Tonia Werner testified as the State's psychiatric rebuttal witness on Day 9, agreeing that Sarah Boone had battered spouse syndrome but distinguishing that conclusion from its applicability to the suitcase incident. She said Boone's reported laughter was inconsistent with perceived imminent harm, while defense questioning exposed evaluation limits and insufficient information for a PTSD diagnosis.
Expert witnessMeridian Behavioral Healthcare
Tonia Werner
Tonia Werner is a physician board certified in general and forensic psychiatry. She is chief medical officer at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare in Gainesville, Florida.
Appeared2024 Criminal Trial
362 lines·31 proceedings·18 mentions
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Tonia Werner testified on Day 9 as the State's psychiatric rebuttal witness after the defense rested. She explained battered spouse syndrome, PTSD, coercive control, and individual differences in responses to violence. Drawing on a court-ordered jail evaluation lasting just under two and a half hours with counsel present, she recounted Boone's description of laughing while zipping the suitcase, becoming angry while remembering choking, shaking the suitcase until it flipped, striking Torres's hand with a baseball bat, and going upstairs. Werner said the evaluation did not provide enough information for a PTSD diagnosis, while acknowledging that additional information could change her opinion.
Her distinction between diagnosis and the incident became central to the questioning. Werner said Boone's reported laughter and enjoyment during the suitcase activity were inconsistent with a feeling of imminent risk of harm. Owens objected that this opinion decided an issue for the jury. The court overruled the objection, explaining that jurors remained free to accept or reject expert opinions. A separate disclosure dispute interrupted her examination. The court found an inadvertent but substantial State discovery violation and used judge-supervised deposition questioning to address defense preparation concerns rather than striking Werner. During that questioning, she maintained that her incident-related opinion predated her earlier deposition and agreed that Boone suffered from battered spouse syndrome.
On cross-examination, Owens challenged the evaluation's scope and the materials behind Werner's opinions. She acknowledged that she had not heard Boone's or Julie Harper's trial testimony, reviewed the suitcase videos, body-camera videos, recordings of Boone's questioning, or the actual autopsy report. She had not covered Boone's entire reported abuse history or performed PTSD testing. Werner agreed that repeated violence could affect perceptions of danger, while emphasizing individual variation. She declined Owens's proposed assignment of Torres as the abuser and Boone as the victim, referring instead to a volatile relationship. She clarified that she diagnosed adjustment disorder rather than generalized anxiety disorder and distinguished narcissistic traits from a personality-disorder diagnosis.
On redirect, Werner reaffirmed that Boone met battered spouse syndrome criteria but said cross-examination had not changed her opinion about its applicability to Boone's account of the incident. She explained that the reported laughter and enjoyment did not convey triggers or trauma. She also acknowledged diagnostic information gaps and testified that battered spouse syndrome did not necessarily justify every action against an intimate partner.
Trial Record (31)
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