A Florida woman accused of leaving her boyfriend to die stuffed in a suitcase testified that she did not mean to kill him, but that she just wanted him to reflect on his behavior.
Sarah Boone, 46, testified in court Tuesday that she and her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr. were playing a game of hide-and-seek in their Florida townhome back in February 2020. Boone said that as she was coming back downstairs from hiding in the shower, she saw Torres trying to get into a suitcase.
"I zipped him up," Boone told the court, according to Law&Crime. "We thought it was funny, and we're joking about how he was small enough to fit inside of the suitcase."
Boone said the two laughed as she wheeled him in the suitcase around their home, before the two began arguing. Boone said that Torres reportedly began threatening her, saying he would "f***ing end" her, as reported by WESH-TV.
Torres allegedly told Boone that he could not breathe, but Boone testified that she used the time with him stuck in the suitcase to talk about how he could be a "better person." Boone testified that Torres had previously abused her, detailing one incident where he allegedly stabbed her in the leg with a knife after an argument during dinner, as reported by Newsweek.
"He told me again that I'm not going anywhere and he stabbed me in my leg, and it crunched," Boone told the court. "You could hear a noise that it made and blood just started to come out of my leg, just like a fountain."
Boone said that she ended up going upstairs later that night and went to sleep. She testified that she forgot that Torres was still in the suitcase until she saw it there the next day. Upon remembering, Boone said she began screaming, pulled Torres out and began doing CPR.
"I was aghast," Boone told the court. "I can't describe the feeling, terror to a certain degree."
Boone testified that she did not believe it was possible that Torres could die in the suitcase, as reported by WESH-TV.
Boone's attorneys have been trying to prove "battered spouse syndrome" to show that Boone's actions were justified. Boone has been charged with second-degree murder. The trial remains ongoing.
