Sarah Boone: The Suitcase Murder
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out,” jeers alleged killer.
Red flags waved nonstop on Frantz Lane in Winter Park, Florida. Sadly, nobody paid attention. If Sarah Boone and Jorge Torres Jr. had called it quits, he’d probably still be alive. And, Boone wouldn’t be sitting in an Orange County jail cell awaiting trial for second-degree murder.
Instead, on Feb. 23, 2020, Torres suffocated inside of a suitcase, crying out for help while Boone jeered drunkenly. She captured the moment on two cell phone videos. Her boyfriend’s autopsy would show that he spent 11 hours zipped inside the luggage and died of asphyxiation.
Boone called 911 around 1 p.m. the next afternoon, saying, “My boyfriend and I were playing last night and I put him in the suitcase when we were playing, a hide and seek kind of thing.”
In the arrest affidavit, she says she fell asleep and didn’t realize Torres was still in the suitcase when she woke up a few hours later at about 11 a.m. She claims she unzipped the suitcase and found Torres unresponsive and not breathing. She phoned her ex-husband who urged her to call 911.
However, two videos on her phone show that she intentionally left him in the suitcase despite his pleas for release.
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out,” she slurs as he pleads for release. Alcohol played a role in their tumultuous three-year relationship.
Court documents reveal a history of violence between the couple, both 42 at the time of the fatal incident. They each had previous arrests for battering one another.
In July 2018, Boone faced charges of domestic battery by strangulation. She and Torres had been living together for a year-and-a-half at the time. Boone told investigators that Torres became enraged when she spoke to another man at a bar. When they got home, Torres dragged her upstairs and kicked her in the right eye, she said.
Research identifies strangulation as a key risk factor in the eventual murder of the victim in the relationship. According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, victims are ten times more likely to be murdered by someone who choked them.
Torres had a different story. He told investigators Boone tried to strangle him. He said he had to kick her off to stay alive. Deputies were unable to identify the primary aggressor. They charged Torres with battery and Boone with aggravated battery with strangulation.
The couple refused to press charges against one another. They both posted bond and the case was eventually dropped.
In June 2019, Torres was accused of striking Boone on at least two occasions. Once, the police responded to a domestic violence call at the couple’s home. Boone said Torres hit her on the head, face, legs, and arms. He was angry because she spoke to another man. She claimed he threatened her life. “You’re going to die,” he allegedly said.
Boone refused medical treatment but filled out a domestic violence worksheet. Law enforcement arrested Torres and took him to jail. Boone testified against him at his court hearing.
The judge granted Torres’s release from jail on the condition that he abstain from alcohol and drugs. He also had to maintain a separate residence from Boone. He couldn’t or wouldn’t do so.
In Sept. 2019, law enforcement arrested Torres for violating his bond terms. According to the criminal complaint, he kicked open Boone’s bedroom door while she was sleeping and punched her in the head. Following these incidents, they wound up living together again. The red flags waved but nobody listened.
Boone’s trial begins Nov. 7, 2022.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800–799–7233.
What are your thoughts?
