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Florida woman jailed for life after boyfriend suffocated in suitcase
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A woman was sentenced to life behind bars after zipping her boyfriend up in a suitcase and leaving him to die by suffocation.
She claimed that the incident, which took place during a game of hide-and-seek, came after years of alleged domestic and alcohol abuse.
Florida-native Sarah Boone, 47, told Orange County Sheriff's Office detectives that she and her partner, Jorge Torres, were drinking heavily while playing the game in February 2020.
She said that they thought it'd be fun if Torres, who weighed 47kg, climbed into a large blue suitcase.
After the drunken game, Boone said she decided to get some sleep, believing that her boyfriend could get out of the suitcase by himself at their Winter Park home in Orlando.
When she awoke the next day, she said she couldn't find him, before remembering where she left him.
Torres, 42, was found unresponsive, and Boone called 911 before being arrested.
Evidence found on the victim's phone
Despite Boone's claims, videos found on Torres' phone told a different story.
They showed that he was shouting to her, explaining that he couldn't breathe as he kept calling her name.
Speaking in court, prosecutor William Jay said Boone ignored her boyfriend so she could 'terrorize him' before hitting him 'with a baseball bat'.
She could be heard saying: "Yeah, that's what you do when you choke me", and "Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me".
Boone claimed that she was acting in self-defense, as she felt threatened after past violent incidents with him.
The defendant went on, claiming that there was a history of abuse with the late Torres, providing evidence with photos of her injuries.
Torres' family spoke out
Members of Torres' family spoke at the sentencing hearing, claiming that Boone wasn't as innocent as she was letting on, and that his death had torn the family apart.
Victoria Torres, his sister, claimed that Boone 'deserves to rot in jail', brutally adding that she had caused 'a lifetime of pain'.
After already spending 58 months locked up, Boone was found guilty in October 2024 after a 10-day trial.
Despite being given an offer of a 15-year sentence by the prosecution if she admitted manslaughter, she chose to turn it down.
Following the verdict, Boone criticized how her trial was reported by the media, while also asking the Torres family for forgiveness after taking Jorge's life.
This didn't stop her from stating that she fell in love with 'a monster' whom she tried to leave, though she claimed that she 'never stopped loving him'.
She further stated: "I didn't mean for this to happen. Forgive me Jorge. Forgive me Torres family."