Florida Woman Accused of Killing Boyfriend By Zipping Him In Suitcase Found Guilty of Murder

During the trial, the jury was shown two videos discovered on Sarah Boone's phone that were filmed while her boyfriend was inside the zipped-up suitcase, with the man struggling to get out and saying couldn't breathe.

On Friday, Boone, 35, was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr, 42, according to FOX 35 Orlando and Court TV. An Orlando jury deliberated for nearly an hour and a half before reaching their decision, finding Boone guilty.

Boone was arrested back in 2020 in connection to Torres' death. At the time, she claimed the two were playing a drunken game of hide-and-seek, and that she fell asleep after zipping him in. When she awoke the next day, she said, he was dead. She was charged with second-degree murder.

Per FOX 35, testimony from witnesses for the prosecution claimed Torres' body showed signs of blunt force trauma. Her defense team, meanwhile, alleged Boone suffered from Battered Spouse Syndrome, saying Torres' death was in self-defense.

During the trial, the jury was shown two videos discovered on Boone's phone that were filmed while Torres was inside the suitcase. The videos showed Boone laughing and taunting Torres, and accusing him of abusing her and cheating, while he struggled to get out and told her he couldn't breathe.

"For everything you've done to me. F--k you. F--k you. Stupid," Boone can be heard saying in one clip, as Torres told her "I can't f--king breathe, Sarah."

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" Boone added at one point.

While being interrogated by police, Boone claimed she didn't remember making the videos and said she didn't believe Torres Jr. was stuck inside the suitcase when she went upstairs.

Boone took the stand on Tuesday. While giving her testimony, she shared her recollection of events of the night of February 23, 2020.

Boone said she and Torres decided to have a night in and were drinking. As they kept drinking, per Boone, they also worked on a puzzle, did some art and listened to music. At that point, she said they were intoxicated, before he tapped her on the knee and said, "You're it," initiating a game of hide and seek. "I looked over and I saw him settling himself in the suitcase," said Boone, "In my head I said, 'Oh man, we're obviously not going to be going to sleep anytime soon.'"

"He was trying to get himself flat so I couldn't tell he was there," she continued. "I zipped him up, we thought it was funny and were joking about how he was small enough to fit inside of the suitcase."

Boone said she moved the suitcase around while he was in it, as the two continued to laugh, before she zipped him up inside. "He thought it was funny," she said, claiming they kept laughing as she did so, before she grabbed her phone to record "for him to understand that right now I feel safe and right now I have the ability to actually speak to you in a manner that normally I would not have the ability to do."

Court TV/Law&Crime

She acknowledged she knew he could not get out at the time ... but also said she didn't remember even making the video the next morning. She admitted she was angry and wanted him to feel some "uncomfort." Per Boone, "his tone changed" the longer he was in the suitcase and they began arguing, claiming "the things that [Torres] was saying very much frightened me and cursing at me and threatening me."

She said it "got heated very quickly," before admitting that she then grabbed a baseball bat and "was trying to poke his hand to go back in," saying she "hit his hand" with the bat, causing bruising. When his hand wouldn't retract, she kept poking around the suitcase. Boone said his hand finally went back in and that's when she turned the suitcase upright.

She testified she believed he could breathe inside the suitcase, adding she didn't believe he could die and never wanted to kill him. Then, she went upstairs, called her ex husband and "ended up going to sleep." Boone said she believed she woke up around noon the next day.

"I figured Jorge was downstairs drinking or looking for jobs or may have just left," she said, saying it was "very quiet" when she went downstairs and she began to look for him. "I saw the suitcase and remembered about the night prior and I unzipped the suitcase .... I don't think I've experienced anything like that before. I was aghast and just can't describe the feeling of terror, to a certain degree."

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Law & Crime/Orange County Sheriff's Office

"And he was still in there," she recalled, saying she then unzipped the suitcase fully and began screaming his name and trying to do CRP while checking for a pulse. "He was purple," she said, telling the court she called her ex, told him she thought Torres was dead and asked him to come over.

She also denied putting Torres in the suitcase herself, before pushing it down the stairs.

Per Court TV, Boone's trial had been delayed 17 times, as eight of her attorneys have withdrawn from the case over her alleged behavior. Boone's ninth attorney, James Owens, represented her during the trial.

The trial came just weeks after Boone reportedly rejected a plea deal from prosecutors in which she would receive 15 years in prison for pleading guilty to manslaughter. Without the deal and following Friday's conviction, she now faces anywhere from 22.5 years to life.

"She's just in shock," Owens said during a news conference following the jury's decision, per FOX 35. "We're, obviously, really disappointed. We did the best that we could, you know, in the time that we had to prepare. Sarah really liked the team, and we all got along."

Meanwhile, State Attorney Andrew Bain said, "This is a very horrific homicide. Nobody really should have to endure this type of struggle and fight for their lives and have to die alone, begging for their last breath inside a suitcase. Today, justice was served with the conviction of Sarah Boone."

Boone's sentencing is set for December 2.

Orange County Sheriff's Office