Authorities Charge Florida Woman After Leaving Boyfriend To Die Inside Suitcase

Sarah Boone of Winter Park, Florida was charged with second-degree murder after police said she left her boyfriend to die inside a suitcase. Boone reportedly told police that it all started with a game of hide and seek.

According to ABC affiliate WFTV, Boone is now held without bond after the death of her boyfriend, Jorge Torres Jr., who was found dead on Monday afternoon at the 4700 block of Frantz Lane.

The arrest affidavit on Boone states that she told Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies that she and Torres thought it would be a fund game if the latter got inside a suitcase while they were playing hide and seek and drinking alcohol.

Boone said she then zipped Torres inside the suitcase in the living room and went upstairs. She passed out and, after several hours, she went down to the living room but couldn’t see her boyfriend.

Upon unzipping the suitcase, Boone found Torres unresponsive. Responders from the Orange County Fire Department declared him Torres dead and some bruising was found around his eye, as well as what appears to be a small laceration on his lip.

Boone’s account about the events that transpired hours before Torres’ death seemed to be debunked by video footages police found on a cellphone.

Investigators said that in one of the videos, Torres is heard yelling, telling Boone that he can no longer breathe, NBC affiliate WKMG-TV reported. Court records also revealed that Boone laughed while Torres asked for help.

When Torres continued to tell Boone that he couldn’t breathe, the latter said “that’s what I feel like when you cheat on me.” The videos also showed the suitcase being in different positions.

Boone gave written and verbal consent to allow deputies to search her cellphone, where the videos of the incidents were found. Her inconsistent accounts and the footages on her phone led to a charge of second-degree murder against the 42-year-old.

This is not the first suitcase-related death in the United States this year. Earlier this month, Las Vegas police took Gary Walker into custody after a woman’s body, identified as Morgan Amaya, was found inside a suitcase at a residence in North Nellis Boulevard.

According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Walker’s arrest came after a woman went to the city’s primary courthouse to report that the suspect assaulted her at the same residence where the woman inside a suitcase was discovered. The unnamed woman also said Walker forced her to clean up the blood-splattered apartment.

Authorities also revealed that Walker and Amaya got into a wrestling match for control of the gun held by the former but the suspect overpowered the victim, shooting her fatally in the head.

Walker is faced with multiple charges, including murder and kidnapping.