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Florida woman who left boyfriend to die in suitcase smiles at sentencing
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Florida woman who left boyfriend to die in suitcase smiles at sentencing

A Florida woman convicted of leaving her boyfriend stuck in a zipped suitcase, where he later died, smiled in court despite being sentenced to life in prison.

Sarah Boone learned her fate Monday afternoon, just over a month after she was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the 2020 death of 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr.

As Boone smiled at his supporters in court, Torres’ loved ones were seen embracing each other.

“Sarah deserves to languish in prison,” said Victoria Torres, a sister. “Sarah has caused a lifetime of pain.”

Boone spoke in court before her sentencing, saying she had found God during the 58 months she had already served behind bars. She also said that she forgives herself for falling in love with a “monster” and hopes that others will forgive her as well.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen. Forgive me Jorge. Forgive me Torres family,” she said.

Boone said she learned from her so-called “imperfections” and detailed alleged abuse by Torres.

She said he beat her badly, raped her and stabbed her.

She also claimed he vandalized her home, including her son’s bedroom, “where he beat me until I bled.”

In addition to the physical abuse, she said he terrorized her psychologically.

I forgive Jorge for lying, for trying in so many ways, so many times, to end his terrifying love for me,” she said. “I also forgive the Torres family, their mother and father in the first place, as well as his two ex-wives and daughters, to know who Jorge was, capable and did in the past, his history of violence and where he learned it, then continue to closing my eyes when I asked for help.

Initially, Boone told Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigators that she and Torres had been drinking alcohol and playing hide-and-seek on Feb. 23, 2020, at their Winter Park, Fla., home when ‘They thought it would be funny for the 103- hammer Torres to get in the suitcase.

She eventually decided to go to sleep, thinking Torres might get out of the suitcase on his own, she told detectives in an arrest report.

When she woke up the next morning, she did not find Torres but remembered him being in the suitcase. She unzipped the suitcase and found him unconscious, according to the arrest report. Authorities said he died of asphyxiation.

Boone was charged after investigators found videos on his cellphone in which Torres can be heard screaming from inside the suitcase that he couldn’t breathe and repeatedly calling Boone’s name, according to the police report. ‘arrest.

“She decided to keep (Torres) in the suitcase while he told her he couldn’t breathe in it to terrorize him,” prosecutor William Jay said in a court filing. “She then hit him with a baseball bat.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.