Closing arguments are pending in the Sarah Boone suitcase murder trial

ORLANDO, Florida – On Friday, the trial of the murder of Sarah Boone will continuea Florida woman accused of murdering her boyfriend after he died in a closed suitcase during an apparently drunken game of hide-and-seek.

BunThe 47-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder, accused of leaving her boyfriend, 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr., to die of suffocation in 2020.

The protection is wrapped on Thursday, and closing arguments are expected on Friday. Boone pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, the judge asked if any of the jurors had seen the Voices of Hope domestic violence event held Thursday at the courthouse. After one juror said yes, she was questioned about it, she told the judge that while she knew it was a domestic violence case involving Orange-Osceola County State’s Attorney Andrew Bain, she hadn’t heard anything.

In addition, the judge told jurors they could work until at least 7pm on Friday and asked them to be ready to work after 9pm if a verdict was not reached by then. If a verdict is not reached by Friday, the court will take the day off and the jury will resume its deliberations on Monday morning.

Boone came out in her defense earlier this week. On Wednesday, a day after Boone’s testimony, her attorneys called others to testify.

Attorneys for both sides spent considerable time Thursday morning arguing over whether the expert’s testimony had been previously released.

The state began its rebuttal on Thursday. State Psychiatrist Dr. Tonya Werner said it was “difficult” for Boone to recall the details leading up to Torres’ death, adding that Boone did not provide enough information to diagnose her with PTSD.

“I felt she didn’t give me enough information to evaluate her during my time in prison,” Werner said.

James Owens, Boone’s attorney, said he believes there was a violation. The judge ordered the jurors out of the room so they could discuss privately whether a violation had occurred.

On Thursday afternoon, Boone’s attorneys released police body camera footage showing officers interacting with Boone at her apartment complex before her boyfriend’s death in 2019.

“She’s sitting on the curb in front of that white car,” the lawyer said. Boone told the responding officer that Torres had abused her and she was afraid he was going to kill her. An officer is later seen detaining Torres.”

(CONTINUED STORY BELOW)

(TIMELINE: What is Sarah Boone, the Florida woman accused in the suitcase’s death)

Pearl Walker, a former neighbor, said Wednesday that she sometimes noticed marks on Boone’s neck or arm.

Walker said she would see Boone when she was walking the dogs and talk to her, and Boone would talk about the abuse.

Boone’s lawyers say she suffered from battered husband syndrome.

On the stand, Boone claimed she was afraid of how Torres would behave when he got out of the suitcase, so she wouldn’t let him out.

Dr. Julie Harper, a licensed psychologist for 22 years, was also called to the stand.

Harper said she was writing her dissertation on the couple’s relationship and reviewed Boone’s tapes before interviewing her.

“Do you think Sarah Boone has any narcissistic traits?” Harper was asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

Boone testified Tuesday that Torres climbed into the suitcase himself and tried to stand up, so she couldn’t tell he was there.

“He was about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds,” Boone said. “I just zipped it up. We thought it was funny. We joked that it was small enough to fit in a suitcase.”

She said she once zipped up a suitcase.

“He just thought it was funny,” she said. “I wheeled it around a few times from there and it was still funny at the time. We joked and laughed about it.”

She said she moved the suitcase and it ended up zipping down.

“Then I decided to take a video so that he could see the joke, so that he would know that now I feel safe and I can talk to you like I normally can,” she said, admitting that she was drunk.

“Could you tell the jury what you felt, what your feelings were, explain to the jury that you said that before he was in that confined space,” Boone’s attorney said.

“I want you to know that most of the time I’m always afraid and always scared,” Boone replied. “I just wanted him to understand that’s the point of the video.”

The state resumed its case earlier Tuesday, a day after jurors were shown video of Boone’s interrogation by authorities.

“He’s begging you to let him go and at first you laugh and then you say, ‘No,'” the detective said in the video.

“It was unintentional,” Boone replied. “I will put my hand on the Bible. It was not intentional.”

The opening statement of the prosecution was made by Assistant State’s Attorney William Jay, who said: “She did it with the evil intention of punishing him, and then she went to sleep and left him to take his last breath on this Earth alone.”

He also talked about Boone’s call to 911 the next day.

“What you won’t hear are tears. (…) You will not hear grief,” said Jay.

Prosecutors said Boone had no respect for Torres’ life, but her attorneys argued she was a victim of battered man syndrome and locked Torres in a suitcase because of previous abuse.

The state said Boone never mentioned self-defense when authorities first questioned him.

Closing arguments in court should take place on Friday.

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