What Did Sarah Boone Do? A Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison in the “Suitcase Murder” Case

The case of Sarah Boone, a Florida woman who was given a life sentence for killing her boyfriend Jorge Torres, is a horrifying tale that has drawn public attention because of its horrific details and awful outcomes. Boone, 47, was found guilty of second-degree murder after abandoning Torres, 42, to suffocate after he was zipped into a bag. Intent, domestic violence, and the part mental health plays in violent relationships have all been major issues in the February 23, 2020, event that took place in the Orlando suburb of Winter Park.

Boone and Torres had a turbulent relationship that was marked by accusations of domestic violence, frequent disputes, and alcohol misuse. Their relationship was characterized by cycles of strong affection and equally intense conflict, and both had previously been arrested for incidents involving each other. Boone said the couple had been drinking a lot the night before the incident. She said how they were playing a game of hide-and-seek while intoxicated when Torres willingly climbed into a bag and Boone zipped it shut as part of their play. But when detectives found incriminating video footage on Boone’s phone that presented a much more bleak picture of what happened, her account fell apart.

On February 24, 2020, Sarah Boone called 9-1-1 and told them that her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, was dead. Boone claimed that she and Torres had a single bottle of wine and then decided to play hide-and-seek. She claimed that they thought it would be funny to put him in the suitcase, and that they were both laughing. She stated that she then went upstairs and accidentally fell asleep, leaving Torres in the suitcase. Torres’ death was ruled a homicide.

During the on-site investigation, Sarah Boone willingly turned over her phone. Forensic investigators searched the phone upon their arrival at the scene. The search found two videos that Boone had taken the night before. The videos allegedly showed Boone laughing as Torres pled for help inside the suitcase, with Boone stating, “That’s what you do when you choke me” and “That’s what I feel like when you cheat on me.” Boone was interviewed by Detectives at the Police department the following day. Boone stated that she did not remember recording the videos.

The prosecution used the recordings as unmistakable proof of premeditation to support its claim that Boone’s actions were malevolent and deliberate. Instead of playing innocently, the prosecution said that Boone was driven by a desire to punish Torres. In support of the claim that her acts were intentional cruelty rather than an accident, testimony given during the trial disclosed that Boone had hit Torres with a baseball bat prior to zipping him into the suitcase. She purposefully left him stranded overnight, according to the prosecution, and documented his misery for her own entertainment.

By presenting Boone as a victim of domestic abuse who had acted out of fear and desperation, her defense team tried to refute these allegations. Her legal team contended that Boone had Battered Spouse Syndrome, a psychological disorder that can arise in victims of long-term abuse. They argued that although her acts were terrible, they were the product of a poisonous relationship that left her emotionally damaged and reactive rather than deliberate. In her testimony at the trial, Boone detailed years of alleged abuse at the hands of Torres and stated that she thought he would hurt her if she allowed him to leave the luggage.

Nevertheless, the jury remained unconvinced. Prosecutors emphasized the sharp discrepancy between Boone’s comments and her deeds throughout the ten-day trial. They contended that her actions in the recordings, in which she laughed and made fun of Torres while he pleaded for his life, were not compatible with the conduct of someone acting out of fear or self-defense. Furthermore, according to the medical examiner’s assessment, Torres had sustained injuries that were consistent with blunt force trauma and that his confinement in the suitcase alone was insufficient to explain. Positional asphyxia was identified as the cause of death, indicating that Torres’s posture within the bag prevented him from breathing normally.

The jury found Boone guilty of second-degree murder on October 25, 2024, after only ninety minutes of deliberation. Torres’ family spoke movingly about the terrible effects of his passing during the sentencing hearing. Boone “deserves to rot in jail,” his sister Victoria said, expressing her sadness and rage, while their mother Blanca talked about the hole her son’s passing had left in their hearts. The human cost of Boone’s actions and the irreparable harm caused by Torres’s passing were highlighted by these moving testimonies.

Circuit Judge Michael Kraynick gave Boone a life sentence on December 2, 2024. The judge’s words focused on Torres’ anguish in his last moments and the heinousness of the crime. No one should have to die alone under such circumstances, he said, calling Boone’s actions heartless and cruel. Given the seriousness of the offense and Boone’s seeming lack of regret, the life sentence was appropriate.

The foundation of Boone’s case was her victimization, but the evidence pointed to a more sinister scenario in which she controlled Torres in his last minutes. Important considerations concerning the connections between victimization and perpetration in abusive relationships are brought up by this dichotomy. Even though Torres may have physically abused Boone, the tapes and other evidence showed that she was the one who attacked him the night before he died.