Florida woman claims suitcase death was a hide-and-seek accident

A Florida woman accused of leaving her boyfriend for dead after stuffing him into a suitcase in their home will go on trial in October following a hearing today.

During Sarah Boone’s trial, a trial date was set for October 7 in state court in Orlando, nearly four years after her arrest.

Boone, 46, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges.

Boone initially told Orange County Sheriff’s Office detectives that she and her boyfriend, Jorge Torres, were playing hide-and-seek in their shared apartment in Winter Park, Florida, and thought it would be funny when Torres got into the suitcase.

They had been drinking, and she decided to go to sleep because she thought Torres could climb out of the suitcase on his own, she told investigators, according to a police report.

When she woke up the next morning, she didn’t find Torres, but then remembered that he was in the suitcase. She unzipped the suitcase and found him unconscious, the police report said.

However, investigators charged Boone with murder after finding videos on her cellphone showing Torres screaming that he couldn’t breathe in the suitcase and calling Boone’s name, the police report said.

“Yeah, that’s what you do when you choke me,” Boone reportedly replied in one of the videos.

“Oh, that’s how I feel when you cheat on me.”

According to an autopsy report, Torres had scratches on his back and neck, blunt force bruises on his shoulder, skull and forehead, and a cut near his split lip.

Since her arrest, Boone had consulted several lawyers, which contributed to the delay in her trial.