A Florida woman who zipped her boyfriend in a suitcase and left him inside to die, will be spending the rest of her life in prison.
Sarah Boone, 47, was found guilty of second-degree murder. According to prosecutors, she zipped her partner, Jorge Torres Jr., into the luggage and continuously taunted him while recording herself. After being stuck in the suitcase overnight, he eventually died.
Prior to the sentencing, several of Torres’ family members spoke out in regards to his death. His mother, Blanca Torres stated tearfully that Boone ‘not only killed [her] son, but she also killed a brother, father, and uncle.’
Torres’ sister stated that Boone has caused their family ‘a lifetime of pain’.
One of Torres’ daughters, Ana Victoria, described her father as ‘ incredible’ and said that his sudden death has left her with chronic anxiety and depression. Following his death, she constantly woke up ‘screaming every morning’.
Before the sentencing, Boone also took the stand, stating that she was abused by Torres.
Her defence team argued that her actions stemmed from ‘battered spouse syndrome’ and that she was fearful of Torres.
On Monday, Boone said that Torres ‘punched, kicked, stabbed, raped, choked and spat on her’, among other types of abuse. She said she will ‘never forgive [herself] for falling in love with a monster’.
According to State Attorney Andrew Bain, the pair was playing a game of hide-and-seek while drinking alcohol in 2020 when they decided to jump into a luggage as part of the game.
Boone said Torres climbed into the luggage himself, after which she zipped it close. She then recorded herself taunting Torres as he asked her to let him out. However, she did not heed his request and instead went to sleep upstairs.
She allegedly thought he would be able to open the suitcase himself as he had two fingers sticking out from the zipper.
When Boone woke up the next morning, she found Torres unresponsive inside the luggage. She then called 911.
Videos found on her phone included clips of Torres pleading frantically to be released from the suitcase as she laughed. He could also be heard saying he couldn’t breathe properly and that he wanted to be let out of the luggage.
Instead of letting him out, Boone told him ‘that’s what it’s like when [he] cheats on her, among other taunts.
When prosecutors asked why she didn’t release him from the suitcase, she said she ‘wanted him to know how [she] felt so he could become a better person.’
Court documents showed that she filed a request for a new trial last month, citing prosecutorial misconduct in regards to the trial. The request was denied by Judge Michael Kraynick prior to the sentencing.
