Sarah Boone

Sarah Boone defended against a charge of second-degree murder in Jorge Torres's death and testified on her own behalf. The State argued that the phone videos showed her punishing Torres rather than using reasonably necessary force. Her attorney, James Owens, argued that she acted in self-defense after repeated abuse and emphasized the approximately 11-minute interval between the two videos as central to her explanation. Those opening positions were arguments, not evidence or findings.

Boone's earlier account reached the jury through recorded interviews authenticated by Detective Chelsey Koepsell. In her on-scene recording, Boone said she left the suitcase partly open, expected Torres to get out, and went upstairs and fell asleep. She denied drunkenness or ill will that night. The reporter cautioned that the recording transcriptions were not verbatim.

On Day 7, Boone testified that hide-and-seek led her to find Torres already inside the suitcase. She admitted zipping it, moving it, and recording him after it ended up upside down. She acknowledged anger and wanting him to feel discomfort. She alleged that between the videos he threatened her and tried to force his way out; she admitted shaking the suitcase and striking his protruding hand and the suitcase with a youth baseball bat. Boone said she believed he could breathe, denied intending his death, and described being terrified when she went upstairs without releasing him. She also acknowledged memory gaps. Her account connected the disputed interval between the videos to her claim of defensive force.

The defense supported its explanation of Boone's asserted fear with injury observations and expert testimony. A deputy described bruising and swelling around Boone's eye and marks around Torres's neck during an earlier domestic call, without establishing who caused either person's injuries. Julie Harper described nine assessment meetings, psychological testing, and collateral materials. She diagnosed PTSD, attributed Boone's trauma to intimate-partner violence, and opined that Boone had battered spouse syndrome at the time of the offense. These were Harper's expert opinions, not findings by the court.

The court retained no-duty-to-retreat language and included initial-provocation language over defense objection. It also included agreed battered spouse syndrome language addressing whether a person in Boone's circumstances would reasonably believe force necessary, while allowing jurors to accept or reject the testimony. On Day 10, the jury found Boone guilty of second-degree murder, and all six jurors confirmed the verdict. The court adjudicated her guilty and remanded her pending sentencing scheduled for December 2; it did not impose a sentence at that proceeding.