A verdict has been reached in the much-awaited trial for the woman accused of zipping her boyfriend inside a suitcase and leaving him to die.
The chilling incident took place in 2020 when Sarah Boone, then 42, allegedly zipped up Jorge Torres Jr. in suitcase at their residence in Winter Park, Florida.
Boone claims she passed out after drinking alcohol and forgot that her partner was inside, leading to his tragic death, according to the Daily Mail.
Boone initially told detectives with the Orange County Sheriff’s office that she and Torres had been playing a game of hide-and-seek that night.
When she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t find her boyfriend but then remembered he was in the suitcase. She unzipped it and found him unresponsive.
In a 911 call obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Boone said: "My boyfriend and I were playing last night, and I put him in a suitcase and we were playing... like kind of a hide-and-seek kind thing, so... I fell asleep and I woke up and he was dead in the suitcase. I don't know what happened."
Boone added that Torres Jr. had blood coming from his mouth and suggested he might have suffered an aneurysm while trapped.
Deputies who responded to the residence in the 4700 block of Frantz Lane found Torres' lifeless body lying on the floor next to a blue suitcase.
Boone's narrative appeared to unravel when detectives found harrowing clips on her phone of Torres yelling from inside the suitcase that he couldn’t breathe.
In one clip, Boone can allegedly be heard saying: "For everything you've done to me. F*** you. Stupid," to which Torres Jr. responds, panicking, that he can't breathe.
“I can’t f**king breathe, seriously,” her boyfriend pleads in the video.
Boone allegedly replies: "Yeah, that's what you do when you choke me. That's on you. Oh, that's what I feel like when you cheat on me. You should probably shut the f*** up."
The suspect was charged with murder. She pleaded not guilty, testifying that she thought Torres Jr. could get out of the suitcase, per CNN.
The suspect learned her verdict on Friday (October 26) when a jury in central Florida found her guilty of second-degree murder.
Boone testified during her trial that past violent incidents between her and Torres caused her to perceive a threat of imminent harm and that she acted in self-defence by keeping him in the suitcase.
An autopsy report revealed that the victim, who was a father of three, had a busted lip, scratches on his back and neck, and contusions to his skull, forehead, and shoulder, from blunt force trauma.
She will be sentenced on December 2 and faces up to life in prison.