Sarah Boone47 years old, received a life sentence in Orlando, Florida, on Monday for the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres42. Circuit Judge Michael Kraynick imposed the sentence after a jury found Boone guilty of second degree murder on October 25 after a 10-day trial. The jury returned its verdict after just 90 minutes of deliberation.
Boone stuffed Torres into a suitcase, leaving him to suffocate. The incident occurred on February 23, 2020, at their residence in Winter Park, a suburb of Orlando. Boone initially told investigators they had been drinking and playing hide-and-seek. She claimed she thought Torres, who weighed about 47 kilograms, could get out of the suitcase independently and fall asleep. She said she found him unconscious the next morning.
However, cell phone videos discovered by investigators contradicted Boone’s account. The videos recorded Torres’ cries for help from inside the suitcase, saying he couldn’t breathe and repeatedly calling Boone’s name.
Prosecutor William Jay said in a court filing: “She decided to keep (Torres) in the suitcase when he said he couldn’t breathe in it to terrorize him.” She then hit him with a baseball bat.
“Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me. Oh, that’s what I feel like when you cheat on me,” Boone said in one of the cellphone videos from that night.
Torres’ family expressed their grief during the sentencing hearing. Her sister, Victoria Torres, said: “Sarah deserves to languish in prison. Sarah caused a lifetime of pain. Boone claimed she was the victim of domestic violence and rejected a plea deal for a 15-year sentence. During the hearing, Boone described years of alleged abuse by Torres, criticized the conduct of his trial and media coverage and asked for forgiveness. She said: “I forgive myself for falling in love with a monster. I tried to break the spell… I never stopped loving him. I didn’t want this to happen. Forgive me Jorge. Forgive me Torres family. Boone was jailed for 58 months.