#114 Sarah Boone - “That's What You Get"

📚 SHOW NOTES 🎙 Episode 114: Sarah Boone - “That’s What You Get” A Murderess Podcast investigation February 23, 2020. Winter Park, Florida. Sarah Boone zipped her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr. inside a suitcase during what she initially described as a drunken game of hide-and-seek. The next day, Jorge was dead. Four years later, the story seemed to be a bit more complicated...or was it? 📍 Location: Winter Park, Florida → Orange County criminal court proceedings, Orlando, Florida → Florida Department of Corrections 📅 Key Dates: February 23, 2020 Sarah and Jorge spend the day drinking, doing puzzles, painting and later playing hide-and-seek; Jorge gets inside a suitcase and Sarah zips it closed → late February 23 Sarah records videos of Jorge inside the suitcase asking to be released and saying he cannot breathe → February 24, 2020 Sarah finds Jorge unresponsive, contacts ex-husband Brian Boone and eventually calls 911 → February 25, 2020 Jorge’s autopsy reveals injuries and Sarah returns voluntarily to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for questioning; detectives confront her with the videos and she is arrested for second-degree murder → June 7, 2024 Sarah delivers a 58-page letter to the judge complaining about attorney Patricia Cashman and the handling of her case → June 28, 2024 Judge Michael Kraynick rules Sarah has forfeited her right to continued court-appointed counsel through her conduct → August 30, 2024 attorney James Owens enters the case after Sarah briefly represents herself → October 7, 2024 Sarah rejects a plea agreement that would have allowed her to plead guilty to manslaughter and receive a 15-year sentence → October 14, 2024 jury selection resumes after Hurricane Milton delays proceedings → October 18, 2024 opening statements begin → October 22, 2024 Sarah takes the stand and testifies that she shook the suitcase and used a baseball bat when Jorge tried to get his hand out because she feared what he would do if he escaped → October 25, 2024 jury finds Sarah guilty of second-degree murder after roughly 90 minutes of deliberation → December 2, 2024 Judge Kraynick sentences Sarah to life in the Florida Department of Corrections → December 2024 Sarah sends the judge another lengthy letter accusing him of bias and declaring, “I am not a murderer. I am a survivor” → November 26, 2025 Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal confirms David Maldonado as Sarah’s appellate counsel → February 5, 2026 Sixth District Court of Appeal grants an additional 60 days for the initial appellate brief in Sarah Boone v. State of Florida, Case No. 6D2025-0206. 👥 Central Figures: Sarah Boone, Jorge Torres Jr., Brian Boone, defense attorney James Owens, Judge Michael Kraynick, prosecutor William Jay, Orange County Sheriff’s Detective Chelsey Koepsell, medical examiner Dr. Sara Zydowicz, psychologist Dr. Julie Harper, psychologist Dr. Michael Brannon, former defense attorneys Frank Bankowitz and Patricia Cashman, Jorge’s mother Blanca Torres, sister Victoria Torres, daughters Ana Victoria and Ava, and appellate attorney David Maldonado 🧠 Themes: intimate-partner violence, battered-spouse syndrome, self-defense, fear and control, alcohol abuse, power reversal, punishment, suffocation, blunt-force injuries, cellphone video evidence, shifting narratives, credibility, memory, post-crime behavior, delayed emergency response, forensic pathology, attorney-client conflict, self-representation, courtroom strategy, rejected plea agreements, victim impact, remorse, self-perception, life sentencing, and the question of how prior abuse should be weighed when the person feared is physically trapped and unable to reach the other person 🎧 Murderess Podcast is written and hosted by Sidney Smith 🎙 Produced in partnership with Sidney Smith Cre8tiv, LLC and the You Hear Good Things podcast network 📅 New episodes every Thursday 🔗 Find past episodes, merch, and tour dates: https://www.sidneysmithcre8tiv.com 🎧 Listen on your favorite platform: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio 📱 Follow Sidney: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter → @sidneysmithcre8tiv Official Sources Used: – Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office — October 25, 2024 conviction announcement: official prosecution account of the February 23, 2020 events; Sarah’s initial hide-and-seek explanation; Jorge asking to be released and saying he could not breathe in videos recorded on Sarah’s phone; Sarah’s trial claim of self-defense; and the Orange County jury’s guilty verdict for second-degree murder. – Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit and recorded February 25, 2020 interrogation: Sarah’s initial description of the day as one of the better days in the relationship; her repeated denial that she physically harmed Jorge that night; her descriptions of prior violence in the relationship; her statements that she loved Jorge and had repeatedly tried to help him; investigators’ confrontation with the cellphone recordings; Sarah’s claim that she did not remember recording the videos; her belief that Jorge could get himself out; the “boy who cried wolf” explanation; detectives repeatedly asking why she did not release him; and Sarah saying the situation had “backfired” on her. – Orange County Medical Examiner / Dr. Sara Zydowicz trial testimony and medical-examiner reporting:Jorge’s cause of death as positional asphyxia with environmental suffocation caused by prolonged confinement; homicide classification; injuries including blunt-force trauma, abrasions, bruising and cuts; and medical testimony concerning how confinement inside the suitcase caused his death. – FOX 35 Orlando — February 2020 domestic-violence history reporting: prior arrests involving both Sarah and Jorge; Sarah’s July 2018 arrest for alleged battery by strangulation; her allegation that Jorge dragged her and kicked her in the eye; investigators’ inability in that incident to determine the primary aggressor; Jorge’s multiple 2019 battery arrests involving Sarah; and the temporary protection order that existed during part of their relationship. – Court TV — FL v. Sarah Boone: Suitcase Murder Trial daily trial coverage: Brian Boone’s testimony about Sarah’s late-night call and his repeated instructions that she call 911; Sarah’s 911 call; body-camera evidence; presentation of the suitcase; Sarah’s interrogation; the cellphone videos; Sarah’s October 22 testimony; her admission that she shook the suitcase and used a baseball bat while Jorge tried to escape; evidence concerning previous domestic violence; battered-spouse testimony; Sarah’s cross-examination; closing arguments; verdict; motion for a new trial; and sentencing. – Court TV — Sarah Boone trial testimony coverage: Sarah’s account that Jorge voluntarily climbed inside the suitcase during hide-and-seek; her testimony that they initially laughed; her claim that the situation changed when Jorge became angry and attempted to get out; her testimony that she shook the suitcase and used a baseball bat to force his hand back inside; her claim that she feared Jorge would severely injure or kill her if he escaped; and her admission that she did nothing to help him escape after she zipped him inside. – Court TV / FOX 35 Orlando — battered-spouse expert testimony: Dr. Julie Harper’s evaluation of Sarah; testimony concerning trauma and intimate-partner violence; narciss Tell me what stayed with you—I read every message. 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