Sarah Boone, the Florida woman accused of murdering her boyfriend by trapping him in a suitcase, was handed a major legal win on Friday as she prepares to represent herself in her upcoming trial.
Boone is now free to appear in court without handcuffs and her leg shackles will also be removed once her trial begins on October 7, after Orange County Circuit Judge Michael S. Kraynick approved her handwritten motion.
The 46-year-old Florida woman was charged with second-degree murder related to the 2020 death of her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr. She allegedly convinced him to get into a suitcase at a home in Winter Park, then zipped him inside of it.
When she opened the suitcase the next day, he was dead.
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP and Orange County Clerk Court Records
Boone lost her right to legal counsel in June after she went through eight lawyers, with multiple resigning due to “irreconcilable differences.”
In her motion, Boone requested to be unshackled and unhandcuffed in the courtroom, so she could “turn pages, pick up objects, open documents, pass information, utilize [a] laptop” and freely perform other “normal” movements.
“I’m just asking to sit here unhandcuffed so I can write without taking skin off of my wrist and being extremely uncomfortable,” Boone said at Friday’s hearing.
Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Gavin Lowtan voiced his disapproval of the motion during his testimony at the hearing, based on the charge she’s currently facing and previous domestic violence arrests.
He also alleged she has refused to come to court for hearings on three separate occasions.
“When you combine all that, it shows a propensity for violence, and not wanting to follow lawful commands and orders from law enforcement personnel,” Lowtan said.
Boone challenged Lowtan’s claim.
I’ve never missed a court date. In the almost five years that I’ve been here I’ve never argued, I’ve never hesitated,” Boone said.
Court records from a hearing on January 28, 2021 state Boone will not be present because she refused.
Kraynick ruled in Boone’s favor. During the trial, she will wear a “stun cuff.”
Courthouse deputy Chad Barnett explained during his testimony that the wireless cuff is secured to the leg and can discharge 50,000 volts, which would cause the person wearing it to fall.
One deputy will be in charge of monitoring Boone and controlling the cuff during the trial.
Boone will appear in court on Wednesday to discuss how she can view the evidence in her case.
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