Orange County jury finds Sarah Boone guilty in ‘suitcase murder’ case

An Orange County jury found Sarah Boone guilty of second-degree murder.

Stay with Channel 9 for the latest developments in this case.

It was an emotional day for Jorge Torres’ family as they sat in the courtroom steps away from their loved one’s accused killer.

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Boone is accused of killing her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, by locking him in a suitcase in February 2020.

The defense claims Boone was suffering from “battered spouse syndrome” and feared for her life when she took a baseball bat and hit Torres while he was in the bag.

On the 10th day of Sarah Boone’s murder trial, the family appeared in court for the first time to hear attorney’s closing arguments.

When prosecutors played video of Torres’ final moments in the suitcase, some family members became extremely agitated and were forced to leave the room.

The emotional outburst led Sarah Boone’s lawyers to ask for a mistrial. Judge Michael Krainik ultimately denied the motion and asked the attorneys to continue with their closing arguments.

The defense used its closing arguments to point to the violent history between Sarah Boone and Jorge Torres.

Both Boone and Torres were arrested on domestic violence charges, and at one point before Torres’ death, Boone received a no-contact order with Torres.

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The defense attempted to sow doubt in the minds of the jury by again presenting photographic and video evidence of Torres physically abusing Boone.

They also reminded the jury of Boone’s testimony earlier in the trial.

Boone said she thought Torres would be able to get out of the suitcase during their drunken game of hide and seek.

Boone said that while on the witness stand, she saw Torres’ hand stick out of the suitcase. She testified that she hit Torres in the arm with a baseball bat because she was afraid Torres would come out and attack her.

“She instinctively responded to these circumstances to save her life. To save myself from another one of these,” Boone’s attorney James Owens said as he showed jurors a photo of a bruised Sarah Boone.

Meanwhile, in the prosecution’s closing argument, defense attorney Dave Cacciatore told jurors that it was entirely possible that Jorge Torres himself was the battered spouse.

Cacciatore played an important portion of the video evidence Boone recorded before Torres’ death.

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The video shows Torres inside the suitcase. In the video, Torres repeatedly screams Boone’s name and says he “can’t breathe.”

In the video, Boone can be heard telling Torres, “It’s your fault,” and cursing at Torres.

For a jury to find Boone guilty of second-degree murder, the jury must believe the prosecution considered three facts beyond a reasonable doubt.

These facts include the death of Jorge Torres, that Torres’ death was caused by Boone, and that Boone was in a depraved state of mind when Torres was killed.

Prosecutors believe video evidence of Torres’ final moments should remove any doubt in the minds of the jury.

“The medical examiner explained to us that with every breath Jorge Torres took, there was less oxygen in that box,” said Dave Cacciatore of the state attorney’s office, pointing to the suitcase in which Torres died. “Jorge Torres was killed in this box.”

Judge Michael Krainik told jurors to prepare for a long night.

If a unanimous decision is not reached by 10pm on Friday, jury deliberations will cease and then resume on Monday.

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