How Sarah Boone Suffocated Her Boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr. in A Suitcase

Sarah Boone, a 42-year-old American woman, was charged with second-degree murder after her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., died of suffocation inside a suitcase.

Torres, who was also 42 years old, was trapped in the suitcase at their home in Winter Park, Florida, on February 24, 2020. Boone claimed it was a prank gone wrong, but the police found evidence of domestic violence.

The Beginning

Torres and Boone had a history of domestic violence before his death in the suitcase. Boone had faced one arrest for allegedly strangling Torres in July 2018, but the case was dropped later. Torres, however, had been arrested four times for allegedly battering Boone. Each time, Boone paid his bail to get him out of jail.

In the 2018 arrest, Torres informed a deputy that Boone tried to strangle him with her hands around his neck.

Boone called 9-1-1 on February 25, 2020, to report that her boyfriend, Torres, was dead. She claimed that they had drunk a bottle of wine and played hide-and-seek. She said that she put Torres in a suitcase as a joke, as they were both laughing before she zipped the bag. She said that she then went upstairs and fell asleep, leaving Torres in the suitcase.

Law enforcement officers who arrived at the house discovered the deceased body of Torres on the floor in close proximity to a blue suitcase.

Police body-worn camera footage shows Boone speaking with officers once they arrived on the scene.

"Who zipped him up?" one officer asked.

“I did, but then I fell asleep," Boone said.

Boone did not get arrested immediately, but the next day, she had to go to the police station for an interview. There, the forensic investigators asked for her phone, which she gave them without any hesitation. They found two videos on her phone, which Boone had recorded the night before. Boone said she did not remember making the videos and this may explain the reason she did not delete the videos. In one of the videos, she can be heard saying, "For everything you've done to me!"

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Investigators also found another video on her phone showing Torres begging for help from inside the suitcase while Boone accuses him of abuse. Torres had many wounds on his body from the night of February 24: he had scratches on his back, bumps on his forehead, and injuries on his left shoulder.

In the interview with the authorities, Boone claimed his death was an accident. Part of the investigation...

"I didn’t kill him," Boone said.

"So you left him there to teach him a lesson?" an investigator asked.

"I didn’t mean to leave him there," Boone responded.

"Sarah," Torres says.

“For everything you’ve done to me..." Boone responds.

"Sarah, I can't breathe," Torres said.

“Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me," Boone said.

Boone later told investigators that Torres was often violent with her.

"I have not touched him, I have not touched him. I don’t think you all understand, he comes at me all the time. He comes at me," she said.

The police ruled the case as a homicide.

Following the interview, Boone was charged with second-degree murder in relation to the death of Torres. She was detained in Orange County jail without the possibility of bail.

Boone expressed her concerns about receiving fair representation in letters addressed to the trial judge. It is anticipated that she will employ the defense of being a battered woman during her trial, which is slated to commence on December 11, 2023.

References:

Florida woman, 42, 'killed her boyfriend, 41, by zipping him inside a suitcase but claims it was a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong' as cellphone video captures her saying 'that's what I feel like when you cheat on me'

Police: Woman zipped boyfriend in suitcase during game of hide-and-seek, left him to die