Law&Crime Sidebar - 12 Bizarre Moments of Accused Suitcase Killer Sarah Boone's Testimony: ‘It Was Funny’

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

Sarah Boone says she was joking around when she zipped her boyfriend Jorge Torres into a suitcase. But prosecutors say she intentionally left him in it to suffocate. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the most shocking moments from her testimony in her own defense.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you took the Depo Shot and were later diagnosed with a brain tumor you may qualify for compensation. Visit https://www.Deposhotclaims.com/Sidebar to answer less than 10 questions and check your eligibility to file a claim.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. I just kind of, I zipped him up. We thought it was funny and we're joking about how he was small enough to fit inside of suitcase. Well, you're trying to kill him? Never. Did you want to kill him? I did not.

Did you do anything to help him escape from the predicament that you zipped him up in? No. They were just playing hide and seek. It was all fun in games until it wasn't. Ledged suitcase killer Sarah Boone took the stand Tuesday to tell jurors what she says happened the night she reportedly zipped her boyfriend into a suitcase and left him there to die. Boone testified it was all just a joke, so how did things take such a horrific turn? We're going to take a look back at the top moments from Sarah Boone's testimony.

Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Hey guys, this is a law and crime legal alert. Recent studies have uncovered a link between Depo Pereira, aka the Depo shot, and an increased risk of brain tumors. Lawsuits are being filed against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Deppo Perevera, alleging that they failed to warn patients and doctors about this risk and instead rush the drug to market while downplaying the adverse event reports. So if you've been diagnosed with a brain tumor or you're experiencing symptoms like headaches, vision problems, seizures, or other neurological issues, you may qualify for compensation.

Wright and Schulte, one of our legal sponsors is a national firm helping those injured to ensure their claims are thoroughly presented. Just visit deposhotclaims.com slash sidebar to answer less than 10 questions. and check your eligibility to file a claim. Let's talk about day three of the highly anticipated murder trial of Sarah Boone. It was on this day that jurors were able to hear from, of all people, the defendant herself, as Sarah Boone attempted to explain the chaotic events leading up to the death of her boyfriend, George Torres, Jr. Now, here's what we know.

In February 2020, Boone was arrested at her home in Winter Park, Florida, near Orlando. Now, prosecutors charged her with second-degree murder after she allegedly, forgot that George was zipped up inside of a small piece of luggage where he suffocated. Investigators found videos taken on Boone's cell phone that showed George begging to be let out while Boone seems to laugh and calls him out for apparently cheating on her. And since her arrest, Boone has gone viral, not only for the bizarre and insidious details revealed in the buildup to this trial and George Torres's death, but also she's apparently very difficult to work with. Boone had various attorneys bow out due to conflicts of interest.

Then others asked to be removed because working with Boone was basically impossible. The judge decided that she actually forfeited her right to counsel and that she would have to represent herself at trial whether she wanted to or not. But her current counsel swooped in at the 11th hour to represent her. Now, Sarah Boone has claimed a battered woman's defense, a battered person's defense. And it does appear that she and George Torres were in an abusive relationship. And essentially, this defense is a way to justify self-defense, the use of deadly force if you were subjected to repeated abuse.

Now, to be clear, domestic violence charges had been filed between the two previously and photos of Boone's injuries allegedly at the hands of George were shown in court to the jury. and Boone herself had a chance to tell her side of the story on Tuesday when she took the stand. Now, she described how she and George had been drinking heavily for most of the day in question that they had been spending some time at home since they didn't have money to really go out. She said that they had been playing puzzles, they were doing some art projects, and then she says that George wanted to play a game of hide-and-seek. And shortly after, that is when things took a very deadly turn.

So from here, I'm going to let you hear it from the defendant herself, Sarah Boone. Take a listen. I don't even think I made it all the way down the stairwell because I was just looking for him as soon as I could to hopefully go upstairs as soon as we could. And I saw, I looked over and I saw him settling himself in the suitcase. What did you do? In my head, I said, oh, man, we're obviously not going to be going to sleep. time soon. When you got to him, did he see you? Yes. All right. Tell us what happened. I mean, I just kind of, I zipped him up. We thought it was funny and we're joking about how

he was small enough to fit inside of the suitcase. So what happened then? From there, it was just we were laughing about it and it was just strange that he was small enough to fit in there and then I kind of moved it around a little bit with him in the suitcase still it was still funny that he was still in the suitcase just I think he and I were just kind of couldn't believe that he was he could fit in the suitcase Did you eventually close the top? Yes, in order for, well, the top was already closed. As he was settling himself in there, that's how I knew he was in there,

was because the top was kind of flopping a little bit. So he had gotten in there to hide, and he pulled the top. Yes. On top of him, but you could tell he was in there. Yes. You saw him right away. Yes. All right.

So at some point, did you zip him up? Yes. And what was he saying or doing when you were zipped him? him up? I just thought it was funny. Well, you both laugh. Yes. And so you zipped him up. Were y'all still laughing once you zipped him up? Yes. So again, according to Sarah Boone, this was one big joke. Now, they had consumed a ton of alcohol that day, and as the night wore on, she says it was George who started this hide-and-seek game and that he was the one who voluntarily crawled into the suitcase. but Boone admits that she's the one who actually zipped him up inside.

But again, according to Sarah Boone, this was all just part of the fun. So why was he struggling inside the suitcase? Well, remember, at the center of this case is this two-minute video where George is trapped inside of that suitcase very clearly heard saying he cannot breathe begging for Boone to let him out. But according to Boone, George was violent with her, that he was violent with her on more than one occasion, especially when he was intoxicated. So keeping him confined, she says, gave her a chance to feel safe from him. Take a listen. That's when I went over and decided to

videotape to just see the, I guess, the jest in it for him to understand that right now I feel safe and right now I have the ability to actually speak to you in a manner that normally I would not have the ability to do. And you were intoxicated. Yes. And you would agree that you said some things you should not. Yes. But you realized he could not get out and get at you.

Is that fair? At that moment, yes. So it goes on for about 10 minutes. Yes. You heard it here today. Did you not? Yes. You heard his voice as he was speaking from the suitcase.

Yes. That was his voice on the video and audio. Yes. And you heard your voice on the video and audio. Yes. That was your voice. Yes. All those things said by the man were said by George in that two-minute video.

Correct. All the words said by the female were said by you in that two-minute video. Correct. Were you intending on showing him the video the next day? Yes. At the time, or the next day, is it fair to say you don't even remember a video day? I do not. So, from what you can tell, from watching it, did that refresh your memory about that event?

I did. Why did you say all that? I want you all to know that I, the majority of the time, I'm always afraid and always scared. All right. Well, I understand that. Yeah, I understand that. But would it be fair to say that you had some anger at that point?

I did. Would it be fair to say that you wanted to tell him off to some degree? I just wanted, yes, for him to have a better understanding. which was the whole point of the videos and documentation prior and you could tell that he was uncomfortable I'm guessing and did you want him to feel

some uncomfort I did so in other words she's telling the jury that this video was her way to talk to George to get him to listen to her but also in that video she can be heard seemingly

mocking George and reminding him of times where she says he beat her up. Now what is not on that video, she says, is George threatening to hurt her if he gets out of the suitcase. It got very heated very quickly and he continued to push on the suitcase and my fear was that he was going to break out of the suitcase knowing that it was a broken suitcase. And his hand started to come through, his hands are to come through this way. And so I shook the suitcase. I shook the suitcase trying to get his hand to go back in, shaking it, and telling him that please stop doing this, please, please stop doing this to me. Please stop doing this to me. So his hand actually got out of the suitcase. Yes. And you went to the suitcase. Yes. And shook it. Yes. Did that force his

hand to go back in? No. So you're shaking it. Were you shaking it to try to get his hand back in? Yes. How long did you shake it? I don't know. But his hand was still out? Yes. Was he trying to get out? Forcefully, yes. Was he angry at you? Yes. Were you in fear? Always. If he would have gotten out of the suitcase, what would he have done to you? Like he used to tell me, he probably would have made me unrecognizable, or I would have lost my life. Okay, that testimony is key to Sarah Boone's defense. Remember, she's claiming self-defense that her life was in imminent danger if George got out of that suitcase.

And all of this fear stems from a history of alleged past abuse. So we're at the point where George is doing anything he can to get out of the suitcase, even sticking his hand through. But Boone claims she is deathly afraid and is not going to let him out. For the split second reaction that I had, I happened to see that, and I grabbed the baseball bat and was trying to poke his hand to go back in, to please don't go, don't break through, please. So I hit his hand.

And you said you poked him with it? Yes, I kind of pushed, like I held it with the skinny part here and then... So the grip here... Brought it at it, yes. You grabbed it with both hands here. Yes. And then the barrel of the bat, the big part of the bat, is here. Correct.

And you thrust it into the different areas of the suitcase? I started with his hand, and his hand, he was still trying to get out. out. They were still trying to do that. So I started to push on the suitcase around it, hoping to have his hand retract and go back inside.

You made those injuries. I did. We seen the photographs. Yes. We see the bruising. Is that from that bat? Yes. Eventually

did his hand. go back inside from you doing yes finally he had subsided and retracted his hand so in your mind did you prevent him from attacking you absolutely did you believe that he could breathe in there yes did you ever believe he could die in there no at all were you trying to kill him never did you want to kill him i did not let's set the stage one one more time here. To be clear, Sarah Boone is admitting to not only zipping up George in the suitcase, but also essentially shoving him inside of it, first by shaking the suitcase and then even with a baseball bat. So eventually the tense moment dies down and George stops trying to escape,

but she still doesn't let him out. She just walks away, heads upstairs. You might be wondering why didn't Sarah Boone just call the police at this point if she was truly this afraid of George Torres. After all, George is zipped up in the suitcase. He can't hurt her from inside. Well, it turns out she did make a phone call, but it wasn't to the police. It was to her ex-husband. And that's all she says she remembers before going to sleep, leaving George Torres inside of that suitcase where he eventually died. So what was her reaction when she found him the next day? How did you feel when you saw the suitcase? I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that before.

Describe it for the jury. I guess it was, I was a gas, and I just can't describe the feeling. I'm sure. I'm sorry. Say that again now? It was terror to a certain degree. I just can't describe it in words, the feeling of remembering. and then he was still in there.

So what did you do? I immediately unzipped the I immediately unzipped the suitcase and I was screaming, George, George, George, and I was shaking him, I was shaking him and I pulled him out and I stretched him out flat and then I began instantly trying to do CPR and then was trying to look for a pulse or a breath or just anything and was just screaming

his name over and over and over again and come on George come on George and I continued CPR continued CPR and I continued CPR and he was gurgling and what color was he what color was he yes it's at this point that Boone calls her ex-husband again who then tells her, call 911, and then George is declared dead. Abun admits on the stand that she lied to police, and she gives more details that might support her battered person syndrome. I lied to the police, basically everyone, because I was extremely careful of being arrested. I made the first attempt of me calling 911 by telling them what happened

and I thought they were going to help you but instead I was arrested for calling 911. So you made the decision to lie? I did. Did you stay with that lie? I did. Are you telling the truth today? I am.

Now let me take you back to the, to this incident. Is it fair to say that when George Torres is sober, he commits no violence against you? No. Is that fair to say? Yes.

Is it fair to say that every time that he's intoxicated or every time that you're hit by him or harmed by him, it's when he's intoxicated? Yes. As a result, when he's drinking, does it change your outlook? Yes. Could you explain that to the truth? I'm always fearful, paranoia. Why?

Because I try to protect and defend myself or fear something happens at the last ultimate second. But you're always that way, fearful. Is it because of these prior incidences? Absolutely. And by the way, when we discuss battered person syndrome, That usually can be characterized by these psychological effects that result from living with intimate partner violence. According to experts, this can cause a person to have flashbacks of traumatic events and increase sense of a fight or flight response to perceive danger, even causing someone to take action to eliminate a potential threat.

So what exactly are these prior incidents that Boone testified to? Well, I have to tell you, her descriptions are really brutal. and she says that they always occurred when George had been drinking. And remember, Boone testified that on the day in question, George was drinking. She knew this meant that he could harm her. And George actually had been arrested for past instances of domestic violence. The jury, even as I mentioned, got to see pictures of just how horrific this past alleged abuse really was, and they heard countless stories of this, including an incident where George apparently stabbed Boone with a butcher knife.

Yes. Are those injuries to your arm? Yes. When they caused by George Porter? Yes. And during the same incident, it's issue? Yes. Is that an injury or bruise to your lip cage area?

Yes. You had to go to the hospital or what is the result of these injuries to your thigh? Yes. It's extremely painful. Is that a picture? of the burn? Yes. Is that your thought? My thigh, yes.

And your knee? Yes. So, George stabbed me in my leg. I almost led to death. All right, well, let's go back and explain what led up to that. I thought it would be nice to cook a nice steak dinner. We don't have tuna.

together so I thought it would be special to make a steak dinner and big potato and go above the normal whatever's leftover in the refrigerator and and then he came upstairs and saw that I had made the state dinner and I don't know how to describe how drunk he was but it definitely was not George and then he started to pull on me and kept saying that, excuse me, that I just want to you, f*** you on the steak and on the potatoes. And I took offense to that, and I kept trying to encourage him to eat. I started to crawl off of the bed to leave,

just the bedroom. And he told me again that I'm not going anywhere, and he stabbed me in my leg, and it crunched. You could hear a noise that it made, and blood just started to come out of my leg, just like a fountain. Here's a question you might be asking. We're seeing these horrifying pictures. We're hearing Sarah Boone's account of that night with the steak knife. Why didn't she just leave George?

Has anyone who has ever been in love or when you love someone or primarily someone or something, you go above and beyond and you tolerate and you endure and you persevere and you try to make that person as spectacular as you possibly can no matter of the sacrifice that you may have to go through to serve someone else in a positive light so they can be better people or themselves. and to just make them a happier person. Okay, that was the direct examination. Direct examination, get to tell your story, then you face cross-examination from the prosecution. And the prosecution here questioned Sarah Boone on a few different things, and they questioned her as to how much alcohol she actually drank that day.

Boone testified under direct examination that she had several bottles of wine, but as the state pointed out, based on the size of the bottles, this would actually turn out to be a really significant amount of wine. You go to Publix and you get that 1.5-liter magnum bottle of Woodbridge Chardonnay, correct? I'm not sure what magnum is. 1.5 liters. Instead of the 750s, it's the double size. It's like two bottles of wine.

Okay, yes. So you got a 1.5 liter, right? Yes, it is the larger bottle. And you got home, and you at 100 pounds, and Mr. Torres at 103 pounds, began drinking this wine, correct? I'm guessing so. I'm not going to guess times. Well, don't guess. I mean, you got home from Publix. When was your first drink? I'm not sure. I mean, we could have continued to do whatever was left over from what we didn't do before we went to Publix. Okay. So you may have started drinking even later, correct?

Then... 1230 when you get back from Publix? I don't know. Okay. Was it 1.30 or 2.30 when you began drinking? I don't know. Was it before any of the phone calls to the brothers and his daughters? Yes. And so you drink what's left in the bottle of wine from the day before.

That's halfway label, correct? At some point. And then you drink 1.5 liters of wine, and he goes out and gets another one on his own without your permission or suggestion about 5.30, correct? Correct. And then you all consume that one as well and it ends up in the trash can at the end of the night, correct? Apparently.

Okay. At what point in the night does your memory tape stop? You've described that it wasn't on at 11.03 p.m. when that photograph was taken. What's the last thing you actually do remember prior to these videos being made? I don't recall at this point, I don't remember. These bottles were apparently magnum size. Essentially, we're talking about two normal bottles inside of one big bottle that both she and George Torres, reportedly both around 100 pounds, consumed over the course of the day.

He had been angry on an offer about the entire day. Okay, you didn't tell us that earlier. You said it was a wonderful fun day all day, correct? That's because I lived. Okay. But you did not tell us earlier today that he had been angry throughout the day. When would I say that? You described your entire day of doing puzzles and arts and crafts and outside by the dartboard,

and you said it was a wonderful day and everything was fun until he was in the suitcase. Did you not testify to that earlier today? I did. Okay. My specific question between these two movies is this is when he begins to get angry and trying to push his way out and to get out of the suitcase, correct? Angry again, yes. And he was expressing his anger in what manner? How did he say this? At which point throughout the day?

Ma'am, you know very well that I'm talking about between these movies. Please answer my question. Between these two movies, how did he express his anger with you? Told me that I was going to die. Okay. Now, this is happening after he's already told you several times he cannot breathe in the suitcase, correct? Correct. And he's been in there for whatever brief amount of time it took you to zip him up,

and the laughter stops, and then you go over to begin to film, correct? And you're filming. Your purpose of filming is to kind of teach him a lesson. and this is your chance to say something to him when he can't say anything back. Do you correct? No. Correct me.

There was no lesson to be learned. It was just I wanted him to try to understand how I felt so maybe he could progress and being a better person the next day. So you wanted him to understand how you felt in the past and that's not teaching a lesson. I just want to hate to understand. Here, it seems the state is really poking holes into Boone's self-defense argument.

Boone didn't testify to any violence happening prior to this. And from her account, she and George were actually enjoying each other's company that day. Where was the imminent danger? Now, towards the end of her cross-examination, Sarah Boone actually demonstrated for the jury how she zipped George Torres inside of that suitcase, where, again, she would ultimately leave him to suffocate and die. Can we see how it was that the two zipper parts were positioned when you say that Mr. Torres was able to get his hand out? If you want me to do it, I'm fine. You'll take your direction.

From what I remember, this is how the suitcase for us. This was up here. This was not this hard either. So this was like here. Okay. Right here. About right there, ma'am. Right there, ma'am?

Sure. Okay. I assume this one was much closer. It's not over there? Where did you leave? You ask me where I zipped it. When you say that it was zipped shut, show us. What you're talking about how I zipped it or?

When you're done zipping it shut and he's inside of it, where are the zipper components? Just tell me what is that up. I mean, it was the corner. I mean, it was right here. I mean, it's not. Yes. This one was already pretty much. That's how he was coming with his hand out.

It was like this from the corner part. Okay. Thank you. Did you do anything to help him escape from the predicament that you zipped him up in? Right here at the very end of her cross-examination, jurors are left with one powerful fact. Sarah Boone did nothing to help George Torres out of that

suitcase. Not when he tried to escape. Not when he told her he couldn't breathe. That is a big point. We expect the defense's case to continue. We are going to bring you all of the major updates out of this really high profile Florida murder trial, and we will follow

it for you here on Sidebar. That's all we have for you right now. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.