By Associated Press’s CURT ANDERSON
A Florida woman with a history of domestic and alcohol abuse was given a life sentence on Monday for suffocating her lover by squeezing him inside a suitcase.
In Orlando, Circuit Judge Michael Kraynick sentenced 47-year-old Sarah Boone for the 2020 murder of 42-year-old Jorge Torres.
After a 10-day trial, a jury found Boone guilty of Jorge Torres’ second-degree murder after just 90 minutes of deliberation on October 25. Boone had refused a plea agreement offer of a 15-year sentence because she believed that she had been the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Torres.
During the hearing, members of Torres’ family testified that they were devastated by his passing.
Victoria Torres, a sister, remarked that Sarah deserved to rot in prison. Sarah has hurt people throughout their entire lives.
In her own statement, Boone detailed the long list of abuses she said Torres had inflicted on her, criticized the way the media handled and reported on her trial, and begged for forgiveness for her acts.
For falling in love with a monster, I forgive myself. I attempted to break the spell. Boone, who has been incarcerated for 58 months, stated, “I never stopped loving him.” I didn’t intend for this to occur. Please pardon me, Jorge. Please pardon me, Torres family.
Initially, Boone told investigators from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that on February 23, 2020, she and Torres had been drinking a lot and playing hide-and-seek at their Winter Park, Florida, home when they thought it would be funny for the 47-kilogram (103-pound) Torres to climb into the suitcase. Winter Park is an Orlando suburb.
She said officers in an arrest record that she had gone to bed after they had consumed wine, assuming Torres could exit the suitcase by himself.
She didn’t see Torres when she woke up the following morning, but then she recalled that he was in the luggage. According to the arrest report, she discovered him unconscious when she opened the suitcase.
According to the arrest report, Boone was charged with second-degree murder after authorities discovered recordings on her cellphone showing Torres screaming from within the suitcase that he was unable to breathe and continuously crying out Boone’s name.
Prosecutor William Jay stated in a court document that she chose to frighten Torres by keeping him in the suitcase after he claimed he couldn’t breathe in it. Then she hit a baseball bat at him.
In exchange for her guilty plea to a reduced manslaughter charge, Boone turned down a plea deal from the prosecution that would have sentenced her to 15 years in jail.
Boone said during her trial that she kept Torres in the bag out of self-defense and because she felt threatened by the violent past events between her and Torres.
According to the police report, Boone stated in one of the cellphone recordings taken that evening, “Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me.” Yes, that’s how I feel when you betray me.
Crime and court news
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