Woman Leaves Boyfriend to Suffocate in Suitcase

Sarah Boone, 47, of Florida, was sentenced to life in prison following her conviction for second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres. The sentence was handed down December 2 in an Orlando courtroom by Circuit Judge Michael Kraynick, who denied a motion from Boone’s defense for a retrial.

The incident happened in February 2020 when Boone and Torres were playing hide-and-seek while drinking in their Winter Park apartment. Boone allegedly zipped Torres into a suitcase and left him there overnight. Prosecutors argue that she struck him with a baseball bat before abandoning him to suffocate. The next morning, she discovered Torres unresponsive and called 911.

Disturbing cellphone footage played during the trial showed Torres trapped inside the suitcase, gasping for air and pleading for help. Boone was heard on the video saying, “That’s what you get,” contradicting her claims that she thought Torres might have freed himself, as his fingers were visible from the suitcase. This footage was pivotal in discrediting Boone’s defense.

Boone’s defense attorneys presented an argument that she was a victim of domestic abuse and was merely acting in self-defense. Still, this failed to win the case in the court or for the judge since it was based on hearsay without concrete evidence. Relatives of Torres were vocal about their outrage during the sentencing hearing. According to Torres’s sister, Victoria Torres, “Sarah deserves to rot in jail.

In her allocution, Boone transferred blame to Torres’ family as well for having failed to intervene on several violent incidents in the past. She pleaded for mercy and said she had been re-redeemed by God. Boone said, “I ask his forgiveness and that he looks for me at the gates of heaven so I can tell him how sorry I am endlessly and that I never stopped loving him,” the Orlando Sentinel reported. Prosecutors countered that Boone did not truly apologize and continued to point fingers.

Boone was found guilty on October 25 after a ten-day trial that produced shocking details on the case.