A Florida woman has been convicted of second-degree murder after her boyfriend suffocated inside a suitcase during what she claimed was a game of hide-and-seek.
Sarah Boone, 47, from Winter Park, told authorities that on the evening of February 23, 2020, she and her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., had been drinking when he voluntarily climbed into the suitcase. Boone said they were joking when she zipped it up.
After a disagreement, Boone went upstairs to sleep, believing Torres could free himself. However, when she woke up the next morning, she found him still in the suitcase and unresponsive. Prosecutors argued that Boone was aware he could not escape and that her actions led to his death. A jury found her guilty on Friday.
Boone testified that they had been laughing about how Torres fit in the suitcase. She even filmed a conversation with him while he was confined, during which he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe, to which she laughed and made light of the situation.
In court, Boone claimed that she feared for her safety during an argument while he was still inside the suitcase, stating he had previously abused her. She admitted to hitting his hand with a baseball bat to keep it from escaping, fearing he would hurt her if he got out.
The autopsy revealed bruising on Torres’s hand, contusions on his skull, and a busted lip. Boone maintained that she did not believe he could die in the suitcase and that she did not intend to kill him. She is facing a potential life sentence, with her sentencing scheduled for early December.