Woman who ‘left her boyfriend to suffocate in suitcase’ is set to appear in court
>
A woman accused of letting her boyfriend suffocate in a suitcase and taunting him while begging for his release will appear in court on second-degree murder charges.
Sarah Boone was arrested in February 2020 after telling police she had passed out after stuffing Jorge Torres Jr, 42, inside the bag during an alcohol-fueled game of hide-and-seek at her home in Winter Park, Florida. .
But her story fell apart when investigators discovered video on her phone showing Torres writhing inside the suitcase, desperately telling her, “I can’t breathe.”
Boone, who was 42 at the time of the alleged crime, is now due in court for a pretrial hearing on January 30 after a judge rescheduled the date for Tuesday.
Sarah Boone was arrested in February 2020 after telling police she had passed out after stuffing 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr into the bag during a game of hide-and-seek at her home in Winter Park, Florida.
This screenshot from cellphone video purportedly recorded by Sarah Boone shows the blue suitcase where Jorge Torres Jr suffocated to death after zipping it inside.
In a two-minute video found on Boone’s phone, she is reportedly heard saying to Torres with a laugh: “For everything you’ve done to me.” For you. Silly.’
The groom continues to yell the bride’s name and tell her, ‘I really can’t breathe.’
Boone replies, “Yeah, that’s what you do when you strangle me.”
After hearing Torres’ pleas that she can’t breathe, she says, ‘That’s up to you. Oh, that’s what I feel when you cheat on me. You should probably shut the fuck up.
In a second video with a duration of 22 seconds, the suitcase is seen in a different position than in the first recording, this time face up. Torres calls out Boone’s name before he stops recording.
Boone then called 911 and told the operator “my boyfriend is dead,” according to a recording first obtained by Orlando Sentinel.
She continued: “My boyfriend and I were playing a game last night, I put it in a suitcase and we were playing… kind of a game of hide-and-seek, so… I fell asleep and woke up.” and he was dead in the suitcase. I do not know what happened.
Boone proceeded to tell the dispatcher that Torres had “blood coming out of his mouth” and speculated that he might have suffered an aneurysm.
She added that her boyfriend had a purple hue when he took it out of the suitcase and tried to administer CPR.
“It’s stiff and purple,” she is heard telling the operator.
Boone is escorted by a police officer following her arrest in February 2020. Police discovered videos on her phone that allegedly showed the woman filming Torres pleading to be released from the suitcase.
During her initial interview with a detective, Boone said that she and Torres were painting pictures, completing a puzzle and drinking Woodbridge Chardonnay when they decided to play hide-and-seek.
Boone said she hid upstairs in the shower, but Torres never went up to look for her.
When she went downstairs, she found Torres in the living room and together they decided to have her zip Torres on the blue suitcase, leaving two of her fingers sticking out of the zipper.
Boone claimed that he got into bed while Torres was still trapped in the suitcase, thinking he could get out on his own.
“Sarah and Jorge were laughing that she put it in the suitcase,” the affidavit read.
At 12:30 a.m., Boone said he decided to go upstairs while Torres was still trapped in the suitcase, thinking he could get out.
Boone got into bed and fell asleep half an hour later. He claimed that neither she nor her boyfriend were drunk from the wine.
She told the detective that she assumed Torres would come out of the bag and join her in bed, according to the affidavit.
Boone woke up the next morning and stayed in bed for a while. She said she assumed Torres was already downstairs “on the laptop looking for a job.”
She finally came downstairs around 11 am and couldn’t find her boyfriend anywhere.
“Sarah freaked out and remembered that the last time she saw Jorge was when she put him in the suitcase,” according to the arrest document.
He then unzipped the luggage and found Torres unconscious inside.
Boone called her ex-husband, who arrived a few minutes later and instructed Boone to call 911.
Agents responding to the residence in the 4700 block of Frantz Lane found Torres’ lifeless body lying on the ground next to a blue suitcase.
The victim had a cut lip, bruises around her eye, forehead and shoulder, and fingernail scratches on her back and neck, according to the document.
Jorge Torres Jr, 42, a father of three, had a history of domestic violence involving Boone. In 2018, he was charged with assault stemming from an alcohol-related altercation inside his home.
During the investigation, Boone gave the detective verbal and written consent to search his phone, which led to the discovery of the two videos.
During a follow-up police interview, Boone denied having a fight with Torres and intentionally leaving him in the suitcase.
He also said he did not remember recording the videos, which he admitted “looked” wrong.
Boone then reportedly contradicted her original statement to police, blaming what happened on her and Torres’ drinking.
Records indicate the couple had a history of domestic violence.
In June 2018, Boone was arrested on one count of assault by strangulation directed at her boyfriend, and Jorge was charged with assault stemming from an alcohol-induced altercation inside their home.
According to an affidavit, Torres told an officer that Boone wrapped his hands around his neck and tried to strangle him as he walked up the stairs to get away from her after an argument, causing him to kick her.
A year later, Torres was arrested twice in a two-month span on charges of assault: dating violence.
His obituary reveals that Torres was the father of three children. His girlfriend has a son from a previous marriage.