A woman has been found guilty of second-degree murder for letting her boyfriend die after putting him in a suitcase at their Florida home in the United States.
The verdict comes four years after Sarah Boone was arrested for the death of Jorge Torres. Boone initially stated that she and Torres had been playing hide-and-seek on February 23, 2020, at their Winter Park residence when they thought it would be fun for him to get into the suitcase.
The couple had been drinking, and she decided to go to sleep thinking her boyfriend could get out of the suitcase on his own, she told detectives, as reported in her arrest report. When she woke up the next morning, she did not find Torres in bed, but later remembered leaving him in the suitcase.
Investigators charged Boone with murder after finding videos on her cellphone showing Torres shouting from inside the suitcase that he couldn't breathe and repeatedly saying Boone's name, according to the arrest report.
During her trial, Boone testified that she acted in self-defense perceiving an imminent threat of harm after experiencing previous violent incidents.
"Yes, that's what you do when you strangle me", Boone can be heard saying in one of the cellphone videos recorded that night, according to the arrest report.
According to the autopsy report, Torres had scratches on his back and neck and bruises on his shoulder, skull, and forehead from blunt force trauma, as well as a cut near his broken lip.
Boone has had several lawyers since her arrest, contributing to the delay of her 10-day trial.
The sentencing is scheduled for December 2. Sarah Boone faces life imprisonment.