ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Jury selection in the murder trial of Sarah Boone is entering it’s fourth day.
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Boone is accused of zipping her longtime boyfriend Jorge Torres in a suitcase during a drunken game of hide and seek back in 2020.
She faces second degree murder charges for Torres’ death.
On Wednesday, Boone’s defense scored a partial victory ahead of trial when the judge said they could proceed with a “battered spouse defense.”
Prosecutors had made the case a battered spouse defence for Sarah Boone shouldn’t be allowed.
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Assistant State Attorney, Will Jay, claimed the history of abuse between Boone and the victim Jorge Torres was irrelevant because Boone was in no imminediate danger the day Torres died.
“She shakes the suitcase. She hits the suitcase… He sticks his fingertips out, She hits it with a bat. So she’s now the initial aggressor,” said Jay, “There was no overt action and that’s what is required under the law to trigger her response of acting in self defense.”
The Judge asked the defense to clarify what “overt act” required Boone to act in self defense.
The defense tried to avoid the question and stated the discussion was forcing them to reveal their strategy.
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Boone’s attorney ultimately stated he believed Boone would need to take the stand in trial to testify to that danger.
“The overt act, I have to tell you, his hand is coming out of the suitcase. That means he’s about to get out of the suitcase. Based on history and everything else. She doesn’t have to wait to see what happens when she gets out of the suitcase,” said Tony Henderson, an attorney for Sarah Boone.
The judge also granted the defense another victory stating prosecutors would need to redact opinionated investigator statements about Boone’s presumed guilt or innocence from any evidence ahead of trial.
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