Florida woman sentenced to life for suitcase murder of boyfriend

Dubai: A Florida woman, Sarah Boone, 47, has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 murder of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, 42. Boone zipped Torres inside a suitcase during a night of heavy drinking, leaving him to die of suffocation, US media reported.

Boone claimed during her trial that she was a victim of years of domestic abuse by Torres and that her actions were not premeditated. She rejected a plea deal offering a reduced 15-year sentence for manslaughter and insisted she had not intended to kill Torres.

The court heard that Boone recorded videos of Torres trapped inside the suitcase, in which he could be heard pleading for help, saying he couldn’t breathe, and calling out her name. Boone was heard in the recordings taunting him, referencing past instances of abuse and infidelity.

Boone told the court she was too intoxicated to realise the gravity of her actions and believed Torres would free himself from the suitcase. She claimed she went to bed and only remembered his predicament the next morning when she found him unresponsive inside the suitcase.

Prosecutors argued that Boone acted out of malice, highlighting the video evidence and alleging she struck Torres with a baseball bat before leaving him trapped. Boone denied these allegations, stating she acted in self-defense due to fear of Torres harming her.

At the sentencing hearing, members of Torres's family described the devastating impact of his death. His sister, Victoria Torres, said Boone "deserves to rot in jail" for causing their family "a lifetime of pain."

Boone, who spent 58 months in prison awaiting trial, criticised the trial's handling and media coverage. She asked for forgiveness from Torres's family, expressing regret for her actions. "I didn’t mean for this to happen. Forgive me, Jorge. Forgive me, Torres family," she said.

The jury found Boone guilty of second-degree murder after a 10-day trial in October. The life sentence reflects the severity of the crime and Boone's refusal to accept responsibility through the plea deal.