Sarah Boone crafts hand-drawn 'inmate seeks attorney' ad in latest letter to Florida judge

Sarah Boone will need to find her own defense attorney if she does not want to solely represent herself in her second-degree murder trial connected to the Feb. 2020 death of her boyfriend at their Winter Park apartment – and she's crafted her own employment ad.

The hand-drawn ad was included in a six-page letter, dated July 8, Boone sent to the judge overseeing her case – Judge Michael Kraynick. In the letter, Boone lamented about her case, the handling of her case; she claimed she was "forced" to represent herself, and wondered where the "discovery" was from her latest attorney, who withdrew from the case.

But, it is the employment ad that was perhaps the most interesting.

"INMATE SEEKS ATTORNEY" reads the ad with "inmate' and "attorney" emphasized in bold-like writing.

"Looking for a prosperous challenge? "Ready for your close-up on nat'l television? Are you zealous with a side of keen?" reads the ad. "Show the WORLD who you are with your original creativity, extraordinary expertise, confident ingenuity." 

Boone then listed a number of required qualifications:

• "Being trustworthy, honest, passion driven, open-minded"
• "Exceptional problem solving skills"
• "Client inclusion at all times, team orientation, collaboration"
• "Extreme efficiency in listening, communication, understanding"
• "Capability of excellence in representation, committed"
• "Maintaining faith in the client and case with the ability to think differently, overcome all circumstances" (emphasis included in letter)

It's not yet known if anyone has taken Boone's case.

In June, Judge Kraynick ruled that Boone had forfeited her right to counsel and waived her right through her actions after she has had at least nine lawyers take on her case – all of whom have withdrawn. Most of Boone's lawyers have been court-appointed and most have withdrawn, citing irreconcilable differences, ethical differences, and issues working with Boone and the apparent expectations for how she wants her case handled. One attorney withdraw citing a conflict of interest.

"It has become apparent to the court that the defendant will not permit herself to be represented by anyone," Judge Michael S. Kaynick said in a June hearing, where he allowed Boone's latest attorney to withdraw from the case.

"Although defendant’s words seemingly reveal a desire to go to trial, however, as set forth herein, her actions and inability to work with court-appointed counsel, are repeated over and over. Allowing defendant to her eighth court appointed attorney (her ninth attorney overall) will only serve to delay the case further and encourage defendant to persist in efforts to prevent the resolution of the case on its merits," he said.

At that same hearing, the judge ruled that all discovery would be provided to Boone, who is currently incarcerated awaiting trial. The judge said they would figure out how to get the discovery to Boone. It's not yet clear if those documents have been delivered to her.

The judge also made clear that a trial management conference scheduled for Sept. 24, and the two-week trial, scheduled to start on Oct. 7, 2024, would "remain specially set" and would not be changed, barring "extraordinarily good cause."

"Good cause shall not include retention of counsel by the defendant," the order read. 

Who is Sarah Boone? What allegedly happened between Boone and her then boyfriend?

On Feb. 24, 2020 at 1:01 p.m., Sarah Boone called 911 to report that her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., was dead inside their apartment in Winter Park, Florida. She told 911 dispatchers that she and Torres were playing a game of hide-and-seek the night before and during the game, both "jokingly thought it would be funny if Jorge got in the suitcase," the arrest report stated.

Boone said she and Torres were drinking wine. At some point, she went upstairs and "passed out" in her bed, the report said. She said she woke up hours later to her cell phone ringing, went downstairs, and found Torres unresponsive and not breathing in the suitcase, according to the report.

Minutes after that 911 call, the Orange County Fire Department arrived and confirmed that Torres was dead.

The cell phone videos: "Sarah, I can't breathe, babe"

During the investigation, detectives found two videos on Boone's iPhone, which were later released. The videos appear to show Torres zipped inside the suitcase, occasionally moving, and seemingly begging Boone to let him out. In the video, it seems Boone repeatedly taunts him. 

"Sarah, I can't breathe, babe," Torres said, according to the video.

"That's on you," she responds.

"Sarah, I can't breathe," he said again.

"That's on you," Boone responds, even laughing.

According to investigators, those videos were recorded shortly after 11 p.m., and hours before Boone eventually called 911. The second video, according to the report, shows the suitcase in a different position – flipped over and now on the left side of the living room. 

According to the arrest report, the autopsy found that Torres had scratches on his back, a large scratch on his neck, bruising on his left shoulder, and bruises on his forehead from "blunt force trauma." He also had a cut on his lip, the report said.

The interrogation: ‘It was not intentional’

On Feb. 25, 2022, Boone drove to the Orange County Sheriff's Office where she spoke with detectives for nearly two hours. During that interrogation, Boone said Torres' injuries were from falling off her son's bike or from falling or running into walls.

When detectives asked her to watch the videos found on her cell phone, Boone watched for a moment and then said she did not want to watch them. She told detectives that she thought Torres could get out of the suitcase alleging that it could be unzipped from the inside.

However, detectives questioned that because in the videos, they did not see Torres' fingers reaching out of the suitcase anywhere.

"In the video, you can't see any holes. There's nowhere in that where the zipper separation you can see a hole. If there's a hole, he's pushing on it begging you to get out. We should probably see that hole," one detective said in the interrogation.

"He essentially would have been able to get out," another detective responds.

"I did not zip it all the way. I did not zip it up all the way. This is horrific, OK? Horrific. Horrific. I don't think I'll ever be right because of this," Boone said, according to the interrogation video.

"It was not intentional. I'll put my hand on the Bible. It was not intentional. I would not do that to him nor anyone else," she later said.

"But you did," a detective responds.

"Not intentional," Boone responds, adding that she thought Torres would get out.

When is Sarah Boone's trial?

According to the most recent court docket, a trial management conference is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2024. Trial is currently scheduled to begin on Oct. 7, 2024.