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Suitcase murder: Sarah Boone trial to begin next week

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Published  October 4, 2024 11:57pm EDT
Sarah Boone
FOX 35 Orlando

Sarah Boone murder trial to begin next week

A high-profile murder trial in Orange County is set to begin next week as Sarah Boone faces charges for allegedly killing her boyfriend by trapping him inside a suitcase and leaving him to die.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A high-profile murder trial in Orange County is set to begin next week as Sarah Boone faces charges for allegedly killing her boyfriend by trapping him inside a suitcase and leaving him to die.

On Feb. 25, 2020, Boone, then 42, was arrested by Orange County deputies after detectives said her boyfriend, 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr., died after being zipped into that suitcase and left inside for hours. The incident reportedly happened at the couple's Winter Park home, near Aloma Avenue and Goldenrod Road.

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 reportedly realized her boyfriend was possibly still inside the suitcase, and when she unzipped it, she found Torres unresponsive and not breathing. Boone said she called 911 and deputies arrived to find Torres dead.

Investigators have presented Boone with video evidence, reportedly taken from her phone, showing Torres pleading to be let out of the suitcase. In the footage, Torres can be heard saying, "I can't breathe, babe," to which Boone allegedly responded, "That's what you do when you choke me." 

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The video, timestamped from the night of the incident, shows the suitcase flipped over— a detail Boone admitted to during questioning.

Investigators found two empty wine bottles in Boone's home, with receipts showing they were purchased the day of the alleged murder. Boone told investigators she was "blaming it on the wine" and had no memory of the video due to drinking.

Torres, who had a history of domestic violence arrests, suffered injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, according to the medical examiner. Boone has denied physically harming him, insisting she did not mean to leave him inside the suitcase.

Evidence debated ahead of Sarah Boone murder trial

In body camera footage, Sarah Boone can be heard admitting to zipping her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, into a suitcase and later waking up to find him dead. Boone told deputies in 2020 that she and Torres, her boyfriend of three and a half years, were playing a drunken game of hide-and-seek when the incident occurred.

According to arrest documents, Boone said Torres, her boyfriend of three-and-a-half years, thought it would be funny to get inside the suitcase, and she zipped him in as a joke before falling asleep.

"I came downstairs, and I’m like, oh *** he's in the suitcase still. That’s when I found him and took him out," Boone told investigators.

Boone’s ex-husband, who she called to the house after discovering Torres' body, told deputies she had a drinking problem and that the couple had a tumultuous relationship. 

"He's been arrested at least five times for domestic violence against her," her ex-husband said in the video.

In footage from a body camera worn by a deputy, Boone is heard asking what they would tell Torres' family, expressing fear that they would blame her. 

"They’re going to think I killed him," Boone said, to which a deputy responded, "They’ve always said that."

Boone's trial is scheduled to begin on October 7.

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