Suitcase killer Sarah Boone sentenced to life in prison for sealing boyfriend in luggage & laughing as he suffocated
KILLER girlfriend Sarah Boone has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her boyfriend after trapping him in a suitcase.
Boone, 46, was earlier convicted of second-degree murder for the 2020 death of her boyfriend, 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr.
After delivering a rambling laundry list of gripes against her now-deceased boyfriend in a statement to the court, Boone was stoic as she was handed the life in prison sentence.
The sentencing caps off a saga that began when Boone sealed her boyfriend in a suitcase while the couple played a drunken game of hide-and-seek at a home near Orlando, Florida.
Boone then refused to let Torres Jr. out of the luggage, ignoring his cries for help.
In chilling videos she took on her phone on the night of his death, she can be heard laughing as Torres Jr. tells her he can’t breathe from inside the suitcase.
The videos, found on Boone’s phone, show Torres pushing on the suitcase and trying to get out while saying, “I can’t f**king breathe, seriously.”
In the footage, Boone taunts Torres, responding by saying, “That’s what I feel like when you cheat on me,” according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Boone went upstairs to sleep, leaving Torres trapped in the luggage.
She found him dead inside the suitcase the following morning and called 911.
Boone had tried to argue that she was acting in self-defense after suffering abuse at her boyfriend’s hands.
Testifying in her own defense, her legal team argued she suffered from “battered spouse syndrome,” and she was afraid of Torres.
In November, Boone requested a new trial, alleging professional misconduct and other complaints.
Boone said Torres got into the suitcase voluntarily, and that the pair thought “it would be funny” after drinking wine at home.
However, the motion for a new trial was declined ahead of the sentencing.
JORGE ‘DESERVES JUSTICE’
Torres’ mother gave the first victim impact statement in court on Monday afternoon.
Reliving the moment she found out her son was dead, she said that she “didn’t hate” Boone “for what she did.”
Choking back tears, she said, “Since that day, I can’t sleep. It’s hard for me to remember that my son is not here no more.”
Torres’ sister Victoria also gave an emotional victim impact statement, saying that her brother “deserves justice,” and that Boone should “rot in jail.”
Sarah Boone case
Sarah Boone was found guilty of second-degree murder for the 2020 death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr.
Boone was arrested on February 25, 2020, by police in Orange County, Florida, for allegedly zipping her boyfriend in a suitcase and leaving him to die.
She admitted to zipping him inside the suitcase but told investigators she believed he could free himself.
Boone filmed Torres inside the suitcase pleading to get out.
She went to trial for second-degree murder charges, more than a year after her originally scheduled trial date.
The trial faced multiple delays due to public defenders withdrawing from representing Boone.
She was initially due to stand trial in April 2023 before it was pushed back to July. This was then bumped to early 2024 and finally to October.
Boone was convicted after a jury deliberated for 90 minutes on October 25, 2024.
She was then sentenced to life in prison on December 2, 2024.
Boone also spoke in court before her sentencing, reading a written statement.
In a statement, she referenced the traditional Japanese art form of Kintsukuroi, repairing ceramics using gold to make a new piece.
She accused Torres of raping, choking, beating, abusing her, and of leaving her “bloody” on her son’s bed, and trying to “end her.”
Boone said she had “forgiven” Torres for what she alleged was years of abuse, including breaking the bones in her face and stabbing her, as well as threatening her son and her pets.
She also blamed Torres’ family for “not doing enough” to help her, and social media for preventing her from getting a “fair” trial.
Boone said she also forgave herself “for not fighting back sooner,” and “for falling in love with a monster.”
She also described herself as “a survivor” and asked if she would have been seen as “woman of the year” if she had died rather than Torres.
The sentence was delivered at the conclusion of the nearly two-hour hearing.