Police said the Florida woman put her boyfriend in a bag and left him for dead in 2020. On Friday, she was found guilty of second-degree murder.
Court records show that Sarah Boone, who is now 47 years old, told police that her boyfriend died while playing hide-and-seek because he got stuck in a bag. In their Winter Park apartment, the Florida couple had been drinking wine and putting together puzzles.
A police report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says they thought “it would be funny” to jump in a bag as part of the game.
As the document says, Boone thought Jorge Torres Jr., 42, could open the blue suitcase because two of his fingers were sticking out when she put it to sleep.
The statement said she went to bed upstairs thinking he would get out of the suitcase and come with her. When she woke up, he was still in it and not breathing.
A release from the office of State Attorney Andrew Bain said, “At the trial, evidence included videos found on Boone’s phone that showed Torres pleading desperately to be freed while Boone laughed and turned him down several times.”
The victim could be heard telling the defendant he couldn’t breathe and asking to be let out of the bag in the videos she took, the release said. “Boone told her, ‘That’s what you get,’ ‘That’s how I feel when you cheat on me,’ and other crude things.”
In the phone video, her boyfriend said, “I can’t f**king breathe.”
This is what the affidavit said: Torres is seen on film pushing on the suitcase and trying to get out.
A CNN affiliate, WFTV, said that Boone’s defense team said she had “Battered Spouse Syndrome” and was afraid for her life during the 10-day hearing. The news source said Boone also said she thought Torres could get out of the bag.
CNN station WESH said she testified in her own defense for nearly five hours.
Boone’s lawyer said they were very upset about the verdict, while CNN affiliate WESH claimed that Torres’ family was upset and wouldn’t talk to the media.
“Just shock. The man who spoke to WESH said, “She’s shocked, you know.” “She thought she had a defense, you know.”
The statement from the state attorney’s office says that Boone will be sentenced on December 2 at 1:30 p.m.
