Sarah Boone case: Florida woman charged in suitcase murder has gone through 7 lawyers, court docs reveal
New evidence released in Sarah Boone case
Sarah Boone is accused of killing her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., in Feb. 2020 inside their home in Winter Park after allegedly locking him inside a suitcase. Boone told deputies that she and Torres were playing a game of hide-and-seek and that she fell asleep. When she woke up, she said she found her boyfriend dead in the suitcase. The Florida State Attorney's Office released video allegedly recorded on Boone's cell phone that appears to show a conversation between her and Torres. Content warning: This video may be graphic and disturbing to some.
WINTER PARK, Fla. - Who is representing Sarah Boone in her murder trial?
According to court records, the Winter Park woman accused of zipping up her boyfriend in a suitcase and leaving him there to die during an alleged game of hide-and-seek has gone through at least seven different lawyers since her arrest in 2020.
Since Feb. 2020, multiple lawyers that were appointed to represent Boone have chosen to withdraw as counsel, citing "irreconcilable differences," with one lawyer suggesting Boone "represent herself as no attorney can satisfy her," while another attorney said the relationship between them and Boone had become "adversarial", according to court documents.
Sarah Boone (Photos via FOX 35 reports and Florida State Attorney's Office)
As of Feb. 2024, Boone is being represented by Criminal Defense Attorney Patricia Cashman.
The start of the trial has been pushed back multiple times over the past four years due to the public defenders choosing not to work with Boone.
A new trial date has not been set. A status hearing, however, is scheduled for June 7.
On Feb. 25, 2020, Boone, then 42, was arrested by Orange County deputies after detectives said 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr. died after being zipped into a suitcase and left inside for hours. The incident reportedly happened at the couple's Winter Park home, near Aloma Avenue and Goldenrod Road.
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According to investigators, Boone told them that she and Torres had been drinking wine and playing hide-and-seek, when she claimed she went upstairs and passed out in her bed.
She said she woke up hours later to her cellphone ringing multiple times. She then allegedly realized her boyfriend was possibly still inside the suitcase, and when she unzipped it, she found Torres unresponsive and not breathing. Boone called 911 and deputies arrived to find Torres dead.
Booking photo of Jorge Torres Jr. on Sept. 14, 2019 (Photo via Orange County Corrections)
Boone's cell phone suitcase video released
The Florida State Attorney's Office released video allegedly recorded on Boone's cell phone that appears to show a conversation between her and Torres. (Content warning: This video may be graphic and disturbing to some.)
In the video, Boone is heard laughing as Torres screamed in terror from inside the suitcase, pleading for help until his final breath, investigators said.
"For everything you've done to me, [expletive] you! Stupid," Boone could be heard saying in the video. "That's on you. Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me," she reportedly added.
Boone faces a charge of second-degree murder in Torres' death.