Opening statements in the trial of Sarah Boone, who is accused of murdering her boyfriend by trapping him in a suitcase, are expected to begin on Friday.
The 46-year-old is charged with second-degree murder in the 2020 death of her boyfriend, 42-year-old Jorge Torres Jr. She is accused of convincing her boyfriend to get inside a suitcase at a home in Florida, then zipping it shut and refusing to let him out. When she opened the suitcase the next morning, he was dead.
The jury of six, with eight alternates, was seated on Thursday after four days of jury selection.
The trial was originally set to begin on October 7, but Orange County Circuit Judge Michael S. Kraynick sent prospective jurors home and postponed the start date due to Hurricane Milton approaching the area.
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP, Pool
Boone is being represented by James Owens, her ninth lawyer since her February 2020 arrest. Several of her lawyers resigned due to “irreconcilable differences.”
Before Owens came on the case, Boone was representing herself. In June, Kraynick ruled that Boone had forfeited her right to court-appointed counsel, since several of her lawyers had been public defenders.
“It has become apparent to the Court that Defendant will not permit herself to be represented by anyone,” Kraynick said in the ruling.
The court order also stated that 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.”
Boone was offered a plea deal by prosecutors before the trial began. The deal would have decreased her potential sentence to 15 years if she pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Boone rejected the deal, and will face a minimum sentence is 22-and-a-half years if convicted.
Owens has indicated in court documents that he plans to argue that Boone suffered from battered spouse syndrome. The argument would portray the incident as an act of self-defense due to abuse. Boone originally claimed that Torres’ death was an accident.
Both Boone and Torres were previously arrested for battery against each other.
Boone was charged with battery by strangulation in July 2018, according to court records. Torres was charged with battery three times in 2019, including an incident where Boone said Torres punched her ear and the side of her head.
Boone is currently being held in Orange County Jail.
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