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Florida woman Sarah Boone, 47, has reportedly been convicted for allegedly leaving her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., 42, to suffocate in a suitcase. PEOPLE reports that on February 24, 2020, authorities found Torres dead in a luggage in their Winter Park apartment after Sarah presumably zipped inside. She claimed they were playing a drunken game of hide-and-seek.
NBC News states that an Orange County jury convicted Sarah Boone of second-degree murder in Jorge Torres Jr.’s death. The outlet reported that Boone testified in court on Oct. 22, 2024, saying they had been drinking outside before heading in, when she thought they’d go to bed. She went to say she looked for Torres downstairs and spotted him “settling himself into a suitcase,” even trying to lay flat so she couldn’t see him. She added that she zipped him up, thinking it was funny for both of them. According to PEOPLE, she even wheeled the bag around a bit until it “flopped over.”
When the bag tipped over, Sarah decided to confront Jorge about his alleged abusive behavior. Per WKMG, she told the court that she even took out her cell phone and started recording. Video clips reportedly show Sarah mocking Torres as he begged for help, NBC affiliate WESH of Daytona Beach noted. In the clips, she’s heard saying, “This is for everything you’ve done to me.”
She also testified that Jorge’s “tone changed” while he was in the bag, sparking an argument between them.
“The things that he was saying very much frightened me, cursing at me and threatening me. It got very heated very quickly,” she said in court.
When Jorge started pushing on the luggage, she worried he’d get out. As he managed to get a hand out, she purportedly hit it with a baseball bat until he pulled it back in, Newsweek revealed.
Sarah said she figured Jorge would eventually get out, so she upstairs to sleep, leaving him inside. When she woke up, she assumed he had already left the apartment.
NBC News, citing WESH, reported that the state argued Sarah Boone wasn’t in any immediate danger when she refused to unzip Jorge Torres Jr. Prosecutors claimed she killed him out of a belief he deserved it due to his past actions. They also pointed out that she hadn’t mentioned any alleged abuse when police first interviewed her.
Boone raised eyebrows by changing lawyers nine times and requesting professional hair and makeup for the trial, PEOPLE reveals. Sarah’s sentencing is set for December 2.
