Orange County

‘An odd case for everybody’: Defense in Winter Park suitcase death says case is ‘not a crime, just a tragedy’

The attorney representing the woman facing murder charges for leaving her boyfriend zipped inside a suitcase for several hours before he was found dead says that it was a tragic accident.

“I think it’s an odd case for everybody,” defense attorney Mauricio Padilla said. “You rarely see this set of circumstances.”

On Friday morning, Padilla met with 42-year-old Sarah Boone, who is charged with second-degree murder after investigators say she told them she zipped her boyfriend in the suitcase during a game of hide-and-seek.

Read: Winter Park woman facing murder charges after leaving boyfriend in suitcase for hours

“I believe that the same circumstances that make this a unique case and media-worthy, is pretty much the same set of circumstances that is eventually going to exonerate her,” Padilla said. “These were people who were involved in mutually playing a game and when the evidence comes out, it’s going to show that this is not a crime, this is just a tragedy.”

Orange County investigators say they have video from Boone’s phone where she taunts her boyfriend Jorge Torres as he struggles inside the suitcase, begging to be freed and saying he could not breathe.

Boone allegedly says in the video that him being inside the suitcase “is what it feels like when you cheat and try to choke me.”

Boone told investigators that she was drunk and fell asleep, assuming he’d find his way out of the suitcase.

Read: Deputies: Woman accused of leaving boyfriend to die in suitcase after game of hide-and-seek once posted photo of child zipped in suitcase on Facebook

Padilla says he has not seen the video from Boone’s phone, and he plans to secure a bond for her so she can await trial at home.

“This is a horrible loss for her, this is a loss of her live in boyfriend of many years, and her loss of freedom,” Padilla said. “She’s the mother of a young son, so she’s in a really dark place right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone what she’s going through.”

Court records show both had been previously arrested for domestic violence.


Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett, WFTV.com

Reporter Steve Barrett returned to WFTV in mid-2017 after 18 months in the Twin Cities, where he worked as Vice President of Communications for an Artificial Intelligence software firm aligned with IBM.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.