Sarah Boone sentence: Florida woman sentenced in boyfriend's suitcase murder
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Sarah Boone, the Florida woman convicted of killing her boyfriend in Feb. 2020 by locking him inside a suitcase, will spend the rest of her life in prison. Boone was convicted of second-degree murder by a six-person jury in October 2024.
Orange County Judge Michael Kraynick sentenced Boone to life in the Florida Department of Corrections. Boone rejected a 15-year plea deal prior to her trial.
The defense filed a motion for a new trial, which was rejected.
At the sentencing, Jorge Torres' mom and sisters spoke on his behalf. A few friends also spoke on behalf of Boone, including her cellmate and another inmate she met within the Orange County Jail.
Sarah Boone sentencing: Jorge Torres' mom speaks
Jorge Torres' mother spoke during Sarah Boone's sentencing hearing in the death of her son. Boone was convicted of second-degree murder of Torres, who was locked inside a suitcase during a drunken game of hide-and-seek. "I don't hate her for what she did," Torres' mother told the judge during her victim impact statement. "She (did) not only kill my son, she killed a father, brother, an uncle."
Jorge Torres' mom: ‘I don’t hate her'
The mother of Jorge Torres remembered her son as a father, brother and uncle. "It's been hard on my family," she said, through tears.
She said she does not "hate" Sarah Boone for what she did, but stopped short of forgiving her.
"I don't hate her," she said. "I was blessed. She ain't gonna be blessed like me because I have my son, I raised him; I have his children."
Torres' daughter, Ava, described her father as "one of a kind" and a "hidden gem." She said her father was taken by "evilness," and that he would be remembered long after Sarah.
"I pray that you see his face when you see him at night," she said.
Sarah Boone takes the stand: I hope you forgive me.
Sarah Boone takes stand at sentencing hearing
Sarah Boone delivered a 20-minute speech during her sentencing hearing, following her conviction of second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres. She alleged abuse by Torres during her speech, lamented the criminal justice system, the state, media coverage of her trial. She also discussed her love for Torres, and asked for forgiveness from him and his family.