A Florida woman will suffer the consequences of a life sentence after disturbingly leaving her boyfriend zipped in a suitcase for hours.
In October, the woman, 47-year-old Sarah Boone, was found guilty of second-degree murder after the February 2020 suffocation of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., according to WESH-2. During her sentencing on Monday (December 2), Boone alleged that she was "kicked, punched, spit on, raped, stabbed, (and) choked" on by Torres, among additional forms of abuse. "I forgive myself for falling in love with a monster,” she said, per CNN. "And no matter how grotesque he may become, I still loved him, hoped and forgave."
A medical examiner reported that Torres was confined in a small suitcase for 11 hours before succumbing to asphyxiation. During the two-week trial, Boone's attorney, James Owens, insisted that his client suffered from "battered spouse syndrome" and was fearful to unzip Torres from the suitcase. The couple were allegedly playing a 'game' of hide-and-seek while drinking alcohol before the incident turned deadly, of which Boone recorded herself speaking to Torres, who was inside the suitcase, while the man pleaded to be released.
Boone stated in her testimony that she was "terrified" and believed it would be beneficial to speak with her boyfriend while he was inside the suitcase. "I wanted him to try to understand how I felt so maybe he could progress and be a better person,” Boone told a prosecutor about the reason for her actions.
During the trial, the mental health specialist, Dr. Tonya Werner, who performed a court-mandated assessment of Boone was called to testify, explaining that she was unsure whether Boone's behavior was caused by PTSD.
"The way that she described the incident to me and that they were laughing and having a good time and didn’t play into relaying any kind of triggers or trauma," Dr. Werner said.
Among Boone's recorded taunts during the incident were 'That’s what you get,’ ‘That’s what I feel like when you cheat on me,' while Torres frantically said, 'I can't fucking breathe, seriously,' while struggling inside the suitcase.
During her testimony, Boone apologized to Torres' family while sharing that being arrested and jailed has been one of the "greatest" experiences of her life.
"If I were not beaten to death, I was going to work myself to death on the outside," she said. "And I never had time to get back into my Bible and to pray and to be with the Lord. And I, being here incarcerated, have had time ... to get closer to God to reacquaint myself to him."