Sarah Boone Murder Trial Update: Alleged Suitcase Killer Defiant in Jail

Sarah Boone, the Florida woman accused of killing her boyfriend by trapping him in a suitcase, is allegedly creating drama inside and outside of the courtroom.
Boone, 46, is facing a second-degree murder charge in the 2020 death of her 42-year-old boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr. She is accused of forcing Torres to get inside of a suitcase at a home in Winter Park, then zipping him inside and refusing to let him out.
When she opened the suitcase the next morning, he was dead.
Over four years since her arrest, Boone has yet to go to trial and has gone through eight lawyers. Several resigned due to “irreconcilable differences.”
In June, Orange County Circuit Judge Michael S. Kraynick ruled that Boone had forfeited her right to legal counsel and must represent herself at her upcoming trial.
Boone is also creating issues for jail staffers, according to newly released inmate behavior notes.
The documents stated that Boone was informed she had an attorney visit on August 8. She requested the name of the attorney, since no attorney was assigned to her case.
“lnmate Boone stated that she does not feel comfortable visiting anyone that she doesn’t know because ‘crazy people’ have been reaching out and scheduling visits with her claiming to be someone they are not,” the documents said.
Staff told Boone the attorney’s name, but he left due to a delay in her response as to whether she would like to meet with him or not. When she had learned that he left, she “became upset.”
Boone said she had met with the lawyer before and he had traveled from Tallahassee to see her.
“It was explained to lnmate Boone that we are not responsible for his departure,” the document stated.
On August 14, Boone was reprimanded for negative behavior. While Boone was at a hearing that day, jail staff discovered she altered the pants seam of her jail uniform with staples.
Boone was granted the right to appear in court without handcuffs that same day.
Staff told Boone her altered clothes were considered contraband and she was given a new uniform.
According to the documents, she was told not to wear the altered uniform prior to her court appearance.
More staples and paperclips were found among Boone’s property during a search on August 17.
“During the search lnmate Boone became argumentative and questioning staff why her property was being searched. I explained to inmate Boone that she is subject to search at any time, inmate was not receptive,” the documents read.
As Boone begins to represent herself, she has raised concerns about not receiving some of her discovery materials.
The behavior notes detail discovery materials being shared with Boone. However, on August 16, she declined to use three USB drives and a hard drive because she needed a “mental break.”
Boone’s trial is expected to begin on October 7.
Kraynick said the trial will not be delayed “for any reason, except by extraordinarily good cause and such extraordinarily good cause shall not include retention of counsel by the defendant.”
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