Sarah Boone defense alleges boyfriend's suitcase death was out of self-defense, not accidental

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Updated  September 19, 2024 8:15pm EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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Sarah Boone alleges boyfriend's death was self-defense

Sarah Boone was in court Thursday with her ninth lawyer. She’s accused of zipping her boyfriend into a suitcase and then leaving him to suffocate while she stood over him, laughing as he begged her to let him out. Boone’s attorneys said for the first time they plan to pursue a self-defense claim. Before this, Boone had made her boyfriend’s death seem accidental.

ORANGE COUNTY - Sarah Boone was in court Thursday with her ninth lawyer.

She is accused of zipping her boyfriend into a suitcase and then leaving him to suffocate while she stood over him, laughing as he begged her to let him out.

Boone’s attorneys said for the first time they plan to pursue a self-defense claim.  Before this, Boone had made her boyfriend’s death seem accidental. 

"This is a unique case, judge," Sarah Boone’s new lawyer James Owens said Thursday.

The big argument in court was over whether Sarah Boone would be able to claim she suffered from Battered Woman Syndrome – and that killing her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, was the only way out of an abusive relationship.

Assistant State Attorney William Jay argued, "The cornerstone is self-defense… she repeatedly said there was no violence that day."

In an interview with a detective, Boone said repeatedly she and Torres were on good terms the night she was arrested for his murder – saying, "Nobody touched nobody" and "I don’t have any injuries, he and I have not been at it." 

Judge Michael Kraynick got into a bit of an argument with the defense about spending four years claiming it was an accident, but now saying it was justifiable use of force.

"How is your purported defense applicable legally?" Judge Kraynick asked.

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The judge is taking a day to decide on that one. He did say the defense could bring in a crime scene reconstructionist and psychologists but denied another motion.

And there was this argument from Owens:

"The state has failed to say exactly what it is that they believe is the criminal act that caused the death committed by Sarah Boone."

The defense says Boone wasn’t doing anything illegal but also says with the battered spouse claim, she purposely killed someone in self-defense.

"I don’t understand that circular logic," said Judge Kraynick.

Boone is back in court for a trial management conference in one week. Her trial is set to start on October 7. That will be jury selection, which the judge said he expects could take a while.

The defense asked for the trial to last three weeks, instead of the 2 that had been allotted. The judge said he’ll think about it.

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